Canopy Housing Foundation awards $80,000 in community grants to Charlotte-area nonprofits and youth engaged in service

Charlotte, N.C. – As consumers continue to deal with a sluggish economy and tighter finances brought on by inflation and higher cost of goods and services, Realtors® remain firmly committed to community outreach and service. Through the work of Canopy Housing Foundation, Charlotte-area Realtors® awarded more than $80,000 to support area nonprofit organizations who are addressing unmet housing needs across the Charlotte region.
More than a 120 area Realtors® and representatives from community organizations gathered for the Foundation’s annual Grants Celebration to recognize the dedication and work of 19 non-profit organizations with $55,000 in funding. The Foundation also awarded $24,500 to seven area Habitats for Humanity through the Habitat Support Program, which began in 2007 to help assist Habitats with their mission.

The celebration also recognized this year’s Youth Excellence in Service (Y.E.S.) Award recipient, 17-year-old ZaNia Stinson, and her non-profit, Z Feeds Angel Food Project. At age 9, ZaNia’s encounter with a homeless woman with two children, begging for food in front a local grocery store, left a lifetime impression on her, when her gift of $5 brought the homeless lady to tears. ZaNia knew after that chance meeting, she wanted to make a difference. During her young life, she too was quite familiar with the feeling of being hungry, cold, and scared during her time living between the Battered Woman’s shelter with her biological grandmother. Today, her foster family has become her forever family by virtue of them adopting her and they now work as a family to advance ZaNia’s desire to give back. Through her nonprofit’s mission, she has solicited funds, gone shopping for food and toiletries, and organized various groups to contribute countless hours to further her work. She developed the concept of ‘Go-Go Bags’, gallon-sized bags filled with food, drinks, toiletries and lots of love that she has distributed to the homeless. More than 2,150 food bags and more than 600 toiletry bags have been distributed by more than 500 volunteers to date. One of the most important items in each bag are words of encouragement because she wants everyone to believe that ‘life can and will get better’.

ZaNia has been widely recognized for her efforts, including commendations from the local Salvation Army Center of Hope as well as the Drew Barrymore show. She has been profiled in the national Woman’s World magazine, received a national award from Omaha Steaks, and has been chosen to participate in the Disney Dreamers Academy. She has also been recognized as the recipient of one of the ‘Points of Light’ awards and has been acknowledged by the NAACP. Other awards include being a Top 20 finalist for Nickelodeon and TIME magazine’s ‘Kid of the Year’ honor. Among the other honors mentioned, she was also recognized for being a top volunteer in the state of North Carolina with the Spirit of Community Award. Despite the many accolades that she has received, ZaNia’s overall mission is to continue to do more with a long-term goal of leveraging other people to pack and distribute the ‘Go-
Go Bags’ until they change the world…one bag at a time. ZaNia received a crystal award and $500 for her charity to continue the work of Z Feeds Angel Food Project.

Canopy Housing Foundation serves as the charitable arm of Canopy Realtor® Association and is dedicated to creating a community where all housing needs are met. The Foundation and its core of Realtor® volunteers work toward this goal through funding, education, advocacy and leadership programs that are focused on fair and affordable housing and workforce-housing initiatives.

The following organizations received Community Grants this year:

