“The Promise of America is for everyone.”
“No Shame in Asking for Help”
by Page LeggettCOVID has brought clients to Crisis Assistance Ministry Who Never Imagined They’d Need HelpIt’s not surprising that the number of people seeking help from Crisis Assistance Ministry as first-time clients is up significantly this year. What is surprising is where many of these new clients live. Liana Humphrey, the nonprofit’s chief marketing officer, says they’re coming from areas you might not expect – Huntersville, SouthPark, Ballantyne. The pandemic has made Crisis Assistance Ministry a lifeline for more people than ever. COVID has disproportionately impacted low-income and minority communities, but middle-class families have not been immune. Liana wants people to know: There is help. It’s confidential. And the promise of America is for everyone.
Arts, Culture and Creativity Fund Launches MondayStarting Monday, creative individuals and small and mid-sized arts, science and history nonprofit organizations based in Charlotte-Mecklenburg may apply for funding to address business interruption costs related to COVID-19 and incurred between March 1 and October 30, 2020. The Arts, Culture and Creativity Fund applications open on November 2, 2020 at 12 p.m. and close November 10, 2020 at 5 p.m. The fund was established using federal Coronavirus Relief Funding (CRF) provided through the CARES Act from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Allocations are being managed by the Arts & Science Council in partnership with Charlotte Is Creative and Hue House.
“Buy Black; Sell to Anyone” & Other Lessons from The Necessities CompanyHey! Want to do more than use the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter? Buy black. Entrepreneur Aurora Nkrumah Dixon has made it easy. Her online shop, The Necessities Company, represents Black-owned businesses selling everything from produce to prophylactics.
Illustrator Rich Barrett Rocks Out #RocktoberDiscovering effective ways to escape the monotony and anxiety of life during a pandemic can be tough. For many creatives. Finding inspiration in isolation is another hurdle still. Rich Barrett combined the two challenges into one. On his daily walks, he listens to an album he’s never heard all the way through. When he gets home, he sketches the artist and posts it on Instagram for us to enjoy in what he’s calling #Rocktober.
 Click to watch Matt and Tim talk to QC Life about HUGgees HUG Grant Recipients Are Hugging Charlotte BackLast week, Matt Olin and Tim Miner visited with WBTV’s QC Life to update them on four HUG Micro-Grant recipients (called “HUGgees”) at work in the Queen City. HUG stands for “Helpful Unfettered Gift” and is a $250 quick micro-grant awarded each month to creatives individuals, nonprofits and small businesses undertaking innovative work in the city. Click the image above to watch the video and learn about: With the more than 240 HUG alumni at work in the Queen City, they’re always up to something interesting. For example, Andrea Downs — one of the first HUGgees in 2018 — has grown her HUG-seeded project “Airing Out the ‘Dirty’ Laundry” into an exhibition of women’s stories on display at the Mint Museum Uptown through Nov. 29. See photos of the exhibition from Ernesto Moreno. 11 New HUGs in OctoberIn October, HUGS were awarded to 11 creatives, whose work ranged from producing a fashion show featuring the work of seven Black women designers at Camp North End to a campaign promoting local winemakers. See all 11 October HUGS here. The HUG Micro-Grant program is sponsored by T. Reid & Company, Savvy + Co., NoDa Brewing, Google Fiber and the Knight Foundation. To make a contribution of any size toward a HUG or apply for a HUG yourself, visit HUGGrant.com
3 Challenges Facing Charlotte Shapers Building the next generation of Charlotte leaders during a pandemic is a tough job. Yet, that’s exactly what Charlotte Shapers are trying to do. Like nonprofits across the city, the country and the world, Charlotte Shapers has had to develop new methods to engage their members and the community. “We thrive on our connections with each other. We are a community — we learn from each other, support each other, and genuinely enjoy spending time together. Most of all, we’re friends! We haven’t gotten to truly experience our community since March and we miss each other.” – Gillian Small, Charlotte Shapers Thus far, it looks like their efforts are working. But, it hasn’t been without challenges.
One of our great joys at The Biscuit is introducing you to fascinating Charlotteans you may not have met. We do that through our interviews, podcasts, photo stories and videos. From time to time, we’ll also recommend an Instagram feed we’ve found and fallen in love with. Today’s is The Bae Hive. Bae Hart, the mind and lens behind Bae Hive, recently received a HUG grant to help further her work “promoting proper representation of Black and Brown children in marketing, media and the arts.” In her application, she added that she and her colleagues “have a goal of providing positive representation of Black and Brown children in the arts and teaching these children about their importance in culture.” That’s an important mission. You can see it in action on her account. And, that’s why she’s our new best friend on Instagram. We hope she’ll be yours, too.
If you haven’t had a reason to visit ThExchange — a mutli-building office park off Tyvola Road — you do now. For the third year of Talking Walls, a week-long installation blitz of new murals painted by local and visiting artists, the organizers chose to switch up the concept. They clustered the murals at ThExchange instead of scattering them across the city. Within a week, eight selected artists created six new murals throughout the campus. They’re open to the public and, if Instagram is to be believed, already drawing photographers and art lovers from across the city. One of the admirers was our friend, photographer Brooke Brown (who shot our tour of NoDa’s new art-enhanced trash cans last week). And, she was kind enough to share. Take a “photo safari” of Brooke’s Talking Walls photographs here. Then, head out to see them for yourself. Directions: 5605 77 Center Dr.
Don’t go ’round hungry. If you missed the last batch of The Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. This batch featured: - A look at the new We Are Hip Hop mural created by 11 artists at Camp North End
- A chat with Chuck Jones of Common Wealth about helping low-income earners build wealth in a crisis
- A short flight with prolific artist and activist Lord Phly
- 5 Ridiculous Questions with Gavin Toth of Divine Barrel Brewing
- A tour of NoDa’s “artified” trash cans through the lens of Brooke Brown
- And, a bite of moonshine fruitcake at Manolo’s Bakery
Click here to dig in, y‘all.
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