Give Raleigh

by Raleigh Magazine | Oct 2, 2023 | October 2023

Let’s Make a Difference Together

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” Those famed words by Anne Frank are at the very heart of our inaugural Give Raleigh campaign, a partnership between Raleigh Magazine and TowneBank/Towne Insurance to inspire the generous spirit of Raleighites.

Over the next 40 days, we ask you, our loyal readers, to support three handpicked local nonprofit organizations that make a difference in our city each and every day: A Place at the Table, TLC (formerly Tammy Lynn Center) and Transitions LifeCare. Donate to one or the entire trio of charities—every dollar matters. 

To wit, TowneBank/Towne Insurance will match the first $10,000 donated—doubling the impact on our neighbors regardless of age or station. Whether you’re able to contribute $1, $5 or $25, your charitable dollars will help create a lasting impact on the lives of community members in need.

Turn the page to read about these three impactful boots-on-the-ground charities whose hard work wraps their arms around local families each day—and gives hope where otherwise there may not be any. giveraleigh.com

A TABLE FOR ALL

A Place at the Table is not just a “place” to grab a delicious breakfast or lunch. It’s “a place where everyone has dignity and choice”—where everyone and anyone can get a meal no matter how much money they have to their name. 

But feeding Raleigh comes at a price—and it’s thanks to APATT’s generous donors and paying customers that the nonprofit is able to continue nourishing the community. Lest you think you can’t make a difference, just $10 covers the cost of a meal at the cafe. 

Due to the impacts of inflation and the pandemic, more Raleighites are food insecure than ever before. Prior to the pandemic, APATT had 70% paying customers and 30% pay-what-you-can, the latter offset by either paying less, volunteering, using a PLACE Card or belonging to a family that eats for free. 

Now those numbers have seen devastating declines, with 40% paying customers and 60% pay-what-you-can meals—though all meals were 100% free during the pandemic. NTM the amount of money it takes to run the cafe: roughly $1.2 million a year (operations, paying staff, buying food and supplies, etc.). 

Founder and Executive Director Maggie Kane maintains each one of us can easily help make a significant impact, even if it doesn’t seem like you’re doing much. “With the increase of so many of our friends needing a good, dignified meal, we hope you will continue to dine with us, have your meetings at Table and bring new friends throughout the week,” she says of the notable nonprofit, whose revolutionary model has been recognized nationally by the likes of Good Morning America and the TODAY Show. 

Making it easier for every penny to count, part of that model includes monetary donations to help address hunger and food insecurity in Raleigh. Donors can sign up to be a Table Neighbor and set up recurring monthly gifts, whether that’s one meal per month ($10), 100 meals ($1,000) or any amount in between.

That said, just grabbing a coffee or a quick bite at the do-good diner helps further its mission—and rest assured it’ll be a good one. The menu—made fresh daily with locally sourced ingredients by Director of Operations Andrew Gravens—attracts diners throughout the city with such sweet and savory offerings as breakfast platters, pastries, sandwiches, soups and salads, plus coffee, espresso drinks and beyond.

Individuals can also pay it forward by purchasing a PLACE Card—available both at the cafe and online—to hand out to community members or leave at APATT. The cafe also provides them to nonprofit partners. Alternatively, you can opt to spend an hour or two of your day volunteering at the restaurant. 

Ultimately, APATT is reinventing how we feed our community as a whole. It invites people of all walks of life to gather over the one thing that continues to unite us all: food. “Table would not be here without all of you,” Kane emphasizes. “We could not do this without you, nor would we want to.” tableraleigh.org

How Your Support Helps:

• Provides meals to community members in need, addressing hunger and food insecurity in Raleigh
• Sustains the only pay-what-you-can cafe in Raleigh
• Helps cover rent, food costs and other operations of the cafe

BENEVOLENCE BY THE NUMBERS

• ~10,000 pay-it-forwards to date
• 60% diners who pay less, volunteer, use PLACE cards or eat for free
• ~150,000 meals given away to date
• ~$500,000 value of meals donated to date
• 125–150 average pay-what-you-can meals served daily
• 40% diners who pay the price of a meal or more
• 22 paid staff making $19/hour or more with benefits
• 150 average number of volunteers per day
• $25 rent per square foot

EMPOWERING FULFILLMENT

“The center has been a lifeline to our family. … I know when I’m bringing [my daughter] back [to TLC] after a long weekend, I’m dropping her off at a place that is safe, comfortable and where she’s loved like one of the family.” 

So says Keith McDonald, whose daughter Quinna has been receiving services from TLC since 2016. Founded as Tammy Lynn Center, the local nonprofit homes in on empowering all—regardless of their abilities. 

Whether or not you personally have a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), all of us know someone. In fact, approximately 6.5 million people in the U.S. have an intellectual disability. If you’ve ever wondered how you can make an impact in their lives, TLC is the solution. 

Born out of the desire of three families for their children to have the same options as their able-bodied peers, TLC became the first Raleigh institution to provide life-changing care for families—supporting those in all walks of life via on-site and community-centered programs. Think education, respite care, autism therapies and community living support, to name a few. 

