Crossroads Charlotte Final Impact Report

IMPACT REPORT

APRIL 2012 www.crossroadscharlotte.org

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

03

INTRODUCTION TRACY RUSS Executive Director Crossroads Charlotte March 28, 2012 Dear fellow traveler from the crossroads, If you could see tomorrow, what would you do today?

Crossroads Charlotte has helped tens of thousands of people across the Charlotte community answer that question.

On behalf of the thousands of people and dozens of organizations across the Charlotte community who have come together through Crossroads Charlotte, I’m proud to share the story of how we have imagined our tomorrow and acted today to shape our community’s future.

Our formula for the work has drawn on a timeless dynamic: we share stories about our tomorrow, and then connect people with ways to act today to steer towards a future that works for everyone. The four stories - Fortress Charlotte, Class Act, Beat Goes On and Eye to Eye have proven to be prescient over the last several years as Charlotteans worked through economic, social and cultural challenges and created amazing achievements together.

In Emmy-nominated “Crossroads Charlotte: The Movie”, a fictitious newscaster broadcasting in our future gleefully announces that Charlotte has been shortlisted to host the Olympic Games. When the film premiered in 2009, laughter often accompanied this part of the story. Today as Charlotte prepares to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the idea seems less laughable and more inspiring.

Along our journey from the Crossroads Charlotte we started from, we’ve produced an award-winning film, been invited to Sundance, and pioneered using art from spoken word and slam poetry to drama to music to visual art to help express to each other what we see about our tomorrow that moves us to act today. Documentary films made possible by Crossroads Charlotte such as “Souls of Our Neighbors” have catalyzed action on affordable housing, and changed perceptions on interracial relationships with “Southern Blend.”

We’ve used technology to reach people that are high tech, but based in the very real need of people to simply connect.

We’ve documented over 600 stories of change through the Crossroads Correspondents program on our website, reaching millions through networks of social media, and enabled individuals to make real impact in their own neighborhoods through our Achieving Community Today (A.C.T.) Projects and Front Porch grants.

We’ve touched hundreds of thousands and involved tens of thousands directly in what has been a unique, intense civic engagement effort for any U.S. city. Through unique programs we’ve created such as Get Real and KnowIt2WorkIt, people at the grassroots have been equipped with skills and knowledge to participate in decisions being made about their future.

Leaders have learned to listen in a different way.

Many Cultures, One Community has built paths for asylees, immigrants and refugees in the city to become a part of our community, and will leave an enduring legacy that opens up access to a new home in new ways for thousands over years ahead.

language about our future and ways to act in common cause to build a home that is more accessible, more inclusive and more equitable for all of us.

We’ve backed up our vision for tomorrow with action on the ground - we have made an impact, both in direct ways that have improved people’s lives and in indirect ways as our community has changed the way it does business, leads, follows and connects.

I’m proud to offer in this report a view into those impacts.

The choices we make each day create a part of tomorrow’s story. We arrive at crossroads in life, whether as individuals, as organizations, as cities and even nations, because of the choices we’ve made in the past.

If you’ve been connected to Crossroads Charlotte, thank you. If you have not, take in what you will learn about in these pages as inspiration to get involved, to connect in your community, to be a part of crafting tomorrow instead of just choosing to wait for its arrival.

In the Learning Network, over forty organizations have found new ways to act together and create real access to real needs across Charlotte, many with the help of Crossroads Charlotte grants. Major institutions like the Arts & Science Council (ASC) and the University of North Carolina Charlotte (UNCC) have changed they way their organizations operate and have used Crossroads Charlotte as a vehicle for their own strategic planning.

A special thanks to our primary funders: Foundation For The Carolinas, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. It takes special vision and even courage to devote significant resources to an effort that was initially based on nothing more than the idea that stories might catalyze action.

Xchange Sermons has built bridges across congregations of belief and given thousands of Charlotteans different perspectives about faith, life and how we might bond, even when differences could divide us.

If you could see tomorrow, what would you do today? Try to answer that question every day.

Crossroads Charlotte has helped our community face challenges and opportunities together, giving us ways to talk in common

We’ve imagined our tomorrow, we’ve acted over many days.

