We have more stories to tell in Charlotte and we need your support. Here’s how you can help

As housing costs rise and more people are thrust into economic hardship, it becomes increasingly important to critically examine the affordability crisis in the Charlotte region.

We’ve brought to readers’ attention those most impacted by the changing landscape, while also diligently reporting on efforts to solve one of the most pressing issues facing many of our local neighborhoods.

Simultaneously, we’ve devoted resources to chronicling the triumphs and trials of marginalized communities in Charlotte. In moments of celebration and pain, the lives of people of color and LGBTQ+ residents are shared with sensitivity and thoughtfulness, ensuring that our content is reflective of where we live, work and play.

The Charlotte Observer asked for your financial support in funding reporters to tell these stories through the Report for America program, and you answered. Because of your generosity, two journalists were added to our talented coverage team. Report for America places journalists in newsrooms all over the country by paying a portion of their salaries; local newsrooms through fundraising efforts provide the remainder.

As we close in on our goal to fully fund these positions, we’re asking for your help so that we can continue to bring you illuminating and powerful stories that are making a difference. RFA reporters Lauren Lindstrom and Devna Bose together have written more than 350 stories over the past couple years.

Here’s how you can help:

To donate online, go to: charlotteobserver.com/donate

You may also consider donating to the Rock Hill Herald by going to: heraldonline.com/donate

You can also text to donate. Text CHARLOTTE to 202-858-1233.

Stories you allowed us to share

Most recently, Lindstrom told you about how the homeowners association in Charlotte’s Derita neighborhood are resisting the encroachment of corporate investors buying townhomes and other properties in affordable communities. These investors own more than 11,000 single-family homes in Charlotte, making it tougher for people to buy homes and build wealth, especially first-time home-buyers.

Lindstrom also wrote of the removal of a tent encampment due to a pervasive rat infestation that impacted more than 200 people, leaving the unsheltered and those most vulnerable among us with uncertain futures. Grassroots organizers and shelter providers rallied to assist in their relocation as the city continues to grapple with homelessness.

When Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles formed the Legacy Commission to examine Confederate monuments and street names associated with “slavery, Confederate veterans, white supremacy or ‘romanticized notions of the antebellum South,’” Bose went to an area of town where such an evaluation would hit home.

She spent time with families on Jefferson Davis Street in north Charlotte. Bose talked with Black residents about what it was like growing up in a neighborhood with a street named after a slaveholder and president of the Confederacy in the 1860s, particularly beneath the burning light of a summer defined by the country’s racial reckoning. That street has been renamed Druid Hills Way.

And they are not finished.

Partner with us

We want to make our community a better, stronger and more vibrant place while fulfilling our mission as a public servant. With philanthropic generosity and community support, we can provide even more of the coverage you deserve and demand, on topics ranging from healthcare, education and housing, to public safety, the arts, local government, the environment and business.

Your donation, whether it’s $10 or $1,000 or more, is 100% tax deductible and will be made to our partner nonprofit foundation.

To mail a donation, please make checks payable to “Journalism Funding Partners” or “JFP.” The publication name must be included in the memo line, and include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email.

Mail to:

McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816.

So many of you have recognized and appreciate the essential role journalism holds in our society. Thank you for being there for us, as we are here for you.