I don’t know when I originally saw the Connect for Tech campaign, but I just was like, “How is this not making the news?” How is this not something that we are all actively donating to? I mean, we have to take care of our children. We absolutely have to. CMS is doing the work. We just have to help them a little bit, you know? So it just seemed like it was a no-brainer.

It was September and kids needed to be back like in the virtual classroom. And if they didn't have access to the internet, what in the world were we expecting? In 2020 we talked a lot about privilege. We talked a lot about access. We talked a lot about empowerment. And then we're just going to sit around and wait? It just had to be done. That was it. I think when you talk about giving, giving is easy when times are good, and it's essential when times are tough. So we just took all of those things and were like, “We can make this happen overnight.” And we did.

We ran a large-scale campaign together with our friends at Harris Teeter to donate $10 from sales of our CLT hats to the Connect For Tech initiative in early fall 2020. Our CLT hats are a bestselling item, so we knew we could quickly raise funds and make an impactful difference when it was needed the most. And as soon as I launched the campaign, my friend who works at Harris Teeter texted me and was like, “How can we get involved?” I said, “You want to match?” and she said, “Okay.” Okay. Harris Teeter matched our donations and we were able to raise $6,000!

My business partner, Carrie Barker, and I are both Charlotte natives and are so proud to support the CMS school system and are so grateful for all our teachers, admins, front line workers, parent volunteers and donors that are fighting hard for excellent equitable education for all of our Charlotte-Mecklenburg families. I think CMS touches a lot of different kinds of lives, and that hasn't been lost on us, especially this past year. So, I would just say thank you for everyone, that's put their hand in and worked really hard.