#18 – MeckEd, Charlotte Mayor’s Office, SchermCo secure $1M investment for After-school Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 22, 2017

(Charlotte, NC) – SchermCo, in partnership with MeckEd and the Charlotte Mayor’s Office, successfully secured a $1M investment from the Gambrell Family Foundation to support afterschool programs in Title I middle schools across Charlotte. The investment will be leveraged to fuel the growing work of Charlotte Next, a program of MeckEd.

“Greg and his team at SchermCo have helped MeckEd launch an interactive program locator, created a professional development series and most recently, assisted in securing this $1M investment in less than eight months. SchermCo has been a valuable asset as we work to ensure Title I middle school students have access to quality out-of-school time (OST) programs,” said Ross Danis, President of MeckEd.

The $1M investment will create the opportunity for 600+ middle school students to have access to quality OST programs. Charlotte Next will serve as an intermediary organization to help support the growth and quality of these programs across Charlotte by providing quality training, funding, and key data to the Charlotte community.

“I’ve worked with SchermCo for the past two years and they continue to be a key partner in helping me accomplish my goal of improving afterschool programs for Charlotte youth,” said Mayor Jennifer Roberts. “Their ability to engage with our many partners in the community to support the successful growth of this new initiative is remarkable. I couldn’t do this work without them.”

While Charlotte Next will not directly run afterschool programs, they will work with school principals to identify needs in their schools. Once identified, they will work to connect them with afterschool program providers that are the best fit alongside providing funding and other key resources.

“Our team is ecstatic that our strategy and support services have helped MeckEd secure these critical funds,” said Greg Schermbeck, Founder & Principal of SchermCo. “There’s strong research to suggest that afterschool programs have the ability to expose students to critical experiences, increase grades during the school day, and have a number of other positive effects for both students and families. We look forward to the continued growth of this initiative.”

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SchermCo

Charlotte, NC

SchermCo is a social-impact consulting firm that offers strategic advising and organizational development services to schools and education-focused organizations. We reinvest 1% of our time/funds back into the communities we serve. Learn more at schermbeck.co