Since Planet Improv is a grassroots educational nonprofit organization, we neither have the time nor the funding to take an actual summer vacation.
However, that doesn’t mean that we weren’t busy or that we didn’t have fun this summer.
(Below) is a list of activities in which we participated (slightly before) and during our summer vacation.
May, 2024
We bid adieu until August, 2024 to the students of Wilson Stem Academy, Governor’s Village STEM and The Epiphany School of Charlotte, whose classrooms we were fortunate enough to visit on a daily/weekly basis throughout the 2023-24 school year.
We completed our day-long training at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte for our upcoming “Whose Camp is it Anyway?” sessions occurring later in the summer.
We completed the “Too Good For Drugs” training with the Mecklenburg ABC Board and The Mendez Foundation in conjunction with a special grant initiative we were awarded earlier in the year. We will be conducting these ten-week programs with third, fourth and fifth graders throughout the 2024-25 school year.
June, 2024
We attended the monthly Charlotte Violence Prevention Collaborative meeting of which we are a tri-leading organization.
We continued our ongoing partnership with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department REACH Program (Respect, Engage, Accountability, Character and Honesty) by holding multiple sessions for their male and female summer campers.
We attended a Charlotte Office of Violence Prevention meeting at the Charlotte Nature Museum.
We attended the BYE Foundation’s (lead by our friend and colleague, Vernisha Crawford) “A Day of Hope” celebration.
We began our second year of collaborating with the YWCA Central Carolinas with visits to campers in Learning Centers throughout Mecklenburg County.
We conducted our first week-long “Whose Camp is it Anyway?” at the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.
We served as an audition panel member (through six of seven in person and virtual sessions) for the upcoming (September, 2024) “This Is My Brave” productions (Youth, Community Violence and Mental Health) at Central Piedmont Community College.
We provided entertainment at a birthday party in Statesville for a wonderful nine-year-old young man (Hawkson,) his friends, family members and guest.
July, 2024
We were accepted to be part of the Development Committee for Smart Star of Mecklenburg County. (SSMC) for the 2024-25 school year.
We composed the narratives, gathered the documentation and submitted an Albemarle Corporate Community Impact 2024 grant application.
We composed the narratives, gathered the documentation and submitted a Unite Charlotte grant 2025 application.
We continued working with our YWCA Central Carolinas summer campers.
We conducted our first sessions with our new partners and summer campers at Learning Help Centers of Charlotte.
We were accepted at presenters for the underserved youth creativity providers for the September 25th SHARE Charlotte and Charlotte is Creative “#YPMixerCLT.”
We finally met and chatted with (through Zoom) with our friends from Arts+, who we later partnered with in conjunction with The Arts Empowerment Project.
We completed a multitude of sessions with summer campers and students of all ages throughout our sessions with The Arts Empowerment Project.
Although it has nothing to do with our nonprofit The Chuckleheads (our sister improvisational comedy troupe) held a public show at the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille.
August, 2024
We continued working with our YWCA Central Carolinas summer campers.
We conducted our second weeklong “Whose Camp is it Anyway?” at the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.
We met the storytellers and performers of “This Is My Brave,” who were selected through the audition process at a cast welcome party at the Sojourner’s Journey space on Freedom Road in Charlotte.
We continued to help plan the upcoming (September, 2024) “This Is My Brave” productions (Youth, Community Violence and Mental Health) at Central Piedmont Community College by coaching the storytellers and performers through rehearsals.
We concluded our working with our YWCA Central Carolinas summer campers by participating in an end of summer celebration “Block Party” at Richard “Stick” Williams Dream Fields & Education Center on Tuckaseegee Road in Charlotte.
We were invited to visit our YWCA Central Carolinas summer campers throughout the 2024-25 school year.
We attended a Zoom orientation overview conducted by Smart Start of Mecklenburg County.
We conducted our final group of sessions with the summer campers of the Learning Help Centers of Charlotte.
We attended the United Way of Greater Charlotte Nonprofit Story & Pitch Workshop at Ascend Nonprofit Solutions in Charlotte to prepare if we are fortunate enough to be a finalist for the 2025 Unite Charlotte grant.
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As you can see/read, Planet Improv had the honor and pleasure of continuing meeting, partnering, collaborating, educating, smiling, laughing, forging/renewing friend/fellowships and learning from so many community members, educators, nonprofit leaders, summer campers and students of all ages throughout our very busy summer of 2024.
Our goal throughout the summer was to continue to do our best to “empower resilience in students through creativity.”
Our summer was awesome!
We have no doubt that our upcoming school year 2024-25 will be spectacular as well!