2 Playgrounds – 1 Goal

Playground 1: Brody Thompson Memorial Playground at Stumpy Creek Mooresville

The ultimate goal with the Brody Thompson Foundation and the creation of the Brody Thompson Memorial Playground is to provide a positive influence on the community and to preserve Brody’s lasting impression. The playground will be a safe and uplifting space for children to play and interact with each other.

The Brody Thompson Foundation was started to memorialize Jay and Amy Thompson’s son Brody, who passed away in a tragic accident when he was only two years old. In the short time he was on this earth, he impacted so many people.

Brody was born on December 31, 2011 in Mooresville, NC at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center. He was a complete ray of sunshine to all whom he met. There was never a person big or small that didn’t witness his glowing smile and contagious laughter.

Following the great success of our 2017 CLT Winter Enrichment Camp,  our 2018 CLT Summer Enrichment Camp, our 2018 Winter Enrichment Camp and our 2019 Summer Enrichment Camp we want to scale our impact and reach more kids in Charlotte!

The free Boys Summer Enrichment camp at Johnson C Smith University for boys 8-12 years old impact the lives of 150 children/event. Each day we feed the kids, have athletic training (football, basketball, kickball) and academic sessions. We introduce them to different tradesmen, entrepreneurs, policemen and firemen who share their personal stories with the boys. We also give them a tour of the college to show them different paths of life.

Our goal for 2020 is to launch a free Girls Impact Enrichment camp. For this camp we plan to spend time on health, academics, career potential and other topics girls struggle with as well as sports activities.

We are currently searching for reliable volunteers as coaches/ mentors/ counselors/ presenters and picking locations in the Iredell/Mecklenburg community.  The newest piece is a simulated business activity where the kids work in teams to build a new business; complete with choosing product/service, designing branding, developing budgets and marketing. Our presenters from these fields as well as other tradesman, safety workers and public service workers will provide the children a plethora of opportunities they can reach for, reminding them they aren’t limited to only their current surroundings.

Our list of needs and in-kind donations includes:

• youth league footballs
• youth league basketballs
• kickballs
• soccer balls
• $500 breakfast sponsor
• $300 Amazon gift cards (paying for towels, first aid kits, hand sanitizers, etc.)
• $150 Walmart gift cards (paying for food service gloves, nametags, cleaning supplies, etc.)
• $1,200 beverage sponsor (water and sports drinks)
• $1,200 fruit and snack sponsor (apples, bananas, granola bars, etc.)

If you would like to get involved financially or volunteer, donate here or contact DMcKee@MakeAnImpactNow.org

Jr Aviator Flight Plan
Ages 7-18

Flight Bag
Introducing Aviation to children who don’t have access to STEM resources by providing bags with aviation related items.

Flights Events
Developing events that bring aviation to children with a passion for aviation.

Curriculum/Clubs

• Partnering with local school systems to introduce aviation clubs as extracurricular opportunities
• Partnering with current EAA Chapters to immerse aviation excited children in the next steps of their flight plan.

Scholarships
Providing financial assistance to students who’ve followed the AOPA curriculum or are a part of EAA and are ready for the final flight test.  Criteria TBD

WHAT:  I Got Next- Jamaica Soccer Camp
WHEN:  August 3rd – 7th 2020
WHERE:  Falmouth Trelawny, Jamaica

• To provide an exchange experience for US born young women soccer players to evolve their cultural skills and give back to the sport they love.

WHAT:  I Got Next- United States Soccer Camp
WHEN:  
WHERE:  North Carolina, USA

Many children dream of spending a real week of summer camp at the YMCA’s Camp Harrison. As they finish 5th grade and head to middle school, it’s important for children to have the opportunity to explore nature and to gain exposure to different people, environments and activities. They need time and space to figure out who they are and who they want to be! The experience of even one week at summer camp can change a child’s life.

Become a part of this impact by allowing students to partake in this summer camp that will allow them to LEARN, GROW and HAVE FUN!