• • Beds for Kids: $3,000 to purchase 30 cribs for expectant and new mothers that are served through Beds for Kids at a cost of $100 per crib.  Realtor® referral: Cullen McNulty, McNulty Realty
  • Block Love CLT: $2,750 to purchase approximately 50 tents, 50 sleeping bags, and 50 pair of shoes and work boots for those who are homeless.  Realtor® referral: Blake Lewis, Keller Williams Realty
  • Bridge of Hearts: $3,000 to help purchase hygiene kits, pillows, snack bags and comfort items for homeless and impoverished children in the Mooresville and Iredell / Statesville School Systems as well as the public schools in northern Mecklenburg County. Funds will also be used to assist schools in creating and maintaining a fully-stocked ‘Care Cupboard’.  Realtor® referral: Stephanie Richart, Allen Tate Realtors®
  • Bright Blessings Matthews: $3,000 to support the ‘Gift of Care’ program that provides snacks, hygiene kits, stuffed animals and other comfort items to homeless and impoverished children annually in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties.  Realtor® referral: Kristi Vernon, Keller Williams Realty
  • Carolinas CARE Partnership: $2,750 to assist six families or individuals who are members of the LGBTQ community with rental assistance at a cost of $500 each.  Realtor® referral: Antwine Mitchell, Trade and Tryon Realty
  • Changed Choices: $3,000 to provide five one-month residencies in the Ruth Snyder Re-Entry Home which provides stable re-entry housing to women completing their prison sentences.  Realtor® referral: Caroline Grossman, Allen Tate Realtors®
  • Connecting The Gap: $3,000 to assist college students with emergency housing after they have experienced the loss of a parent.  Realtor® referral: Tiffany Johannes, Re / MAX Executive
  • Crisis Assistance Ministry: $3,000 to provide emergency financial assistance to families facing eviction or utility disconnection in Mecklenburg County.  Realtor® referral: Joe Naccarato, EXP Realty
  • Dahlia Grove, Inc.: $3,000 to assist in the rent of the current residential property which supports four women while in the residential program.  Realtor® referral: Alyce Walker, RE / MAX Executive
  • Davidson Housing Coalition: $3,000 to provide a matching grant to be used for a specific home repair / pilot project. Funds will also re-launch a COVID-curtailed home preservation program that will serve low-and fixed income homeowners in Davidson.   Realtor® referral: Michael Orlando, TSG Residential Real Estate
  • Dreams 4 All Foundation: $3,000 to provide twin mattress sets to community centers and families associated with the Latin American Coalition at the cost of $200 per person.  Realtor® referral: Regis Murphy, Helen Adams Realty
  • Friendship CDC: $3,000 to be utilized for financial assistance for 10 residents of My Sister’s House at a cost of $300 per resident.  Realtor® referral: Andre Tolbert, Giving Tree Realty
  • Home4Me: $3,000 to provide support for the following needs: Rental assistance for three at-risk college students living off campus, filled suitcases for five foster teens aging out of foster care, and three Bed-in-a-Bag provisions for 20 foster teens.  Realtor® referral: Antonio Worsham, Equity North Carolina Real Estate
  • Mooresville Area Christian Mission: $3,000 to be utilized to assist six families avoid eviction / homelessness at a cost of $500 per family.  Realtor® referral: Jennifer Riser, EXP Realty
  • Project Outpour: $3,000 to be utilized to purchase underwear and t-shirts for the shower guests who are homeless and without consistent shelter.  Realtor® referral: Jeff Lynch, Re / MAX Executive
  • RAIN, Inc.: $1,500 to be utilized to provide rental assistance for three families at a cost of $500 per family.  Realtor® referral: Tracy Gregg, 5 Points Realty
  • Roof Above: $3,000 to be used to provide $500 of rental assistance for six individual facing housing insecurity.  Realtor® referral: Lindsay Smith, Keller Williams
  • Smithville CommUNITY Coalition: $3,000 to be utilized for Homeownership Financial Education classes for potential homeowners; will assist five individuals at a cost of $300 per class.  Realtor® referral: Debbie Monroe and Abigail Jennings, Lake Norman Realty
  • The Relatives: $3,000 to purchase brand new, clean mattresses for 10 to 12 young adults who anticipate leaving homelessness this year as a result of graduating from the housing program.  Realtor® referral: Carolyn Taylor, Dickens Mitchener Real Estate

Canopy Housing Foundation’s Community Grants Program was launched in 2009 and awards funds to nonprofits in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood Counties that work to address housing issues. Organizations with missions that closely align with the Foundation, are able to apply annually for grants; however, each grantee must be supported by a letter of recommendation from an active Realtor®. Canopy Housing Foundation’s Habitat Support Program was formalized in 2007 and provides monetary support to area Habitat for Humanity organizations, including Habitat for Humanity Haywood County. To date, Canopy Housing Foundation has distributed over $873,000 through the Community Grants Program and the Habitat Support Program to community organizations and Habitats in the region, over the past 16 years. Applications for the annual Community Grants Program and Habitat Grants Program are rated according to community impact, project feasibility, fiscal strength and Realtor® support. Funds are restricted and must be used by December 31, 2023. Funds cannot be used for capital costs, staff/administrative
expenses or debt reduction.