Mission Statement, Vision, and History

MISSION

The Coalition for Cultural Compassion’s mission is to bring focus to marginalized and vulnerable groups and challenge systems of oppression through the redistribution of resources and orchestration of inclusive events within the Charlotte community.

VISION

We envision a world comprised of economic equity, racial equality, and true cross-cultural understanding, inclusion, and belonging demonstrated through equitable leadership and representation.

Our mission categorically rejects saviorism–the phenomenon where individuals or institutions position themselves as “saviors” of marginalized communities. Saviorism reinforces power imbalances, maintains paternalistic attitudes, and overlooks the agency and expertise of the communities they claim to help.

The CCC removes access barriers and invites clients to have agency over how they receive assistance. Simultaneously, we educate our members/volunteers about how traditional charity often perpetuates marginalization by prioritizing the donor and their act of “charity” versus the recipients’ specific needs, dignity, and privacy. We offer pathways for meaningful connection to our clientele–to share in the joys of a new baby, or the challenges of motherhood, or the celebration of culturally specific holidays–and sustainable ways to provide assistance that center around the clients and their voiced needs.

HISTORY

In July of 2016, Becky Schisler, a white, adoptive mother of an 18-month old black son, was horrified as she watched reports of police shootings of two unarmed black men. Becky couldn’t help but imagine how the reports could very well be her own baby someday. For the first time, Becky was directly, personally, and negatively affected by racism–a reality that, while always present, she had either consciously or unconsciously chosen to ignore, because she could. Equally upsetting was how, when she shared her fears and outrage, her concerns were downplayed or dismissed by many well-meaning people in her life.

A plea for action and support on social media took on real purpose as Becky and a small group of concerned parents ready to have open and honest discussions about race, culture, and social justice in our communities gathered around her dining room table to make a plan.

Then in September 2016, Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed in Charlotte, NC. The small group of concerned citizens experienced a surge in interest as this national crisis hit too close to home. Over the next two years, the group now known as The Coalition for Cultural Compassion worked to simultaneously learn as much as we could to help build the organization while confronting our own biases, painstakingly examining how our actions and inactions supported systemic racism.

Our organization was built on monthly volunteer activities. We intentionally sought out opportunities that were mission-aligned and family-friendly so we could include young children. We sorted clothing Crisis Assistance Ministry for their free store; we threw a birthday party for a child through Bright Blessings–an organization that serves homeless and impoverished children; we made care packages for the Refugee Support Center and sandwiches for Operation Sandwich through Charlotte Urban Ministries; we gleaned produce with The Society of St. Andrew; we held donation drives for Charlotte Family Housing; we collected books for Promising Pages.

We grew in numbers and established relationships with organization leaders across the Charlotte region. They inspired us to think about how The CCC might fill an unmet need, which led to the Compassion Closet program.

The Mis Amigos Project (MAP, formerly Migrant Assistance Project) was a group focused on providing support to migrants settling in Charlotte. They shifted their focus from supplies and rapid response, but suddenly found themselves with scarce resources and opportunities due to the pandemic. Marsha Kelly, co-founder of MAP, knew of our pilot program and asked to include our information in their resource packet. Although they only passed out those resource packets for a short time, word of our program spread rapidly through the community.

The very visible and trackable results energized our organization. We spent months talking about the need for agency and voice among marginalized and underrepresented groups. Now we were putting those ideas into action.

The Coalition for Cultural Compassion incorporated in 2017. Since then, we have developed programs and partnerships to address access to daily essentials such as clothing, diapers, hygiene products, transportation, food, healthcare, education, and childcare, and more. Our community engagement programs have offered cross-cultural learning opportunities, including the Multicultural Series for Kids, the Compassion Cafe, and our Holiday Gift Program, and we continue to grow and adapt to our community’s evolving needs.