Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Levine foundation on a giving spree

The Leon Levine Foundation has been on a giving spree this summer.

The latest recipients, announced late last week, are the Charlotte Mecklenburg Senior Centers, Inc. (a $10,000 grant), the Salvation Army's Boys and Girls Clubs (a $15,000 grant) and HealthQuest of Union County ($10,000), the non-profit that provides pharmaceutical assistance to low-income residents in that county.


In recent months, the foundation established by Family Dollar Stores founder Leon Levine and his wife Sandra has made it a habit of rescuing non-profit organizations strapped for money and swamped with growing needs.


A sampling: In April, the foundation gave $50,000 to Charlotte's Hope Haven -- the well-known addiction recovery program for the homeless -- to help repair a leaking roof. In May, it donated $25,000 to the financially strapped Charlotte Symphony to cover its bills. In June, the foundation committed $1 million to help Teach for America put 225 college graduates in high-poverty Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.


And last month, the Levine family decided to advance Central Piedmont Community College the first $300,000 of a $2 million gift that it was supposed to begin paying in 2010. The decision came after Levine and foundation officials read that CPCC has been hit hard by rising enrollments and cut budgets.


The first installment will provide for 150 more classes and serve 3,000 more students who would have been turned away. Lately, the school has drawn more students who can't afford four-year colleges and the laid-off in need of training for new careers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Levines epitomize generosity which knows no boundaries - racial, religious, or any others. This community owes them a giant debt of gratitude and they deserve recognition for their efforts and kindnesses. Wouldn't it be interesting if someone could analyze the number of lives they have touched? There support ranges from the least of these, our children, to our senior citizens who have given so much to our community as well.

Anonymous said...

How fortunate Charlotte is to have the genorosity of The Leon and Sandra Levine Foundation. Their support has touched so many lives in such positive ways. It is not at all surprising that, time and again, the Levines have stepped up to the plate to significantly assist the needs of so many organizations and individuals in their community, but it is surprising how few other local high net worth families and family foundations have.