Summer camp haven for HIV+ teens

Overnight summer camps are a rite of passage. They give teens a chance to be away from their family for more than a one-night sleepover. They get to experience things such as canoeing, hiking and making s'mores.

Teens living with HIV disease rarely experience residential summer camp, but the Safe Haven Project is changing that for Charlotte area youth. The camp is Aug. 9-16 at Lutheridge Camp Grounds & Conference Center in Arden. In its second year, the camp has doubled with 40 teens, most of who are from here.

Teenagers have incredible challenges and ones with living with HIV have an even harder time, said Jermaine Nakia Lee, N.C. camp director.

These teens can’t say their stomach hurts because of medication. Their teachers and classmates don’t understand why they have to keep leaving to use the bathroom or why they have visible rashes.

"This camp gives them solace," he said.

Safe Haven started in Martha’s Vineyard, and opened an N.C. location last year. It’s for teens, ages 13- 18, who are infected or whose parents are infected with HIV.

At the camp, teens do the typical stuff. Lee has a background in performing arts, and he incorporates that into the activities at the N.C. location. Campers will participate in a talent show, and they will participate in a body image project. They will have a professional photo shoot with a photographer and stylist so they can see their beauty, Lee said.

Boys & Girls Clubs gets $110,000

Charlotte's charitable heart shined brightly this week.

On Tuesday, I ran a story wrote about H. Keith Brunnemer Jr., who donated $75,000 to the Mental Health Association.

And I wrote about the anonymous donor who left $650 in the book drop at South County Regional library to buy children's books.

Well, the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs has big news as well. An anonymous donor quietly turned a matching $100,000 grant into a full-fledged gift this week.

Reporter Mark Price wrote about the $100,000 challenge grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs in his Saturday story about the organization's shortfall. The Boys & Girls Club lost $310,000 in United Way money. A donor gave the organization a challenge grant to encourage the community to chip in the remaining $210,000.

After reading Price's story, the donor decided to give the Boys & Girl's Clubs the money outright.

It was an incredible gift, but the organization still needs $210,000 to prevent closing two clubs and displacing hundreds of school-age kids. This week, the Boys & Girls Clubs started its official campaign to raise the remainder of the money by Sept. 10. Today, they received a $10,000 donation.

Marty Clary, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs, has reason to feel hopeful. In three days the organization received a third of the money it needs.

"We’re going to make it," he said. "We’ve got to. We’ve got over 400 kids. They’re counting on us."

The week's examples of giving offers hope to the organizations that received the money as well as those who are still hoping someone with a fat wallet and big heart will help them.

"The real value was not the amount, but the example that you don't have to solve the whole problem," said Beverly Howard, executive director of Loaves and Fishes. "You can have many pieces to solve the problem."

Social media crash course for non-profits

If you have a non-profit and you’re clueless about using social media tools then NPower’s upcoming summit is for you.

NPower is a national organization that helps charities and non-profits better use technology to achieve their goals, raise awareness and generate donations. On August 12, NPower’s Charlotte affiliate will host Strike Up an Online Conversation. The two-hour workshop will discuss how social networking can improve visibility and communication with the public.

"These are tools we believe can help organizations in a very economical way to reach out and find new volunteers, new donors and to build awareness," said Chris Meade, executive director of NPower for the Charlotte region.

The workshop is part of NPower’s Project Ignite campaign, which is a three-year program that specializes in providing information technology services to non-profit organizations. The Project consists of forums, community group collaborations and financial assistance to help groups enhance their IT structure.

NPower has already helped more than 60 organizations in the area, including private school PTAs, the Light Factory and Duke Endowment, Meade said. Project Ignite’s objective is to help non-profits use more current Web-based technology and become technological leaders.

Typically, non-profits are the last to embrace current technology, he said.
Project Ignite hopes to change that.

Strike Up an Online Conversation, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Aug. 12. Microsoft Campus, 8055 Microsoft Way, Charlotte.
To register for the workshop or get information about receiving services from NPower go to: www.npowercharlotteregion.org