Best of Souper Bowl XIV

Posted onLeave a comment

[slideshow_deploy id=’1922’]

And that’s a wrap for Souper Bowl 2018! Thank you to the all the soup aficionados across Lake Norman for joining us for our fourteenth annual competition.

Thank you to the following restaurants for their participation: Brickhouse Tavern, Famous Toastery, Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse, Fork!, Mestizo Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, Restaurant X Bistro, The Pickled Peach, Davidson Ice House, and Mandolino’s Artisan Pizza.

Congratulations to the winners of Souper Bowl XIV! 

Best Overall: Mandolino’s Artisan Pizza, ft. Italian Wedding Soup

Best Chunky: Brickhouse Tavern, ft. Roasted Chicken & Wild Rice

Best Creamy: Mestizo Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, ft. Poblano Pepper Cream Soup

Best Farm to Spoon: The Pickled Peach, ft. Vegetable Beef 

Best Vegetarian: The Pickled Peach, ft. Ethiopian Chickpea

Most Creative: Flatiron Kitchen + Taphouse, ft. Chicken Enchilada 

 

Additionally, thank you to our dessert vendors: South Main Sweet Shop, The Fresh Market, and Nothing Bundt Cakes. Thank you to our silent auction donors for their unique contributions, and to our musicians, Sunday Union, Michael Orlando, and Rusty Knox. Lastly, thank you to Great Harvest Bread Co. for serving bread at the event—a Souper Bowl first!

This event would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Thank you to the following local businesses:

 

Souper Bowl is annual fundraiser in support of the Davidson Housing Coalition’s emergency home repair program, HAMMERS (Hands Helping Around Mecklenburg/Mooresville Making Emergency Repairs Safely). Please visit our program page to learn more about HAMMERS.

Missed Souper Bowl, but still want to support HAMMERS? It’s not too late! We accept donations year-round in support of HAMMERS. To support HAMMERS now, visit our online donation page, and mark the box, “This is a gift for DHC’s HAMMERS program.” Thank you!

Community Partnership Helps Longtime Davidson Resident Remain Safe in Home

Posted onLeave a comment

 

The front of Sybil’s home prior to the repairs.

 

Sybil Donaldson is a long-time resident of Davidson, and is a fixture of Town Hall where she works as a custodian. Sybil’s house has served as a home for her and her family for many years. Having grown up there, Sybil then inherited the house from her parents as an adult. Through the years, the house has aged, several critical repairs were needed in order to keep it safe for Sybil to continue living there.

Each year, Davidson Housing Coalition partners with Saussy Burbank and JCB Urban to provide a local, low-income resident with the extensive repair work their home needs through DHC’s HAMMERS program. Saussy Burbank and JCB Urban recruit subcontractors and other businesses to donate their time and materials for the repairs to ensure that these repairs are at no cost to the resident. Through these partnerships, the following repairs were completed: a new bathtub and kitchen sink were installed, several leaks—both inside and outside of the home—were sealed, a new crawlspace door was built, and a new dryer pipe and vent were installed. Additionally, the foundation in the back and all of the front porch boards and columns were replaced, and a ramp was built to increase accessibility. Lastly, the porch and foundation were painted, and a drainage swell was created in the front yard to divert water away from the house and grass.

Sybil is very proud of her home; she loves how central her home is to downtown Davidson, and enjoys sitting on the porch in the evenings to relax. Sybil rests assured knowing that her home is safe, and in good condition—the dryer vent is no longer a fire hazard, and the house’s foundation maintains its structural integrity.

DHC thanks Broadway Commercial Services, Tench Masonary, Price Brothers Plumbing, Frank Murray & Associates, and Jim Burbank and the teams at Saussy Burbank and JCB Urban.

 

The front of Sybil’s home after the repairs, featuring Sybil looking over the new ramp to her front porch.

DHC’s Summer of Success Stories: Veteran Spotlight with Lyle Blalock

Posted on1 Comment
Lyle on the front porch of his apartment, sitting in his Davidson College rocking chair.

