Girls on the Run, a non-profit based in Charlotte, and its founder Molly Barker are on a mission to inspire 3rd to 8th grade girls to, “Celebrate their bodies, Honor their Voices; Embrace their Gifts and Activate their Power.” As a mother to a pre-adolescent girl, Molly understands the importance and need for conversations around puberty and growing up, especially as girls cross the bridge from little girl to woman-hood. She has the following tips on how girls can stay healthy, motivated and be fearless as they celebrate their Amazing Arms, amazing legs and amazing spirits with total confidence during

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Kings Mountain native Terri Mullis deBruin needs a lifesaving lung transplant, and volunteers are planning a pancake breakfast to help with the expenses. In 2004, deBruin first noticed troubling symptoms, such as redness and swelling in her hands. She saw a rheumatologist and was later diagnosed with systemic scleroderma, an autoimmune disease causing her immune system to attack her body, especially her lungs. Doctors say a lung transplant is her only hope. A lung transplant costs approximately $450,000. Even with health insurance, deBruin faces significant medical expenses. For the rest of her life, she will need follow-up care and daily

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An after-school program at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle is grooming 100 students for careers in video production. The students participate in Citizen Schools, a national after-school program that organizes apprenticeships for low-income students. Since January, students have been working with volunteers from Bank of America, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Latta Plantation to learn about finance, dance, forensics, video game design and event planning. For their final project, each student wrote and produced a segment for a 40-minute video related to the topics they learned about during the 10-week session. The segments include a public service

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When Carnival Cruise Lines inaugurates year-round service from Charleston, S.C., May 18, 2010, the charming historic city will become Charlotte residents’ closest port of departure for a drive-to cruise vacation. The 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy will operate five-, six- and seven-day voyages to the Bahamas, Key West, Fla., and Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands from historic downtown Charleston’s passenger terminal. According to Marie Mosley, director of leisure travel operations for Charlotte-based Mann Travels, local residents are fond of cruise vacations. So fond, she said, her clients already were willing to drive to the closest ports of departure —

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The City of Charlotte Neighborhood and Business Services Department is now accepting applications for the Neighborhood Energy Challenge; a program encouraging neighbors to join forces to develop innovative and practical strategies for improving their neighborhoods’ energy use. The program is open to any neighborhood association or homeowners association in Charlotte that has been established for at least three months. Up to five neighborhoods will be selected from the entire city to participate, regardless of location or economic conditions. Those selected will receive monies from two different pools of funding; one focused on developing improvements that benefit an entire neighborhood, such

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Four community organizations have come together to create Souls of Our Teachers, a documentary film examining the first-hand experiences, challenges and insights of public school teachers across the Charlotte area. Mecklenburg Ministries, Temple Beth El, Communities in Schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools collaborated on the documentary, intended to be used as a tool to recruit effective teachers to the most challenging schools; to inform parents and the community about the importance of active involvement and support for public education; and to encourage volunteerism in public schools. The powerful half-hour documentary was produced by Professional Communications, a Matthews-based video production company. “Quality

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Dr. Maya Angelou, world-renowned poet, actress and civil rights activist, returns to Charlotte for a much-anticipated event honoring women leaders and raising scholarship money for deserving students through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). The Eighth Annual UNCF-Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Luncheon will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 19, at The Westin Charlotte (601 S. College St.). The 2010 honorees, who have made significant contributions to their professions and the community, are: Astrid Chirinos, founder and president of Diverso Global Strategies; Cynthia Marshall, president of AT&T North Carolina and Tami Simmons, senior vice president of corporate

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Less than a month after sharing an initial sneak preview of participating wineries, the number of vintners scheduled to provide tastings at the Lake Norman Wine and Food Festival has more than doubled. During the June 5-6, 2010 festival at Kenton Place in Cornelius, NC, attendees will have an opportunity to experience the selection and diversity of North Carolina wineries while benefiting local charitable organizations. “From Chardonnay to Viognier, the Festival has a little something for everyone and will include a variety of sweet, semi-sweet, dry and desert wines. Many of the participating wineries produce only a limited number of

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Crosland announces several new retailers and services throughout four quaint specialty shopping centers in Myers Park. These announcements are representative of the trend of retailers wanting to locate within high-quality neighborhoods to make shopping as convenient as possible for their customers. “Myers Park remains one of the most desirable historic neighborhoods in Charlotte and retains attractive demographics with higher incomes and moderate population density which is appealing to retailers for site selection,” said Charles Thrift, senior leasing associate with Crosland Investment Services, who represented the property owners on the transactions, Eastern Federal Corporation and Crosland. Tranquil Court on Selwyn Metro

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On May 7th, 2010, luxury denim-lifestyle brand, 7 For All Mankind, will open its first branded retail store in Charlotte. The new store, the brand’s 24th, will be located at The SouthPark Mall – Charlotte’s premiere shopping destination. The 2,100 square foot space is located in the Southpark Mall, situated in the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina. This luxury shopping destination is also home to other high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus and Hermes. Customers will be able to shop the brand’s full assortment of women’s and men’s denim and sportswear, footwear and eyewear. 7 For All Mankind

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