TRACY RUSS truss@russcommunications.com

04

TEAM MEMBERS

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE TEAM LEADERSHIP TEAM

Tracy Russ Executive Director

Stacey Henderson Assistant Director

Brant Aycock Project Manager

Annetta Foard Program Manager

Liz Barrett Front Porch Grants

Sylvia Bittle-Patton Learning Network, Many Cultures One Community

Ana Lucia Divins Get Real 2011, Many Cultures One Community

Arissa El Amin The Cankerworm, Get Real 2011

Jason Fararooei Get Real 2011, Know It 2 Work It

Valaida Fullwood Get Real 2011, Many Cultures One Community

Charles Page Crossroads Charlotte Grants, Learning Network

Octavia Seawell Get Real 2011, Learning Network

CONSULTANT TEAM

Brandi Williams Get Real 2011, Know It 2 Work It, Souls of Our Neighbors, Southern Blend

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

05

ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTORS

Adam Roth Graphic Design

Quentin Talley Artist in Residence

CORRESPONDENT TEAM

Aleigh Acerni

Lashawnda Becoats

Crystal Dempsey

Carla Hough

Lee Howard

Tonya Jameson

Desiree Kane

Greg Lacour

Amanda Pagliarini

Justin Ruckman

Matthew Tyndall

www.crossroadscharlotte.org

06

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

PROGRAMS SHOWN (clockwise from top left): MANY CULTURES ONE COMMUNITY • XCHANGE CREWS • XCHANGE SERMONS SOULS OF OUR NEIGHBORS • ABOUT FACE :: ABOUT BLACKFACE • KNOWIT2WORKIT • ART IN THE A.M. • GET REAL 2011

C

rossroads Charlotte has pursued impactful programming using a two-pronged approach targeting the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community and the organizations that operate in our area.

Community Engagement was conducted using myriad efforts of small, medium and large scales. When needed, programming was assembled around relevant issues in the community – such as LGBT Teen Suicides as a result of bullying, or use of “blackface” in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg promotional event.

Organizational Engagement was also conducted, and a variety of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations were encouraged to create their own Crossroads Charlotte initiatives within the work that they were already doing in their communities. Crossroads Charlotte organizations are collectively known as the Learning Network.

The following is a summary of these efforts and the impact they have had in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community.

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

07

BECAUSE OF CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE:

5,725

1,500+

AND 7,407 WERE PROVIDED THROUGH

THE NEW SOUTH’S CHANGING PLACES EXHIBIT AND

SEPTEMBER 2010 TO IMPROVE LITERACY IN

PARTICIPATED IN THE ACCOMPANYING DIALOGUES.

CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG VIA CENTRAL

1444 STUDENTS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE TURN

PIEDMONT COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S 21ST

THE TABLES TEEN DIALOGUE.

VOLUNTEER HOURS WERE PROVIDED IN 2009

INDIVIDUALS HAVE ATTENDED LEVINE MUSEUM OF

CENTURY LITERACY INITIATIVE.

3,060

CHILDREN RECEIVED HEALTH CARE THROUGHOUT THE GREATER CHARLOTTE AREA TO WHICH THEY WOULD OTHERWISE NOT HAVE HAD ACCESS, THANKS TO PRESBYTERIAN HEALTH CARE’S COMMUNITY CRUISER. 7065 IMMUNIZATIONS WERE ADMINISTERED AND 1152 EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS WERE AVOIDED.

1,000+

PEOPLE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN CAROLINAS ASIAN-AMERICAN CHAMBER’S DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL – EXPOSING THEMSELVES AND FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO THE BEST FOOD AND CULTURE CHARLOTTE’S ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY CAN PROVIDE.

2,400+

1,000+

ACCESS TO LIBRARY COMPUTERS PER MONTH,

HAVE HEARD MESSAGES OF HOPE AND

AND 86 JOB RELATED TRAININGS WERE

CONNECTED TO FAITHS OTHER THAN THEIR

PROVIDED TO 506 DISPLACED WORKERS

OWN DUE TO CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S

AND/OR PATRONS AS PART OF CHARLOTTE-

XCHANGE SERMONS EFFORT

PATRONS AND/OR DISPLACED WORKERS HAD

CHARLOTTEANS IN THEIR HOUSES OF FAITH

MECKLENBURG LIBRARY’S JOB CENTERS.

1,700+

1,000+

IN AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS

RACES, ETHNICITIES, FAITH AND CULTURES—

UTILIZING THE OUTDOORS TO EXPLORE SCIENCE,

HAVE AGREED TO EAT LUNCH TOGETHER ONCE

TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH VIA

A MONTH FOR 6 MONTHS TO GET TO KNOW EACH

PARTNERS IN OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME’S LEAF &

OTHER BY PARTICIPATING IN MECKLENBURG

STEM INITIATIVE.

MINISTRIES’ FRIDAY FRIENDS INITIATIVE.

