Why I Chose Hands On Charlotte and Why HOC Needs You

Hands On Charlotte is a great organization for young professionals. Coming to Charlotte in 2006 from a co-ed service fraternity at UNC-Chapel Hill, I wanted to get involved in the community and to meet others with similar interests. HOC allowed me to go online and to pick a project that worked for my schedule. This worked well for me since I couldn’t volunteer, say, every Thursday night, and it allowed me to volunteer at a variety of agencies based on my interests. I was impressed with how HOC organized the project and provided an on-site coordinator to keep the project running smoothly.

Now all of this sounds great, but I wondered… How are these projects and the volunteer coordination funded? Joining the Board, I quickly found out that this is not an easy task.

Coming from the for-profit world of banking, I was always taught that I could not finance a deal in which I could not get paid back with some sort of return. This is in stark contrast to the non-profit world in which many tasks are done for free simply to better the community in which we live. I never thought about how the mulch, rakes, trash bags and tools got to the HOC project sites. I never thought about how the website was funded or who paid the salary of the full-time staff.

So who is funding the non-profits? Corporate America is cutting back on the dollars they are giving to non-profits because they are struggling themselves. Many non-profits are under pressure to maintain their existing commitment to the community and some will simply not survive in this weak economy. This is why it is so important for HOC to build, maintain and preserve the relationships with the people who make HOC successful at tackling our community’s toughest issues…. YOU!

HOC Needs You

Many of us have sacrificed some “wants” over the past couple of years, but no one is able to sacrifice their needs. Non-profits around the city rely on volunteers from Hands On Charlotte for the volunteers' time, dedication and hard work. This is how the needs of our community are met. No one wants to tell a student that someone will no longer be able to come to have lunch with them at school. No one wants to tell the elderly that their weekly bingo has to be canceled. No one wants to tell those that are disabled that their bowling league can no longer continue.

With the year end approaching, Hands On Charlotte is now in need of our volunteers and supporters.

• We need you to support 1 volunteer for a year in order to positively impact our community ($21.66 per year).
  
• We need you to pay for our communication costs ($54.66 per month).
• We need you to support a project with 10 volunteers ($118.22).
• We need you to pay for 1 month of our online calendar ($472).
• We need you to give a stipend and healthcare to 1 AmeriCorps member ($1,738 per month).
  

HOC will be celebrating its 20th birthday next year. Let’s give it the best present it could ask for…. the funds necessary to help homeless families, guide at-risk youth, tutor disadvantaged children, feed the hungry, care for our environment and deliver a real and measurable impact to the community we call home.

Please help HOC meet a need by donating today on our website.


John Wyatt is a member of Hands On Charlotte's Board of Directors.