Good Friends Charlotte Announces $32,000 Digital Divide Donation to Support Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Contribution from Women’s Organization Provides Digital Access
to Several Hundred Students Attending Title I Schools
Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 9, 2020 – Good Friends Charlotte, a women’s non-profit organization supporting local individuals and families with financial resources to improve lives and inspire hope, is pleased to announce that thanks to more than $12,000 donated from membership and trustees, Good Friends Charlotte is donating $32,000 to fully support internet connectivity for students at Hidden Valley and Windsor Park elementary schools.
When recent reports showed that more than 19,000 CMS students were without internet access for online learning, a Good Friends’ Board Trustee quickly inquired about how to help. Not only did this Trustee make her own gift to support digital learning, she gathered her good friends to donate as well.
“Our organization is founded on the idea that we work toward funding financial gaps that cause fragility in families’ lives which are many times not served by other non-profits,” says Board President, Anne McPhail. “Our nimbleness and niche is to do many small things that empower the greater good.”
Good Friends organized around the need, identified the places they could most help, and donated additional financial resources to ensure a maximum number of students could be served.
Good Friends Charlotte was started by four good friends gathering their friends every December to give, and the funds are distributed for unmet, unexpected needs which financially burden families in the Charlotte community. Sometimes that is a washer and dryer so that a mom doesn’t have her kids on a bus back and forth to the laundromat at night. Other times it is a utility payment, medical device, or a computer.
This year COVID-19 has brought many twists to families’ lives. Fortunately, Good Friends has been able to find extra ways to help including a partnership with Baby Bundles, assistance with safe shelter in apartments and hotels, and providing meals for veterans. Our organization has diligently worked to meet these critical needs and established a COVID-19 Relief Fund to try to further serve the Charlotte community this year.
“The need is great, the need is now” are words echoing among Good Friends Charlotte right now. The 2020 annual holiday luncheon – the main source of income for future years – will be different, but stay tuned. These forever friends are not giving up on what “good they can do,” and on Thursday, December 10, we plan to band together and create new ways to uphold our friendships and give to our community.
To learn more about Good Friends and this year’s event, as well as how to become a member, visit GoodFriendsCharlotte.org.
About Good Friends
Good Friends is a women’s non-profit organization supporting local individuals and families with financial resources to improve lives and inspire hope. Launched in 1987 by four good friends including Catherine Browning, Alice Folger, Sally Saussy, and Patty Norman – Good Friends now boasts over 900 active members and has raised more than $5 million dollars for the Charlotte community through its annual holiday luncheon. Visit GoodFriendsCharlotte.org to learn more.
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