YOUTH ARE EXPECTED TO ENJOY OPPORTUNITIES

SELF-SELECTED PARTNERS--OF DIFFERENT

www.crossroadscharlotte.org

08

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BECAUSE OF CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE: 340

RESIDENTS REPRESENTING 15-18 NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE

1,000+

ATTENDED JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR

INDIVIDUALS HAVE EXPERIENCED CUISINES

APPLIED LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:

FROM OTHER CULTURES AND MADE NEW

PHASE II: AT THE CROSSROADS - BUILDING A BRIDGE TO

FRIENDS WHILE DINING TOGETHER AS PART OF

ACTION FOCUSING ON AIDING AND EMPOWERING LOCAL,

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S XCHANGE TASTES

GRASSROOTS CONSTITUENCIES, LIVING IN THE BEATTIES

INITIATIVE.

FORD ROAD COMMUNITY, TO ACTIVELY ADDRESS ISSUES THROUGH TRAINING AND SUPPORT.

826

HOURS OF SERVICE WERE PROVIDED TO 196 YOUTH THROUGH 169 VOLUNTEER INTERACTIONS BY 121 VOLUNTEERS AS PART OF YWCA’S ADOPTA-YOUTH CENTER INITIATIVE.

240

YOUTH HAVE PARTICIPATED IN AT&T’S JOB ENHANCEMENT TRAINING SKILLS (JETS) FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INITIATIVE, PREPARING THEMSELVES TO MOVE INTO THE WORKFORCE.

700+

200+

GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES RESOURCES AND

ART, LIVE POETRY AND MUSIC IN LOCATIONS

CHARLOTTEANS HAD A SAY IN HOW THE MAKES DECISIONS THROUGH CROSSROADS

CHARLOTTEANS WERE EXPOSED TO VISUAL OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL EVENING VENUES

CHARLOTTE’S GET REAL 2011 PROGRAM.

VIA CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S ART IN THE

500+

100+

IMPROVE ACCESS TO AND FOR IMMIGRANTS,

IN “THE EMERGING LATINO LEADERSHIP FORUM”,

REFUGEES, ASYLEES AND INTERNATIONALS

WHICH ENABLED THEM TO SERVE THE INTERESTS

HERE IN CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG AS PART

AND NEEDS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND

OF CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S MANY

EMPOWERED THEM TO IMPACT SOCIAL ISSUES OF

CULTURES ONE COMMUNITY.

ACCESS, INCLUSION AND EQUITY IN CHARLOTTE.

PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WORKED TO

A.M. PROGRAMMING.

LATIN-AMERICAN CHARLOTTEANS ENROLLED

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

09

“A few key aspects of the community’s social capital have

improved due to Crossroads Charlotte: the creation of “space” or

contexts, in which issues of social and inter-racial trust could be openly discussed, and the language with which to do so.”

– UNCC Project Level Evaluation Summary Report

85+

PEOPLE GATHERED TO SHARE STORIES ON COURAGE, MONEY AND TRUST AT CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S THE CANKERWORM.

60+

CHARLOTTEANS RESPONDED TO PUBLIC OUTRAGE OVER A LOCAL ESTABLISHMENT USING BLACKFACE DURING A MARKETING EVENT BY ATTENDING CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S ABOUT FACE :: ABOUT BLACKFACE DISCUSSION.

60

ADULTS AND YOUTH ATTENDED THE CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE PANEL DISCUSSION ON BULLYING GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER YOUTH AT THE BULLIED UNTIL BROKEN EVENT.

19

CHARLOTTE RESIDENTS HAVE RECEIVED UP TO $500 TO IMPACT THEIR COMMUNITIES VIA CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE’S A.C.T. (ACHIEVING COMMUNITY TODAY) PROJECTS.

www.crossroadscharlotte.org

10

LARGE ACTS, INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

LARGE ACTS, INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

GET REAL 2011

F

rom February 21 to March 11, 2011 Crossroads Charlotte led a successful large-scale community effort to give community guidance

to local elected officials entitled “Get Real 2011: Real Talk About Values, Choices and Budgets in CharlotteMecklenburg.” More than 700 individuals from 43 ZIP codes came together over 75 workshops to discuss community priorities and give guidance to city and county leaders on what they felt was most important for the future of Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

MEDIA IMPACT: Get Real 2011 was featured in The Charlotte Observer, The Charlotte Post and Creative Loafing as well as in broadcast media on WSOC, WCNC, WAXN, NC Cable 14, and WCCB. It was also mentioned numerous times on websites like QCityMetro and PraiseCharlotte, as well as radio broadcasts.

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

11

sermons XCHANGE SERMONS

I

n partnership with Mecklenburg Ministries and Temple Beth El, Crossroads Charlotte coordinates a citywide clergy sermon exchange! With an

overall theme of improving race relations and ethnic understanding, the exchanges launch in January, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, and continue through May. More than 50 faith leaders and their congregations have participated in the past three years, and this number continues to grow. Thousands of Charlotteans in their houses of faith have heard messages of hope and connecting as a community through this effort.