“Igniting hope and embracing possibility,” TLC offers tailored services to each family’s unique needs, whether that’s enabling someone to learn a new daily living skill, taking a step closer to independence, improving a communication ability or further integrating themselves into a supportive social setting. And for those residing in a community group home, the impactful organization boasts an MO of providing “whatever you think about home that makes you smile,” for their residents. 

That’s where your dollars can make a huge difference. Even a $10 donation can go a long way toward TLC’s mission to ignite hope and embrace possibility. Small moments like snacking on a favorite food from home or playing outside on a sunny day all add up to the much bigger goal: empowerment and joy. It’s your time and/or finances that supports that freedom and power of choice—a big aspect of TLC’s mission.

Just take a moment to acknowledge the little choices throughout your day that add up, such as whether or not to stop for your favorite coffee or deciding to have a quick catchup with a friend. Everyone deserves a say in their life’s little details. Therefore, your support has the ability to change not just an individual’s life for the better, but an entire family’s. 

Effective care goes beyond assisting those with a disability. TLC lays the groundwork for the entire family to thrive through its respite services, making space for primary caregivers to take a step back for a moment of rest and therefore further solidify a healthily operating family unit. TLC has focused on supporting families and their loved ones with a disability for the last 53 years—and its path to positive impact only continues thanks to the help of generous Raleighites who share the vision of empowerment for all. nctlc.org

How Your Support Helps:

• Provides educational-, residential-, therapy- and community-related support services
• Gives options for individuals in the areas of physical, nutritional, developmental and occupational therapy; speech-language pathology; and psychological supports
• Offers on-site residences with daylong care for children and adults with profound disabilities and complex medical needs
• Offers tailored care management 
• Options for respite care and other supportive services

BENEVOLENCE BY THE NUMBERS

• 38% estimated increase in people living with an intellectual or developmental disability in our community by 2040
• 700+  children and adults receiving support services—educational-, residential-, therapy-, and community-related each year 
• 1,800+ family members: parents, siblings and family caregivers impacted
• 53 years providing medical, residential, therapy, community living, education and supportive services.

TRANSITION OF CARE

The end of life deserves as much respect, care and beauty as the beginning—and death with dignity is better than a life of suffering. If you’ve ever uttered a wish that you could offer more to someone coping with loss than “thoughts and prayers,” Transitions LifeCare answers that call.

Founded in 1979 as Hospice of Wake County, the longstanding community lifeblood enables everyone touched by a life-altering or terminal illness to “catch the joy and share the pain” by providing physical, emotional and spiritual support to both the patient and the family navigating end-of-life decisions—regardless of age, race, religion or financial circumstances (including those who are uninsured or living in poverty). 

While so few of us will have any say in when or how we die, palliative care is the one beacon of hope—and choice we can make—in a sea of the unknown so that a person can pass pain-free and comfortably where they wish. Wherever you are on that life-changing journey, Transitions LifeCare provides guidance, resources and expert services so patients and their families can live more fully. In essence: “Your life. Your care.”

Bringing in end-of-life care is easily one of the most painful decisions you will make—to accept the days are numbered and let go with grace. Whether or not you have personally had to make such a choice, it is one that each of us will face. And when it does touch your life, it likely won’t be about your own illness or transition of care—it’ll be when you’re making the tough decision to let someone you love go, to choose to let them die comfortably and with dignity. 

That’s where Transitions LifeCare—and your donation—comes in. Every dollar adds up. Even $25 goes a long way in helping just one family by providing compassionate care—either at home or in the in-patient Hospice Home—that allows their loved one to enjoy every moment to the fullest. Or, for those suffering the ultimate loss, your donation can allow them access to free-of-charge grief counseling so that they can focus on getting the support they need to heal without the stress of financial strain. 

Each of us matters until the last moment of our life, and we deserve to live until we die—and die peacefully. That’s exactly what your support ensures, as Transitions boasts the best possible resources to provide premium health care for the most vulnerable patients in our community—both kids and adults—and provide support for their families and caregivers during their difficult days. The empowering nonprofit also serves as the area’s only pediatric hospice program—and provides grief support for those who have suffered a loss.

Every donation, regardless of the gift amount, provides peace, comfort and compassion—and helps Transitions LifeCare reach its annual goal of $2.5 million, 100% of which is spent on patient care. With a commitment to caring for all area patients, Transitions LifeCare literally serves as the guidepost to transitioning people peacefully. transitionslifecare.org

How Your Support Helps:

• Provides compassionate care—either at home or in the in-patient Hospice Home—so no one spends their last days in pain or discomfort
• Covers cost of care for all seriously and terminally ill adult patients in need
• Gives grief support to patients, families and members of the community free of charge, providing the chance to hold their hands at a time when they are acknowledging the need to heal

BENEVOLENCE BY THE NUMBERS

• 85 children served daily by Transitions Kids
• ~850 adults served per day in Wake Co.
• 100% of all donations spent on patient care