Chamber Of Commerce Nonprofit Showcase
MINT HILL, NC - Did you know that the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce offers a special membership tailored toward nonprofits? The Chamber’s August member luncheon was dedicated to showcasing the services nonprofit members provide for those in our community. The Mint Hill Times is proud to introduce its readers to the good work these nonprofit organizations are doing right here in our community.
Established in January of 1998 to address the daytime needs of Senior citizens as well as mentally and physically challenged adults, Blessed Assurance Adult Day Program has been serving the needs of these vulnerable populations for over two decades. “The program has one specific design,” says CEO Nate Huggins, “and that is to provide life-sustaining programs and services to disabled adults.” Some of the daily services Blessed Assurance provides to keep its clients healthy both mentally and physically are transportation to and from home, meals, administration of medication, healthcare exams, bathing and grooming services, exercise programs, arts and crafts, gardening, gospel programs, educational seminars and outings.
Blessed Assurance Adult Day Program | 13001 Idlewild Road, Matthews | (704) 845-1359 | nate@blessedadultcare.org | www.blessedadultcare.org
Located in Matthews, NC, Bright Blessings delivers joy, care and hope to homeless and impoverished children in Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, Gaston and Iredell counties through four distinct programs. “Bless-a-Birthday,” their original program, throws birthday parties for children at homeless shelters complete with gifts, goodie bags for guests, games, and treats. “Bless-a-Baby” works with OB clinics and shelters to provide for babies who will be born into homelessness. “Gifts of Care” helps give essential support like hygiene kits to children who lack the most basic necessities. “Gifts of Literacy” distributes thousands of books annually to set the children they serve up for academic success. “Last year, even in our toughest year to service these children, we serviced over 45,000 children,” said Development Manager Melissa Tamez, “which was by far our biggest number. It makes a big difference when the community can get behind you, so we appreciate everything that everyone does for us.”
Bright Blessings | 1150 Crews Road, Suite C, Matthews | (704) 846-2329 | www.brightblessingsusa.org
A new member of the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, the Mint Hill Branch of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library wasn’t able to be present at the luncheon. Library Manager Anne Mavian encouraged Chamber members via video presentation to take advantage of the many business resources the local library has to offer: lists of companies in your target market, lists of competitors in your geographic area, names of executives to contact, industry data from nearby and around the world, content for marketing materials, and classes on using technology to increase productivity, to name a few. Bonus: all Charlotte-Mecklenburg libraries are now fine-free!
Mint Hill Branch Library | 6840 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Mint Hill | (704) 416-5200 | cmlibrary.org
Kiwanis Club of Mint Hill has a simple mission: to support children in the community. Kiwanis currently sponsors the “Perfect Kid” program for Bain Elementary, Clear Creek Elementary, JH Gunn Elementary and Lebanon Road Elementary. Through the TERRIFIC Kids Program, Kiwanis recognize children from these schools monthly who display the acronymous character traits: Thoughtful, Enthusiastic, Respectful, Responsible, Inclusive, Friendly, Inquisitive and Capable. They also give out dictionaries to every third grader at all four elementary schools and sponsor the Key Club at Independence High School, where they give out two college scholarships per year to students in the club. The Mint Hill Kiwanis meet at 12:00 pm on Wednesdays at Dunwellz, and they always welcome new members.
Kiwanis Club of Mint Hill | PO Box 23450, Mint Hill | (443) 716-6248
Two-year-old nonprofit Mending Strides empowers those suffering the effects of trauma, neglect and hardship through the use of rescued horses in equine-assisted therapies. “We also have learning programs,” said Founder and Executive Director Maria Hogge, “which are more about promoting resiliency, teaching life skills such as communication skills, assertiveness, setting boundaries and empathy, for children through adults.” This past year, Mending Strides received a grant from the Town of Mint Hill that enabled them to provide a workshop on stress for 20 members of the police department. Follow Mending Strides Ranch on Facebook for notifications about upcoming workshops and groups.
Mending Strides Ranch | 8636 Blair Road, Mint Hill | (803) 242-9426 | mendingstrides@gmail.com | www.mendingstridesranch.com
Mint Hill American Legion Post 555 is a branch of the American Legion, the nation’s largest and most powerful organization of US wartime veterans and their families. In existence since 1919, the American Legion ushered in the modern VA and has pioneered many programs that provide health care benefits for veterans and help them transition from military to civilian life. The Mint Hill American Legion Post 555 was chartered in February of 2020. They welcome veterans of all our nation’s armed forces as well as current military personnel.
Mint Hill American Legion Post 555 | PO Box 690872, Mint Hill | ncpost555@gmail.com | https://www.ncpost555.org/
The Mint Hill Historical Society aims to preserve and make available to the public historical records and artifacts pertaining to historic rural life in the Mint Hill area in order to promote interest and pride in the history of the area while also providing opportunities for cultural education of the community at large. The Historical Society is proud to soon open The Barn at the Carl J. McEwen Historical Village. Two years in the making, the 3600-square foot timber frame barn will be available for rentals after the first of the year. Its large, climate-controlled meeting space can seat up to 125 at tables or up to 250 in auditorium-style seating.
Mint Hill Historical Society | 7601 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Mint Hill | (704) 573-0726 | historical@bellsouth.net | www.minthillhistory.com
Celebrating 47 years of continuous service to the community, the Mint Hill Women’s Club has been around since 1974. Originally begun in the Farmwood neighborhood, the club currently engages in activities that promote the club’s vision of service to the community through volunteering and fundraising, social gatherings to enrich old friendships and foster new ones, and self-improvement to expand knowledge. The club’s major annual fundraiser is “Sip, Savor, Support.” Held two years ago for the first time, the auction, raffle and social soiree raised over $30K in one evening, three times more than the club had ever raised before at an annual event. Make sure to mark your calendar for the second annual “Sip, Savor, Support” at Pine Lake Country Club on Thursday, February 22.
Mint Hill Women’s Club | mhwclub@gmail.com | mhwclub.com
An outgrowth of the New Beginnings Counseling Ministry begun in September of 2010, New Beginnings Community Life Center is a resource for assistance when you are experiencing life’s challenges. They offer support groups like Grief Share and Divorce Care to support those who are going through challenging seasons of life as well as affordable basic counseling services for individuals, couples and youth. The Community Life Center is also part of the ReCast Mecklenburg Faith Healing Hubs program, which helps connect families and individuals to needed services and community resources.
New Beginnings Community Life Center | 5232 Margaret Wallace Rd, Matthews | (980) 225-9915 | www.nbclifecenter.org
September 1 marked five years since Servant’s Heart of Mint Hill opened its doors, and what a remarkable five years it’s been: in just a half decade, the community assistance program has given over one billion dollars in assistance. “We provide assistance to the residents of the 28227 zip code and to the families who have children that attend one of our Mint Hill schools,” says Social Worker Rochelle Williams, “and we assist our families who are financially struggling.” Servant’s Heart accomplishes this goal through about 12 different assistance programs such as an emergency food pantry, a nonfood pantry, client shopping experiences, one-on-one budgeting, bill pay assistance, and seasonal programs. “We are doing good things in our community,” says Williams, “and it’s only because of this town’s support.”
Servant’s Heart of Mint Hill | 9229 Lawyer’s Road, Suite N, Mint Hill | (704) 680 6533 | www.servantsheart.org
Article Written by: Mary Beth Foster
