Agency selects three Charlotte-based 501(c)(3) organizations – Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, Girls Rock Charlotte and Hospitality House of Charlotte – to receive strategic and creative resources in 2021

Entering its third year with an established program to support the non-profit community in Charlotte, Wray Ward has selected three recipients for its EmpoWWer service-grant program. In 2021, Wray Ward will provide pro bono strategic and creative resources pooled from agency talent to Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, Girls Rock Charlotte and Hospitality House of Charlotte.

Designed to help 501(c)(3) community organizations in the greater Charlotte area, EmpoWWer marketing service grants from Wray Ward align with the agency’s passions and industry expertise under three pillars – creativity, shelter and advancement. Wray Ward selected recipients based on a demonstrated need for the agency’s creative and strategic resources; the organizations’ alignment with EmpoWWer’s pillars; and their ability to show how the outcome of the partnership would create substantive change.

“We know there is an immeasurable need for support amid worthy initiatives in our community, and the challenges of the past year have increased both the need and our steadfast commitment to do good,” said Jennifer Appleby, president and chief creative officer of Wray Ward. “We are proud to be partnering with three incredible organizations whose missions will touch our neighbors’ lives in unique ways during this time of crisis.”

The 2021 EmpoWWer recipients’ impact in the community is diverse, and each tells a compelling story: Charlotte Bilingual Preschool engages Spanish-speaking Latinx children and families with culturally relevant early childhood education programs designed to address individual needs; Girls Rock Charlotte seeks to amplify the voices of girls, women and gender diverse youth and adults through music, film, creativity and collaboration; and Hospitality House of Charlotte provides equitable access to healthcare by offering affordable accommodations to patients and families visiting the area for treatment.

The agency’s EmpoWWer work in 2021 will be customized to each organization’s specific needs and will tap into various talents from Wray Ward’s integrated marketing communications services, including strategic planning, positioning, identity, creative development, public relations and social media.

Since its doors opened in 1977, community impact has been a guiding pillar of agency culture at Wray Ward. Wray Ward has donated services to countless organizations including the Arts & Science Council, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont and more. EmpoWWer, launched in 2018, formalized that commitment to giving and to date, the agency has assisted eight nonprofit organizations in the Charlotte region through the program, providing the marketing communications support they thought most critical to effect change in the community.

“We are proud to be a Charlotte-based company and EmpoWWer gives our entire agency the opportunity to give back to organizations helping our city thrive,” Appleby said. “We look forward to lending our support and forging these new partnerships throughout 2021.”

To learn more about EmpoWWer and its 2022 grant application process, please visit empowwer.wrayward.com.