September 9, 2014 – The Charlotte Hornets and Lowe’s today announced they will award $50,000 for education-related projects in Mecklenburg County this fall as part of the longtime partners’ education grant program. For the second consecutive year, the grants will fund high-need projects at public schools and nonprofit education programs in the Charlotte area.
Charlotte-area public schools (kindergarten through 12th grade) and all 501(c)(3) organizations that support public education in Mecklenburg County are eligible to apply for a grant at https://www.nba.com/hornets/2014-15-education-grant-application. The application period is open now and will run until Oct. 10. Proposals will be evaluated by a review panel established by the Hornets and Lowe’s, and grant recipients will be announced during the 2014-15 NBA season.
“Education remains a key pillar for both Lowe’s and the Charlotte Hornets,” said Hornets Vice President of Community Relations Kim Henderson. “Last year, we were able to assist five local organizations with their education-based projects through our grant program. We are extremely proud to partner with Lowe’s again this year to continue to emphasize the value of education in our community.”
The grant program is part of a continued partnership between the Hornets and Lowe’s, a founding partner of the organization. Last year, United Way of Central Carolinas, Freedom School Partners, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, 100 Black Men of Charlotte and the Allegro Foundation were the first recipients of the education grants, which totaled $50,000 in the inaugural year.
In addition to the grant program, the two organizations have a history of partnering around education-related initiatives. This summer, the organizations re-launched the Book Bus, a full-service literacy bus that travels throughout Charlotte year-round to encourage reading and distribute books to area youth. The renovated school bus helps increase opportunities for literacy and learning in underserved communities. Lowe’s also participated in the Hornets Day of Service at Hornets Nest Elementary School in June as the organizations teamed with Fox SportSouth to make a $250,000 donation to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public School Foundation. Volunteers from all three organizations worked on various beautification and refurbishment projects at Hornets Nest Elementary School throughout the day with all of the all materials provided by Lowe’s.