Community Engagement

More groups of people will be out walking through Charlotte neighborhoods during May, telling stories and sharing experiences about the places they live, as part of the “City Walks” initiative.

The mid-1990s heralded a new Latino South, during which the Charlotte region became a destination for Latino migration. This wave shows no sign of cresting and is expected to continue as a major demographic trend for years to come.

Bruce Taylor, an associate professor in the College of Education Department of Reading and Elementary Education, is among the 2016 recipients of the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award.

This honor, created in 1979, recognizes individuals, groups and businesses that make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service.

Taylor was nominated by the United Way of Central Carolinas for his work with the United Way’s Project 1,000 effort.

Students from the UNC Charlotte Department of Dance, under the direction of Professor of Dance Sybil Huskey, will participate in the National Water Dance. Scheduled for Saturday, April 16, National Water Dance is an annual event that builds a “movement choir” of dancers who join together to draw attention to global water issues. The topic is particularly urgent this year, with the recent drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., and the persistent drought in California.

The student group Voices of Eden Gospel Choir recently completed its spring semester tour with concerts in Winston-Salem and Greenville, N.C., and Richmond, Norfolk and Suffolk, Va. The group will be featured in concert at Mission Gathering Charlotte at 10 a.m., Sunday, April 10.

In Richmond, the choir sang at a nursing home and visited with residents; the performance was part of its established tradition to uplift the campus and community through sharing its gift of music.

The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Sale will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday, April 15-16, at the McMillan Greenhouse.

Prior to the public sale, on Thursday, April 14, join Paula Gross, assistant director for the Botanical Gardens, for “Tips and Best Bets for the Novice Gardener.” Two offerings of this free information session will be presented at 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. in the McMillan Greenhouse Classroom. Prospective attendees should register online.

The UNC Charlotte Mobile Arts & Community Experience (MAX) will be in two residencies this spring in the Charlotte area. From Friday, April 8, through Monday, April 18, MAX will be on the front lawn of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation on North Tryon Street. Beginning Saturday, April 30, MAX will be in east Charlotte on the property of Aldersgate, a continuing care retirement community on Shamrock Drive, for an entire month of activity.

For the majority of girls born into poverty in the Charlotte region, they will have a harder time breaking out of that economic state. UNC Charlotte’s Women + Girls Research Alliance (W+GRA) is bringing researchers and the community together to explore improving economic mobility opportunities for women as the focus of its 2016 W+GRA Summit.

A day-and-a-half event, the 2016 W+GRA Summit will be Thursday and Friday, April 14-15. Registration is through April 8; space is limited.

For the majority of girls born into poverty in the Charlotte region, they will have a harder time breaking out of that economic state. UNC Charlotte’s Women + Girls Research Alliance (W+GRA) is bringing researchers and the community together to explore improving economic mobility opportunities for women as the focus of its 2016 W+GRA Summit.

A day-and-a-half event, the 2016 W+GRA Summit will be Thursday and Friday, April 14-15. Registration is through April 8; space is limited.

A pair of UNC Charlotte social work master’s students recently unveiled a plan to help provide mental health services to Charlotte’s underserved Latino population.

Graduate students Laura Pierce and Cameron Rifkin presented the plan at the UNC Social Entrepreneurship Conference after being selected as UNC Charlotte’s participants.