Lyle moved into a DHC apartment in December 2015. He was referred by a friend who had a relative living at Creekside Corner at the time. Lyle is a Davidson College alum; he graduated in the class of 1965 and has lived in the surrounding area ever since. When DHC first started accepting applications for the veterans’ duplex, Lyle was approved to move in. But, shortly thereafter, Lyle was admitted to the VA hospital in Salisbury after suffering from aneurysms. Lyle could no longer accept the apartment because of his health and the uncertainty of when he would be released. Several months later, one veterans’ apartment was still available and Lyle’s health had improved; Lyle was able to move in before the end of 2015.

Lyle enjoys sitting in his Davidson College rocking chair on the front porch. 52 years after graduating, Lyle still loves this community; he loves that the people are so nice and that everything is conveniently located. He is grateful for his affordable apartment and that the timing worked out so well.

 

DHC’s Summer of Success Stories: Veteran Spotlight with Bryan Hall

Posted onLeave a comment
Bryan stands beside the American flag he proudly flies on his front porch.

Bryan Hall was the first veteran tenant in DHC’s new duplex. Bryan started his career in the military as an infantry soldier and was named Soldier of the Year. After working with the Army in New York and Texas as a combat medic instructor and ophthalmologist tech, he moved back to his home state of North Carolina. However, he couldn’t work in a hospital because of his credit. So, for two years, Bryan worked at a gas station in Mooresville and lived in his car. When his car broke down, Bryan sought help. A friend referred him to the HUD-VASH program, a program that provides rental assistance to homeless veterans. In order to be eligible for the HUD-VASH program, he had to move to Mecklenburg County but Bryan didn’t want to live in Charlotte. He settled in Davidson in a low-rent apartment complex. Several years later, someone told him about DHC’s new rental units specifically for veterans.

Today, Bryan is thankful for his apartment. He especially enjoys the comforts of home, like having a washer and dryer in his unit and sitting on his porch watching the birds at his bird feeder. Recently, Bryan has received local attention for putting flags at veteran graves in all three cemeteries in Davidson; many of these graves were not being properly commemorated and his effort ensures that these graves are marked on Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day. Bryan is also working to mobilize local leaders and citizens in support of a veterans’ memorial for the town of Davidson. He has worked with a designer to create a design and hopes that the memorial can be erected soon.

 

DHC’s Summer of Success Stories: Volume 2

Posted on1 Comment

Michele Crowell moved into one of DHC’s apartments at Creekside Corner in July of 2016. Before coming to DHC, she had bounced around for a year since losing her job in 2015. During that time, Michele and her son moved about ten times, staying with friends, living in hotels, and finally coming to live at Hope House in Huntersville for a month. During this time, Michele was driving her son Jayden to and from school in Charlotte every day so that he could attend a magnet school. She was working for a cleaning company while looking for a better job. After moving into her apartment, Michele experienced several ups and downs. Shortly thereafter, her car broke down and Michele eventually purchased a new one with the help of her father. Around the same time, Michele started a new job with GP Strategies; she works out of the Ingersoll-Rand headquarters, a mere five minutes from her home, as a part of the training team.

 

Currently, Michele is enrolled in a local “Getting Ahead” program and is finishing her bachelor’s degree online from NC State in Interpersonal Communications. She is very involved in service within her community, Cub Scouts, her church, and is a member of DHC’s Board of Directors. Her two main goals are to get her health in order so that she can continue to lead a busy life with her son and to purchase a home. Michele is working with Gail to improve her credit and get in a position to purchase a home. In the fall, Jayden will start school at Woodlawn. Michele and Jayden will have less than a 10-minute commute to work and school. While Michele admits that she never thought that she would move outside of Charlotte, she loves living in Davidson; the community is wonderful and Michele enjoys the quiet and safety that the small town brings. Through it all, Michele has shown strength, fortitude, and a never give up attitude that has brought her and Jayden to a place of stability.