1,000 turkeys for 1,000 families!

Thanksgiving may be over, but here at Common Heart we can't help but feel so thankful for the amazing generosity our community showed this Thanksgiving!  

We reached our Great Turkey Countdown goal of providing 1,000 turkey meals for 1,000 local families in need! How did we do it?

• 273 individual donors, families and businesses collected cash and/or Thanksgiving meal items 
• 250 volunteers packing meals for families (including several large groups from: Elevation Church; Boy Scout Troop 151 in Lake Park; and the Parkwood JV & Varsity basketball teams). 
• 175 driver teams taking the meals to our families in need 

THANK YOU to everyone who helped us make this year's 

Great Turkey Countdown 

a great success! 

Love in Action Fundraising a big success!

About 350 people gathered at Weddington United Methodist Church Friday, Oct. 23 for Common Heart's 7th annual Love in Action Fundraising Banquet.

This year's banquet also featured a buffet with food donated by more than 20 local restaurants, a variety show and silent auction.                            

This year's Love in Action honorees were:

• The Mary & Martha Sunday School Class, from the First Baptist Church of Indian Trail, also was honored as the Partner of the Year.
• Love in Action Awards were presented to Common Heart's volunteers of the year:
• Connie Lightner, of Indian Trail, was named Common Heart Volunteer of the Year
• Deb Adams, of Weddington, was named Common Things Volunteer of the Year
• Rick Hepner, of Mint Hill, was named Common Cupboard Volunteer of the Year

The final numbers are in and our 7th annual Love in Action Fundraising Banquet raised $26,582.83 for local hungry families –that's $1,582.83 MORE than this year's goal!  THANK YOU!

More than $15,000 of that amount was raised by Common Heart Booster Teams – local supporters, who gathered as teams to collect donations for Common Heart in the weeks leading up to the banquet. Boosters shared Common Heart’s story and asked folks to donate using social media, text, email and face-to-face interactions with family, friends, coworkers etc. as well as an online mobile app for collecting and tracking donations.  These folks did an amazing job! Thank you!!

Booster Campaign Results by team:
1st Place: $2,407.83 Elevation (Bill & Wendy Ulrich, Paul and Christina Sanders, and Jane Hutchko)
2nd Place: $2,285 Common Things Thrift Store (Connie Lightner, Dana Hinson, and Debra Adams)
3rd Place: $2,240 Care Bears (Fournier Family and Friends) The students did some exceptional food drive work in their elementary school, too!
4th Place: $1,960 Board of Directors (Darren Greene, Joy Odom, Cheri Bankhead, Traci Dawson, Kate Simon, and Johanna Miller)
5th Place: $1,550  Bankhead/Bennett Friends and Family (Rick and Katie Gooding, Ben Jackson, Tyler Furr, Victoria Bennett, Raleigh Bankhead)
6th Place: $1,435  Common Cupboard Drivers (Robert and Michelle Tossas, John Plack, and Ken Holloway)

Free tax service

Love preparing income taxes? Willing to learn?  We need you!

We're seeking volunteers to be trained to provide free income tax preparation for local residents.

This is the fifth year Common Heart has offered free tax services, which are completed by trained and certified volunteers as part of the national Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program. Individuals and families with annual incomes of $52,000 or less are eligible for the free assistance.

In 2015, our volunteers filed 279 income tax returns -- 121 more than last year. The service saved residents an estimated $65,000 in tax preparation fees and got them more than $360,000 in total refunds.                                                  

Our free tax service helps take the stress out of tax time and allows our hard-working neighbors to use the money they save on tax preparation fees for other needs, like food, rent or medical bills. We serve people from all walks of life – college students, teachers, hair stylists, retail staff, local government employees and retirees.

Free training will be held Dec.7-10 from 6-9 p.m. at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe, with a certification lab in January. 

For more information about the program, visit http://CommonHeart.org.

To volunteer to become trained for the program, email Susan.Ochs@CommonHeart.org.

1,000 hungry families!

Calling all turkeys! We need help to provide 1,000 frozen turkeys with all the fixin's to 1,000 local families in need so they can prepare their own Thanksgiving feasts.

That's right ... our Great Turkey Countdown is here!     

You can drop off frozen turkeys and other related nonperishables like canned fruits and vegetables, boxed potatoes, stuffing mix, gravy etc., at our Common Things Thrift Store, 321 Indian Trail Road North, Indian Trail, Tues.-Sat. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you have a lot to donate and/or 10 or more turkeys to donate, email CommonHeart@CommonHeart.org to make an appointment for drop off at our Common Cupboard food pantry.

Cash donations are also needed! Every $20 raised buys a turkey and some of the fixin's. To donate online, visit http://Turkeys.CommonHeart.org.

And don't forget about volunteering! Hundreds of volunteers will be needed at our Common Cupboard food pantry, on Saturday, Nov. 21 from 6:30 a.m. to Noon to pack and deliver the 1,000 Thanksgiving dinner baskets. Sign up online at http://Turkeys.CommonHeart.org.

The baskets will benefit families throughout Union County, southeast Charlotte, Matthews and Mint Hill.

This all-hands-on-deck volunteer event is the Cupboard's biggest delivery day. Seven years ago, when we started, we gave away just over 100 Thanksgiving baskets. Last year – thanks to the community's generosity – we surpassed our goal and delivered 840 baskets to local families in need. This year, we hope that we can serve at least 1,000 families. 

The Countdown started in 2007. Today, the tradition continues at Facebook.com/TheCommonHeart.

Just $250 short!

Our 7th annual Love in Action Fundraising Banquet raised $24,750 for local hungry families – just $250 short of this year's goal!   

Over half of that amount was raised by Common Heart Booster Teams – local supporters, who gathered as teams to collect donations for Common Heart in the weeks leading up to the banquet. Boosters shared Common Heart’s story and asked folks to donate using social media, text, email and face-to-face interactions with family, friends, coworkers etc. as well as an online mobile app for collecting and tracking donations.  (If you can help us reach our goal, visit CommonHeart.org).

About 350 of our friends gathered at Weddington United Methodist Church Friday, Oct. 23 for the banquet which featured a buffet with food donated by more than 20 local restaurants, a variety show and silent auction.

Love in Action Awards were presented to Common Heart's volunteers of the year:

• Connie Lightner, of Indian Trail, was named Common Heart Volunteer of the Year
• Deb Adams, of Weddington, was named Common Things Volunteer of the Year
• Rick Hepner, of Mint Hill, was named Common Cupboard Volunteer of the Year

The Mary & Martha Sunday School Class, from the First Baptist Church of Indian Trail, also was honored as the Partner of the Year.