Enlarge Michael Jordan, benefactor to CMS. (Photo by Jeff Siner, The Charlotte Observer)

Posted: August 31st, 2010 Greg Lacour

Some stories worth sharing this week:

• Catholic Social Services receives a flood of donations--more than $11,000-–for its burial assistance program after an Observer story last week on the program’s fund running low.


• More than 1,100 people volunteered over the weekend in Union County for the United Way of Central Carolina’s annual “Day of Caring.”


• Felicia Haywood, a Charlotte respite care worker for Easter Seals United Cerebral Palsy, learned she’ll be going to Washington on Sept. 13 to receive a national award. “I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to receive this award,” she said, “and while I appreciate the recognition, the real message is how important it is to care for others--your heart receives the biggest gift of all.”


• Charlotte Bobcats owner and NBA legend Michael Jordan gave $250,000 to help fund middle school athletics in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. At a time of massive budget cuts in CMS, it’s the largest-ever donation to the school system’s athletic programs.


• A warning about school bullying with a Charlotte angle: The 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reveals some troubling news about bullying on CMS campuses. Sadly, social media provide a new outlet for kids to get picked on. Are you paying attention to what’s going on in your kids’ lives?

Posted: August 26th, 2010 Tonya Jameson

The Women’s equality movement could use a cause celebré. It needs another Hillary Clinton to rally pantsuit-wearing professional women. It needs another Sarah Palin to rally folksy stay-at-home-moms.  
              
I came to this realization while covering the Women’s Equality Day: Celebrating Women: Past, Present and Future event hosted by The Mecklenburg County Women’s Advisory Board at the Levine Museum of the New South on Monday. The event drew more than 75 women of all ages eager to celebrate and reflect on the advances women have made. They also discussed the hurdles women still face.
           
“We’re not there yet, but we’ve certainly made huge strides,” said Sally McMillan, history professor at Davidson College.
           
We know the strides--women hold public offices, they’re CEOs of major companies and they’re a majority of our college graduates. We also know the challenges--they’re victims of domestic violence, they don’t receive equal pay and many can’t afford childcare.
           
The problem is the hurdles aren’t polarizing enough. McMillan admits it's tough getting her students at Davidson to be interested in women’s history and women’s struggle for equality. The problem is that the struggle for women’s equality is simply history for today’s younger generation. They can’t relate to the struggles of their foremothers. It easy to see a Clinton, a Palin or even an Oprah and feel disconnected from the fight that opened the door for them.
           
Affordable daycare, stiffer domestic violence penalties and equal pay seem more like part of the everyday life than a cause for protest. The Women’s Equality event at the Levine was an important reminder that these issues shouldn’t be accepted as part the daily routine. They are reasons for today's women to fight and protest so their daughters can benefit from the gains they've made.

Posted: August 24th, 2010 Aleigh Acerni

Crossroads Charlotte occasionally spotlights individuals who are improving the city's social capital.

Last summer, after hearing women pick themselves apart in front of the mirror and realizing she was guilty of it herself, Caitlin Boyle scribbled, “You are beautiful!” on a sticky note, stuck it to a mirror in a public bathroom, and left it there for someone else to find — snapping a picture for her blog.

It was a small, impulsive act, but it kick-started a movement.

Once word of Caitlin’s simple gesture started to spread, women around the country (and the world) started sending in pictures of their own uplifting messages, left on signs, gym scales, mirrors, inside books, and anywhere else negative thoughts tend to lurk.

The project snowballed into Operation Beautiful, a web site that shares images of the positive notes, and a newly released book, Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time.

Boyle’s message of positivity resonates with women (and men) all over the world — and it’s found a home right here in the Queen City. “One neat thing that happened in Charlotte recently was at the Run For Your Life four-miler,” Boyle says. “A group of five or six girls made signs on their backs with inspirational quotes. There were so many people high five-ing us.”

Keep Reading

Posted: August 17th, 2010 Greg Lacour

Some stories worth sharing this week:

1. Two tales of young--very young--ladies lending their good hearts and skills to a pair of worthy causes: Five-year-old Izzi Gorden selling lemonade and kids’ outfits to raise money for CMC-Pineville’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; and Carson LaBelle of Troutman organizing a walk and bicycle rides to benefit the Charlotte chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
2. Coverage of a small but hardy group of citizens trying to make a difference for African-Americans in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
3. Serendipity through local TV news: WBTV’s “Pass 3 On” segment stumbles on someone trying to help minority communities in Charlotte.
4. The story of an organization called Classroom Central that’s trying to help teachers who have to reach into their own pockets to buy school supplies for their students.
5. Finally, a post by our own Rhiannon Bowman about a thrilling evening at the Levine Museum of the New South--five women sharing poems in multiple languages as part of the museum’s Verano Multicultural series, in the process trying to build more bridges among cultures and nationalities.