National Pawn, a North Carolina-based retailer with two Charlotte locations, is outfitting an entirely new technology center for the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club on Marsh Road. The tech center donation will include 10 new desktop computers to replace antiquated ones, which were more than a decade old and not functional for students. National Pawn is also gifting the Club with $2,000 for software upgrades, staff training and future repair costs to make the center immediately useable, and sustainable for years to come.

The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte serves more than 85 students from ages 6-18, and computers are often used for homework, career exploration, learning STEM skills and playing enrichment games. The donation will allow the Club to completely replace all previous computers available to students, and also comes at a time where the Club expects an increase in members and the amount of time they spend onsite with school out for the summer.

“Many of our students do not have access to computers in their homes, so having these resources in the Club is crucial for them. Unfortunately, so many of the computers we currently have crash while students are mid-project and many files can’t even be opened because the devices are incompatible with modern software and programs,” said Marty Clary, director of the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Charlotte. “These new computers will be such a game-changer for our members and their continued education outside the classroom!”

Spent the day with this #TeenServiceWeek crew from @stpeterscatholic at @salvationarmyclt #boysandgirlsclub in the #belmontneighborhood. Fun upon fun. We made catapults and oobleck and friends.

A post shared by Christine Dryden (@christinedryden) on Jul 19, 2016 at 9:29pm PDT

The new technology center will be unveiled with a donation ceremony at the Marsh Road Club Thursday, June 14, which will include staff from the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte, 75 Club students and National Pawn representatives. The donation is part of the retailer’s ongoing commitment to give back to local communities, especially underprivileged youth.

“As an Eagle Scout, giving back to the community is something that we do every day,” said Bob Moulton, founder of National Pawn. “The look of surprise on the kids’ face when they see this gift, and knowing they’ll be able to use these computers for years to come, is what I always dreamed I’d be able to accomplish.”

For those looking to contribute to the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs’ new tech center, National Pawn is collecting tablets and any other tech donations to further arm the Club with additional resources from the community. To donate a tablet or other device, bring it to any National Pawn store and mention the device is a donation for the Club.

If you live in or around Uptown Charlotte, your trips to the grocery store just got a bit easier with the grand opening of Center City’s first full-sized grocery store.

At 9am this morning, Whole Foods Uptown will be opening its doors to the public for the first time.

According to Whole Food’s official press release, the new store will feature a full selection of organic produce, frozen foods, and canned and boxed goods, as well as a;

• Coffee bar
• Wine and beer bar
• Genji sushi station with MAS! bowls (a blend of Korean and Latin flavors)
• Burrito and sandwich stations
• Pizza bar
• Our signature hot and cold bars
• Full catering menu

Whole Foods notes their new store is, “located right off the LYNX light rail, Whole Foods Market Uptown will be housed in the new Novel Stonewall Station development, directly across from the Charlotte Convention Center and NASCAR Hall of Fame. The store will also sit conveniently next to the intersection of the South End and Dilworth neighborhoods.”

Just before the official opening, a line of Whole Foods fans and hungry Uptown residents could be seen stretching around the block;

Today is the grand opening of Whole Foods in uptown! 400 E. Stonewall St. 📸: @hopfrogie #goodeats #organic #grassfedbeef #grassfedmeats #grassfed #eatbetter #health #healthylifestyle #healthyfood

A post shared by Charlotte Social Status (@charlottesocialstatus) on Jun 13, 2018 at 6:39am PDT

Are you excited about Charlotte’s newest Whole Foods?

This summer, CMS is planning on giving thousands of parents a bit of relief by providing free healthy meals to our Charlotte kids.

Over 50 school campuses around our city will start giving out the meals starting this week.

The new “Lunch Express” program is primarily targeted at assisting children in low-income areas during the summer when they’re out of school.

The new program is being primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and managed by the NC Department of Public Instruction. All funds spent on the lunches by CMS will be reimbursed.

Here is the complete summer meals program schedule for CMS;

You can find out more about the program here on CMS’s website.

The City of Charlotte just officially approved their largest budget in history.

Last night, the Charlotte City Council voted in a $2.6 billion FY 2019 operating budget – an 8.8% increase of last year’s $2.39 billion budget.

According to the new budget, Charlotte residents can now expect to see the following City tax and fee impact for homes at the $100,000 value;

The new budget includes pay raises for Charlotte’s police officers and firefighters, as wells as 6 additional police stations and a new fire station. It will also double our funding for streets, sidewalks, and the safety of pedestrians, as well as increase funding for affordable housing.

“I think this budget reflects the fact that we are trying to give people more access to opportunity,” commented Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt at last night’s meeting.

The overall 2019 budget includes a new general fund budget of $693.8 million, a 3.7% increase over 2018’s general fund budget, which will be spent on the following;

You can view the entire FY 2019 budget here.

What do you think of Charlotte’s 2019 budget?