August 1-5, 2022

In the summer of 2020, during the height of COVID, we began a new annual tradition: Duck Love Week. In celebration of our company’s anniversary and with a desire to give back locally and nationally, Duck Love Week was established as an annual initiative to meet these goals. This year, we celebrated our 11^th anniversary and shared the love in the following ways:

Duck Love – Day 1:

To kickstart our week, we collected donations and purchased wishlist items for Hospitality House of Charlotte. Hospitality House aids patients and families experiencing a medical crisis. In addition to Hospitality House, we also donated to A Step Ahead in East Tennessee which is a non-profit providing education, information and access to birth control in their 16-county service area.

Duck Love – Day 2:

The ducks were excited to have an in-person volunteer opportunity at The Relatives’ On Ramp Resource Center for Day 2 of Duck Love Week. Together, the ducks organized the donation room and provided lunch for the young adults visiting the Center. They are currently accepting donations for baby supplies (diapers and wipes) and business casual attire.

The Relatives was founded in 1974 by members of the Dilworth United Methodist Church. The parishioners saw children sleeping on benches along East Boulevard and in Freedom Park, so they created a shelter in the church basement. The Relatives received its name from the youth staying in the shelter. Rather than tell their friends at school they had run away or were struggling with homelessness, the kids said they were staying “with relatives.” The Relatives have served 3,376 youth and young adults in Charlotte and have provided housing for 76 young adults.

Duck Love – Day 3:

On our third day, we supported Charlotte Family Housing. We dropped off donations for CFH’s Happy Home Buckets program. As families prepare to transition from living in the shelters to into their own housing, families are gifted a Happy Home Bucket filled with cleaning supplies and other household items to help them settle into their new space.

Duck Love – Day 4:

The ducks were excited to return to in-person service opportunities.  There are so many opportunities to get involved locally that we decided to break up into small groups today.

Half of the ducks helped run the Welcome Station and Shower Check-In at Project Outpour. Project Outpour is committed to providing mobile showers and hygiene services to neighbors in need.

Some ducks delivered groceries to local community members through Loaves & Fishes. Loaves & Fishes provides groceries, meals and hope through a network of food pantries, home grocery and meal delivery as the primary Meals on Wheels program for Mecklenburg County.

Duck Love – Day 5:

We wrapped up Duck Love Week with a bang by supporting and donating to Charleston Hope. The mission of Charleston Hope is to provide a holistic support system for Title 1 schools to help remove the burdens of poverty so every student and teacher can thrive. They also work to educate people on the importance of mental health support, teacher empowerment and family engagement.

We already can’t wait for Duck Love Week 2023!