The cost to sponsor 1 child for summer camp is $1,500

 This covers:

• cost for camp
• swimsuit, towel, sleeping bag, toiletries
• transportation to and from camp

 Thank you for making an impact for a child in need with your sponsorship!

The Sur De Charlotte Composite Team brings an opportunity for 6th through 12th graders in the areas south and south-east of Charlotte, NC to join a mountain biking team as a part of the North Carolina Interscholastic Cycling League.  Our team shares the core values of Strong Mind, Strong Body, Strong Character; Inclusivity & Equality while striving to compete in interscholastic mountain bike races across North Carolina. 

The Sur de Charlotte MTB team is lead by trained and certified coaches guided by framework of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. We aim to support every student-athlete in the development of strong body, strong mind and strong character through their efforts on the bike.  

Our team will:

• Promote athlete skills development, excellence, teamwork, professionalism and respect for the community and the environment;
• Promote the sport of mountain biking and the benefits of mountain biking as a healthy, low impact, outdoor recreational lifestyle;
• Receive leadership and governance from a national organization with comprehensive policies, rules and guidelines to establish fair rules of play and codes of conduct;
• Ensure all of our coaches & volunteers receive comprehensive Coaches Training and Licensing program to establish and maintain national standards and best practices;
• Give back to our sport and our community as advocates for the natural areas and parklands, mountain bike trail access, and the development of sustainable trail systems.

BRAVE empowers girls through travel and adventure to become leaders and advocates for themselves, their communities, and the environment. 

The BRAVE SA-US Girls Rights Road Trip is a joint partnership between the U.S. Consulate Cape Town and BRAVE, a South African non-profit organization that inspires and invests in girl leaders, to bring together high school-aged girl activists from both countries for a two-way road trip exchange program taking South African girls to the U.S. and American girls to South Africa. The program will focus on youth activism with a view toward combating gender-based and gun violence and HIV/AIDS rates among youth of color in both countries as well as inspiring increased civic engagement and political participation by girls. 

About BRAVE 

BRAVE inspires and invests in girl leaders across the African continent. We create opportunities for girls, and work with those who can provide the resources, knowledge, experience, and safety that girls need to lead. We are girl-led, and use the challenge of travel and adventure to empower girls from underserved communities to tell their own stories, acquire critical skills, and build networks to assist with education, health care, economic empowerment and safety. BRAVE uses an innovative, unconventional approach, training girls from urban and rural areas to become advocates for themselves, then taking them on road trips across their own countries, and beyond, to advocate for others. 

BRAVE was founded by a group of ten year old girls from Manenberg, South Africa, in 2010 who wanted to make their school safer – and who call themselves Rock Girls after the anti-apartheid slogan used by women, “When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” Since then BRAVE has reached over 500 girls through its after school, weekend, and holiday programmes and camps, creating safe spaces for girls, engaging them in conversations involving critical issues impacting youth and exposing them to opportunities to improve critical thinking skills, build camaraderie and gain the confidence to become resilient, engaged, informed citizens. BRAVE works closely with the art and design and travel industries to find alternative, sustainable ways to continue their work, and to raise awareness in innovative, provocative ways, including the installation of 58 public Safe Space benches around Cape Town to raise awareness about violence against girls and women. In some communities, 1 in 5 girls under the age of 18 have been a victim of sexual violence.  

Since 2015, BRAVE Rock Girls have traveled thousands of kilometres across South Africa on annual road trips throughout South Africa to interview, record, and give voice to the plight of South African girls, including the high rates of South African girls who are victims of gender-based violence and growing rates of exposure to HIV. Over 80% of the girls who participated in previous road trips have personally experienced gender-based violence, even they were not selected for this reason. BRAVE has partnered with Tswalu, Singita, San Parks, Cape Nature, Protea Hotels and many others to host the girls on the Road Trips and is currently planning a Road Trip to Kenya in 2019. 

For more info, contact India Baird on india.baird@gmail.com or +27 82 734 4569. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRAVE.Rockgirl/ 

Instagram: @braverockgirl @instaBRAVE2018 @100girls4mandela 

Twitter: #rockgirlexplore