Self-Help Shares

Last week more than 150 local residents and community partners came together to commemorate the first anniversary of the Northside Neighborhood Initiative, an organized initiative to revitalize and preserve a historic neighborhood in Chapel Hill, NC. In a short time, this effort has shown great results.

On Monday, September 26, Self-Help joined a group of more than 50 investment management firms calling for the full repeal of North Carolina's House Bill 2 (HB2).  Investors that signed on to a joint statement included RBC Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, John Hancock and Trillium Asset Management. Collectively, all the investors opposing HB2 manage $2.1 trillion in assets. That figure is expected to grow as more investors formally join the opposition in the coming days and weeks.

Investors are known to be practical people who care about bottom-line profits. So why would they care about HB2?

It's been an exciting time at Self-Help's Revolution Mill property in Greensboro. This week saw the installation of a new pedestrian bridge that runs alongside the future site of Natty Greene's Kitchen + Market (coming in 2017), connecting the Revolution Mill campus with land on the south side of Buffalo Creek.

It was a day of pride and gratitude. On September 16, kids, parents, elected officials and community leaders celebrated the completion of KIPP Durham College Prep, a public charter school dedicated to serving lower-income students and closing the achievement gap. “KIPP,” which is a national non-profit network of public charter schools, stands for the “Knowledge is Power Program.”

We’ve been inspired by the determination of Tracy Scott, a Self-Help borrower and entrepreneur who knows how to make dreams happen.  Take a minute to meet Tracy in our latest video and find out about some really tasty salad dressings, too.

Ed Holland, Jr., in his Durham office.

When you talk to Ed Holland, Jr. about his career, two words come up a lot: trust and loyalty. In his 35 years as CEO of Greater Piedmont Credit Union, he worked hard to meet the financial needs of his members. They, in turn, have shown a strong loyalty to their credit union.

Greater Piedmont officially became part of the Self-Help family in April this year. Merging two businesses is never simple, but when considering the possibility, Ed and his board of directors were confident that the fit was right.

We’re pleased to announce that Durham’s Kent Corner development is a project finalist for the U.S. Green Building Council North Carolina’s Sustainable Business Award. We are proud to share this honor with the other inspiring finalists.

We at Self-Help like to say we give blood, sweat and tears to our mission, and sometimes the blood donation is literal.  On Tuesday this week Self-Help Credit Union in Durham worked with the American Red Cross to hold an on-site blood drive, where staff members and some of our local neighbors had an opportunity to participate. Altogether, Self-Helpers and friends gave 25 units of blood! Each unit can save up to three people’s lives, so as many as 75 recipients could benefit.

Excuse us if we’re a little weepy at Self-Help this week. We’re missing our summer interns, most of whom had their final day with us last Friday.  These accomplished students and recent graduates come to us with loads of talent and a strong sense of mission, and we get pretty attached.

For almost a century, Myers Park Presbyterian Church (“Myers Park”) has been engaged in the project of making life better for people in the Charlotte community. In the early 2000s, Myers Park leaders held a series of robust community dialogues to figure out how they could do more good in their community. Again and again, these conversations pointed to a great need in the nearby Grier Heights neighborhood.