MEDIA IMPACT: For the past three years, Xchange Sermons has been featured multiple times in the Charlotte Observer, in addition to articles in The Charlotte Post and Business Leader. Online presence has included QCityMetro, house of faith websites (eg. Myers Park United Methodist Church and Temple Israel), CLTblog, BlueRidgeNow, WPEG, Asian Chamber of Commerce newsletter, and WTKR News Channel 3 website. Broadcast coverage appeared on NC News 14 (aired 14 times!), WCCB, and WBT News Talk Radio. www.crossroadscharlotte.org

12

LARGE ACTS, INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

MANY CULTURES ONE COMMUNITY (MCOC)

D

uring the month of November 2011, Crossroads Charlotte presented a 30day series of community-wide events and workshops looking to build trust across ethnic, racial, and cultural differences as well as improving access to

Immigrants, Refugees, Asylees and Internationals (IRAIs) in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, specifically by introducing an online directory of resources for this population – named The MAP (Mecklenburg Access Portal).

The effort included a strong communication and awareness campaign about trust across differences and the real stories of the Immigrant community. It culminated with a community-wide event highlighting the most relevant topics and resources for creating access for the IRAI community and building trust across cultures.

Approximately 500 individuals attended the MCOC events during November and early December 2011. As of January 2012, more than 35 organizations had created profiles on The MAP.

MEDIA IMPACT: MCOC attracted attention in many of Charlotte’s English- and Spanish-language media.

It was written about in The Charlotte Observer and Lake Norman News, La Noticia and Que Pasa, and the Center for International Understanding at UNC Newsletter. News14 did a broadcast about the effort, and FOX News Rising commentator Mary Curtis also discussed it on the air.

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

13

SOULS OF OUR NEIGHBORS: FEARS, FACTS & AFFORDABLE HOUSING (ongoing) “Souls of Our Neighbors” (SOON) is an effort to increase public support for affordable housing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg that is centered on a concentrated 30-day campaign led by Crossroads Charlotte, Mecklenburg Ministries and Temple Beth El. The campaign will be managed by a volunteer committee and facilitated under the umbrella of Crossroads Charlotte, and launch in Spring 2012.

MEDIA IMPACT: SOON has been written about multiple times in the Charlotte Observer as well as receiving coverage on News14 Carolina and WSOC-TV. It was also featured on QCityMetro website.

www.crossroadscharlotte.org

14

MEDIUM ACTS, INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

MEDIUM ACTS, INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS KNOW IT 2 WORK IT KnowIt2WorkIt (KIWI) is a civic education and outreach campaign that equips citizens with the tools to become effective grassroots organizers, community advocates and participants in the governmental decision-making process in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community. Thus far, there have been 10 KIWI events, including 6 Civic Summer School courses for 38 “students”, with more pending.

MEDIA IMPACT: KIWI has gotten a lot of broadcast attention, with multiple mentions on WBTV and also a feature by Mary Curtis on FOX News Rising.

Online presence has included the Praise Charlotte website. It has also been featured by Charlotte on the Cheap and QNotes.

XCHANGE CREWS In partnership with the Charlotte Dragon Boat Festival and the Charlotte Asian Festival, Crossroads Charlotte is proud to present Xchange Crews.

As part of the Dragon Boat Festival, Crossroads Charlotte assembles teams to race on Dragon Boats during the event. Each team consists of 25 individuals age 15 years or older, and teams race three times during the day. Between races, team members get to experience the best of Asian culture at the Asian Festival. Crossroads Charlotte has raced teams the past two years.

MEDIA IMPACT: Xchange Crews has been featured by Charlotte on the Cheap and the WCNC website.

CROSSROADS CHARLOTTE IMPACT REPORT

15

XCHANGE TASTES The Taste of the World event annually provides an opportunity for participants to savor the miles of flavor in East Charlotte’s culturally diverse district via guided bus tours. A favorite of Charlotte epicureans, Taste of the World is founded and organized by E.A.S.T. (Eastland Area Strategies Team). Participants in Taste of the World not only get to sample the various cuisines, but via Crossroads Charlotte Xchange Tastes also have an opportunity to interact with each other and the owners of the restaurants in which they are dining. Crossroads Charlotte guides conversations and encourages participants to meet others during the experience. Each year, 350 tickets are sold (totaling 1050 individuals since CC involvement) and participants experience other cultures through the cuisine offered by a selection of 27 restaurants thus far, with more being added each year!

MEDIA IMPACT: Xchange Tastes/Taste of the World has been mentioned in The Charlotte Observer and the Charlotte Examiner.

www.crossroadscharlotte.org