HousingFest Raises More Than $62,000 To Support Affordable Housing
July 3, 2019 / Blog
Thank you, Charlotte, for coming out to support HousingFest! The event raised more than $62,000 to help support affordable housing solutions in our community. Mandolin Orange headlined the June 20 concert at Knight Theater, presented by Urban Ministry Center in conjunction with Blumenthal Performing Arts, MaxxMusic and Visulite Theater. The event was the culmination of a month-long live music and visual arts festival, which took place at various locations around the city with the goal of raising awareness and funds to end chronic homelesness in our community.
“It was a really great year for finding the balance between a great show and having strong messaging,” says Katie Church, community relations specialist at Urban Ministry. “If they didn’t already know, they knew when they got there that there was a really important message behind it.”
The newly merged Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte serves about 1,000 people each day—supporting basic needs in a variety of ways, from running a daily soup kitchen and offering a place to shower and do laundry to providing access to counseling, medical care and long term housing solutions. The organization also has an art studio space to offer neighbors who are homeless a place to connect with others and explore through creative expression.
“We’ve had a thriving art program for years at our College Street campus,” says Church. The unique pieces created in the ArtWorks 945 studio all come from people who are currently or formerly homeless. Proceeds from artwork sold are split evenly between the artist and a fund to provide continued support for the program. While Church says there are many loyal patrons who regularly support the program, HousingFest provided an opportunity to showcase this artwork for others to discover.
“To see people from the community viewing their artwork and purchasing their artwork is very empowering [for the artists],” she says.
From artwork and merchandise sales to simple attendance at the concert, it all helps to make a difference. “It was an honor for us to support Urban Ministry Center through money that was raised in this year’s HousingFest concert,” says Blumenthal’s President and CEO Tom Gabbard. “We’re grateful to the sponsors and concertgoers who joined us in supporting the great work that Urban Ministry Center does in our community.”
By the Numbers:
- Nearly 1,000 in attendance.
- Over $62,000 raised toward the cause of ending homelessness.
- 23 pieces of art sold from Urban Ministry Center’s ArtWorks 945 program.
- Over $1,000 revenue raised for ArtWorks.
- $229,000 cumulative HousingFest impact since its beginning in 2014.
“It’s a really fun annual tradition and we’re hoping to continue growing it,” says Church. She also encourages people who participated in HousingFest for the first time this year to consider getting involved in other ways to continue supporting the organization’s efforts to end chronic homelessness. For more info, visit https://www.urbanministrycenter.org/