In addition to giving our time, talent and treasure to our local communities, CBI and the Live Love Serve Foundation are also passionate about leveraging the built environment for good. We choose to leverage our learning centers on a regular basis to provide space for community organizations to meet and conduct programs as part of our goal of loving and serving our communities. This spring we took it a step further by making an in-kind donation, in the form of building and office space, to a local non-profit here in Charlotte – the Young Black Leadership Alliance (YBLA).
The YBLA focuses on developing young black leaders to have a positive impact on their community now and in the future. They develop and equip young leaders to impact and inspire underserved and at-risk students in their families, schools and communities to achieve successful life outcomes. The young leaders that take part in the YBLA program are peer mentors and role models for other students. By developing students to become service-minded leaders, the YBLA is strengthening families, schools and communities throughout our area.
“When I first learned about the YBLA, I was instantly impressed with the work they are doing in our community,” says David Longo, Founder and CEO of CBI and the Live Love Serve Foundation.
“There is nothing more important than teaching young people the skills they need to be successful leaders, and the YBLA is doing just that by shaping the role models of tomorrow today.”
John Martin, CEO and President of the Young Black Leadership Alliance says, “We accomplish our work through hands-on leadership training, post-secondary advising, college and career preparation, community service work and parent education. We begin working with students in high school and then maintain our relationship throughout college and into their early professional careers. This allows us to provide structure and support over a long term basis, creating a steady pipeline of success for these youth."
Currently there are 300 students and young professionals and over 200 parents involved with the YBLA.
Up until this month, the YBLA was operating out of rented office space that was costing them approximately $50,000 annually to maintain. The Live Love Serve Foundation believes so strongly in the YBLA’s mission, that we wanted to help them alleviate this yearly cost and develop a space where they could grow and better reach the students they serve.
“We decided to donate one of our buildings on the CBI campus to the YBLA to use as permanent office and building space,” David says. “We hope that by giving them a space to work, hold events and mentor students, the YBLA will be able to reach even more individuals who need their support.”
“We moved into our new space on the CBI campus earlier this month, and we are so thrilled to be right next door to CBI and their community,” John says. “Not only do we have the space to accommodate many of our events, but we also do a lot of career counseling and onsite sessions so it’s fantastic that we now have direct access to business professionals onsite. Our students will learn so much from CBI’s associates.”
In addition to having more space, the location on CBI’s campus is more central to the students who are part of the YBLA, and the organization is looking forward to hosting them in the new facility soon. The Live Love Serve Foundation and the YBLA are also planning a more formal ribbon cutting and open house this summer, stay tuned for more information on that event. If you would like to learn more about the YBLA and the amazing work they are doing, please visit their website at www.youngblackleadership.org.
