Pictured above: Alliance Health volunteers at food pantry; Pat Martin with The Duke Mansion dropping off turkeys with Care Ring's Stephanie Malloy; Zack Molan and Morgan Hinton cooking turkeys on Thanksgiving morning; Todd Berg with Morris-Berg Architects with Care Ring's Tchernavia Montgomery, Stephanie Malloy.

Thank you for heeding our SOS call to prevent hunger!

When we sent out an urgent plea for extra support of our Client Choice Food Pantry to bridge the gap for those facing an interruption in SNAP benefits, you stepped up --- BIG TIME! And even after that threat subsided, community members chipped in again to help our clients have a great Thanksgiving meal.

Here's what you did:

45 VOLUNTEERS SERVING 222 HOURS IN OUR FOOD PANTRY to ensure as many clients as possible were served and to help cover the additional day (Wednesday) we added to our service.

NUMEROUS FOOD & ESSENTIAL ITEMS DRIVES WERE HELD by groups such as: Novant Health; NAHSE NC; The Duke Mansion alongside The Lee Institute; Women Executives; Bingham Park neighborhood; Power is Giving alongside Building Success for Generations; Piedmont Black Nurses Association; Alli & Aiden Foundation; and County Commissioner Elaine Powell. Numerous individuals also donated, including one couple who were both laid off Federal employees but wanted to help those who were even less fortunate.

THANKSGIVING MEALS were freshly prepared for and delivered to 26 families served in our programs by Board member Zach Molan and his family, assisted by fellow Board member Morgan Hinton. Carolina Farm Trust provided meals to 3 families.

CASH DONATIONS from big to small from individuals and businesses totaled nearly $26,000, with a $500 contribution from Morris-Berg Architects for the pantry, and an emergency gift from Atrium Health of $10,000 to wherever it was needed most.

Together, we helped 361 men, women, children, and elders and lessened what could have been a devastating blow for them during a particularly critical time of year.

Clinic levels up in key health outcomes for chronic disease patients

Our Clinic was again recognized for our improved outcomes for patients with hypertension and diabetes by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association. We went up 3 achievement levels to GOLD+ for achieving controlled blood pressure in 70% of more of our hypertensive patients. We also went up 3 achievement levels to GOLD for having 25% or less of our patients with poorly controlled A1C levels (>9%).

While this recognition is wonderful, we take the most pride in helping our patients to maximize their health so they can participate in work and family life to the fullest and avoid costlier, more serious health conditions.

The Clinic completes efficiency project

Care Ring received invaluable volunteer support from Jose Boix of Advocate Health Strategic and Operational Consulting. He spent a month with our team conducting an outpatient clinic optimization assessment—essentially, a deep dive into how we can work smarter to serve more patients.


His assessment recognized the unique value Care Ring's clinic offers while identifying practical ways to streamline our processes and build capacity. Since then, we've been putting his recommendations into action. In phase one alone, we increased our provider visit capacity by 40%. Early next year, we'll implement phase two, which will allow us to expand capacity by up to 130%.


The timing couldn't be more critical. These improvements position Care Ring to meet growing demand and ensure more of our neighbors can access the care they need. We are grateful for the expertise and generosity that Jose and Advocate Health brought to this partnership—their investment in our work translates directly into more patients served, now and for years to come.

3rd Annual Maternal Health Conference date announced

Mark your calendars for April 9, 2026! Our third annual Maternal Health Conference, presented by Novant Health, will be held in Charlotte and again offer in-person and virtual attendance options. South Piedmont AHEC will again partner with us to offer continuing education credits. To see highlights from last year's conference, visit our web page. You can also join our conference email list to get alerts.

Staff, volunteers deliver joy to families

Each year, we host a festive holiday gathering for the families being served in our maternal-child health programs where parents and their children receive gifts and essential items. This year, we brought the fun to their doors, thanks to our wonderful staff, community volunteers, and sponsors. 


On a cold Saturday morning, over 50 "elves" loaded up their sleighs and delivered joy to 288 homes around the Charlotte area! Please join us in saying thanks to:

Our volunteers:

Aimee Greeter and Jason Greeter and children;

Brenda Barnette;

Orlandus V. Gilmore;

Ayanna Lutin;

Robyn Wolkofsky;

Mary K. Jones;

Kathleen Jones;

Irvine Sloan and children;

Freddy Pulido;

JoAndrea Costner and Stephen Costner;

Dean F. Cikins;

Kricia Vigil;

German Barriga;

Board Member Andrew Bradshaw;

Jamilah Pettis; and

staff member Brenelys Zambrana’s children.

BIG thank you to our maternal child health and other staff of over 30 who've been working for months to plan this event and ensure all families had a full bag of gifts and that the deliveries were coordinated and executed successfully.

Thank you to our event sponsors Healthy Blue NC, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Queen City chapter; and thanks to Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office who provided bottles, nipples, pacifiers, sippy cups, and infant clothing.

We're taking this opportunity to celebrate our PRO providers and the impact they made over the past year.

Briah Lumpkins with The Charlotte Observer reported about the concern about the potential disruption to SNAP benefits during the government shutdown to local residents. She spoke with SNAP recipients, Care Ring CEO Tchernavia Montgomery, as well as our food pantry volunteer and Board member Carmen Hooker Odom (pictured).



CHECK OUT THE STORY

David Schuman with Queen City News also did a story about how local food pantries like ours were preparing for the anticipated increase in need during the SNAP benefit disruption, interviewing CEO Tchernavia Montgomery and food pantry shopper Polly.



CHECK OUT THE STORY

Care Ring and our mission was chosen by Christian radio station KLOV to be featured on their program, Closer Look. CEO Tchernavia Montgomery spoke with KLOV's Jim Davis.



CHECK OUT THE INTERVIEW

STAY CONNECTED

www.CareRingNC.org

1514 N. Graham Street, Charlotte, NC 28206 | 704-375-0172 | www.careringnc.org

Care Ring is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, tax ID# 56-0621073.