Champions of Change Inc

Form 990-EZ, Part I, Line 16

“The $126,758 in expenses outlined as Other Expenses/Total Program Service Expenses were to conduct programming for underserved foster and homeless youth and their families including the following programs and services: (1) Hotels for the Holidays - Last December, we blessed over 300 of our homeless friends with an all-expenses-paid 3-day, 2-night staycation in a hotel so that their children did not have to wake up in shelters on Christmas. This was done in 8 cities: New York, NY, Charlotte, NC, Rochester, NY, Buffalo, NY, Nashville, TN, Columbia, SC, Greenville, SC, and Orlando, FL. Champions of Change provided each guest with warm pajamas, all meals, gifts and stockings, trees, and decorations in every room. (2) Feed a Family for Thanksgiving - Champions of Change provided Thanksgiving baskets for more than 180 families in Rochester NY and the greater Charlotte, NC area with over 5,400 lbs. of food. Also included were $25 gift cards for each family to buy a turkey and additional fixings for their Thanksgiving dinners. (3) Princess Parties and Birthday Paint Parties for foster children - Hosted princess parties for foster girls and birthday paint parties for foster children throughout the year. Each party included painting canvases and paint materials, food, gifts, and prizes for the foster children and their accompanying foster parents. Each of the children received "Birthdays in a Bag" complete with cake, frosting, balloons, other decorations, and gifts so that they could celebrate on their actual birthday as well. (4) Champions of Change hosted foster families for a day at the ballpark to watch the Charlotte Knights baseball club. Tickets to the game and snacks were included. (5) Champions of Change hosted low-income families for a night on the town. A group of 30 individuals were treated to dinner in Uptown Charlotte before going to the Belk Theater to watch the Blue Man Group perform live. (6) Additional community services in support of homeless and foster individuals and families are provided ad hoc throughout the year as funding permits: providing one-time financial support to families to help pay rent and utilities and buy groceries, sending meals to families in need, sending care packages to foster youth struggling in college, and providing furniture to homeless families who have been newly placed in their apartments are some examples of the work that Champions of Change does to help fill financial gaps for low-income families.”