STEM SENC (Reconnect Rural and Urban)
STEM SENC (pronounced: scenic) is a partnership that supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, driven by the conviction that “all learners, regardless of …
Community Cohorts
As part of the ReCONNECT NC Series, the Institute for Emerging Issues explored the root causes of disconnection and worked with citizens and organizations across the state to identify solutions for restoring civic health.
For each of the five forum issue areas, we found a small group of communities doing something remarkable to address the problem. Our five “cohorts,” made up of 26 local and regional initiatives touching 57 counties, are moving forward with the hard work of connecting. Many of them have shared their stories with us, which you can dive into below.
Beaufort County (Reconnect to Economic Opportunity)
Beaufort County’s story is a rural tale as old as time. When many of the region’s large-scale manufacturing employers closed down or …
Building With Our Veterans (Reconnect to Economic Opportunity)
Founded in 2016, Building with our Veterans is an education, training, and employment program that (as the name suggests) helps to secure long term work …
Resources & Reasons to Grow (Reconnect to Mental Health & Well-Being)
Resources & Reasons to Grow (R&RG) is a collective, still in its infancy, with aspirations to become an organization that will facilitate and …
Project 40 (Reconnect Rural and Urban)
How might a city and its region plan around sustainable food systems to address the critical issues of climate change, racial equity, and shared urban-…
Mixxer Community Makerspace (Reconnect to Community)
Mixxer is a makerspace: a building kitted out with a wide array of hardware, ranging from lathes, drill presses, and sewing machines to laser cutters, …
Explore Elkin (Reconnect to Community)
Explore Elkin is a lean organization that works to promote development, tourism and community engagement in the Elkin/Jonesville region. The organization itself has become …
Charlotte Digital Inclusion Alliance (Reconnect to Technological Opportunity)
As the city of Charlotte prepared to become a gigabit city, the Charlotte Digital Inclusion Alliance (CDIA) emerged as a strategic head, responsible for developing …
Project Empathy (Reconnect Rural & Urban)
We live in fractious times, where so much media (now exquisitely tailored to capture our individual attention) compounds and often distorts both real and perceived …
Pender County Resiliency Task Force (Reconnect to Mental Health & Well-Being)
For Pender County, the scars of the 2018 Hurricane Florence are still visible today. “Just driving down the highway you see all these houses that …
REACH Center (Reconnect to Mental Health & Well-Being)
From its beginning, the REACH Center in Rocky Mount has taken a different approach to meeting the needs of the people who walk in the …
Digital Durham (Reconnect to Technological Opportunity)
The “digital divide” in our country looks different depending on which side you sit on, and what sort of community you live in. Laura Fogle …
United Way of Greater Greensboro (Reconnect to Economic Opportunity)
United Way of Greater Greensboro (UWGG), through its Family Success Center (FSC), is helping dozens of people in a single ZIP code of the city …
Growing Outdoor Partnerships (Reconnect Rural & Urban)
Growing Outdoor Partnerships (led by Mountain Bizworks) is a wildly diverse coalition that seeks to develop outdoor industries that draw on the assets of the …
Choosing Social Equity Series (Reconnect to Community)
The challenge of the Choosing Equity Series (CES), led by the Asheville City Schools Foundation (ACSF), is overcoming deep-rooted issues of race and equity …