Novant Health Community Care Cruiser receives $140,000 from Charlotte Bobcats

Cats Care Foundation Donation to Help Provide Health Services for Nearly 1,000 Project L.I.F.T. Students

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment and its Cats Care Foundation made a $140,000 donation to the Novant Health Community Care Cruiser earlier this afternoon at Bruns Academy in Charlotte. The Novant Health Community Care Cruiser delivers quality preventive healthcare to youth who attend Charlotte’s nine Project L.I.F.T schools in underserved communities across the Charlotte area. The donation was raised through the Cats Care Foundation’s annual “My Hero Gala,” which took place on October 26, 2013.

“As an organization, it is an honor to give this donation to help our founding partner Novant Health and the Community Care Cruiser provide the care and resources to our youth throughout the city,” Bobcats Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield said. “Through our Cats Care Foundation, we realize the social responsibility we have to give back to the community that supports us. We have made it a priority to bring positive and lasting change to our community through dynamic programming, corporate partnerships and charitable giving.”

Recognizing a need at Charlotte’s most at-risk schools, the Cruiser shifted gears to focus on health intervention through a partnership with Project L.I.F.T. With an average 92 percent of students who are economically disadvantaged, the Cruiser collaborates with school nurses to narrow the healthcare divide between the nine Project L.I.F.T. schools and the rest of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s students through vaccine clinics, chronic disease care coordination, sports physicals and prevention and wellness.

"The Novant Health Community Care Cruiser is committed to making quality preventive care accessible to all youth, regardless of their ability to pay,” said Paula Vincent, President, Novant Health Foundation and Community Relations. "This generous donation from the Cats Care Foundation will help create a healthier future for Charlotte's at-risk children."

“The partnership between Project L.I.F.T. and the Novant Health Community Care Cruiser demonstrates the importance of addressing the whole child as a part of our efforts to increase academic outcomes,” said Project L.I.F.T. Learning Community Superintendent Denise Watts. “Children do not come to us in parts and pieces. To ensure they receive a quality education, there is a need to support physical, mental and academic needs. The community cruiser has been an asset to us in doing this. Over 640 students have received their required immunizations through the partnership with Project L.I.F.T. These vaccinations helped these students meet the state requirements and avoid exclusion from school which in turn increases attendance and continuity of learning. These immunizations will also enhance the long term health benefits to these students and their peers.”

Learn more about the Novant Health Community Care Cruiser »

Bobcats Sports & Entertainment owns the Charlotte Bobcats and operates Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.