By Cameron Lee
July 24, 2026
Ricky Singh, a Charlotte-based artist, educator, and executive director of the nonprofit My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg, wants to create a citywide events guide for the youth. Inspired by New York City’s Summer in N.Y.C., which was produced by the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development and originated in 2014, the guide has evolved into a comprehensive annual resource that helps families discover affordable activities across the five boroughs, including free and low-cost camps, arts programs, sports leagues, parks, museums, and educational experiences.
“I know the topic of conversation, obviously in our city and around the nation, has been around teens. But I think for us, when we say youth, we mean all youth,” Singh said.
According to the Afterschool Alliance, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to quality after-school and summer learning programs, its 2025 America After 3PM report — widely considered the benchmark national study — found that four out of five North Carolina parents who want after-school programs for their children are unable to access or afford them, affecting more than 664,000 children.
Singh, who has four children himself and is very active in the community with creative youth event integrations and fundraisers through MBK, wants to start simple with teacher workdays and early release dates on the CMS school calendar.
“Sometimes as a parent — I’m a parent — you know, that teacher workday sneaks up on you, and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, a teacher workday on Monday?’ It’s hard to keep up with the digital footprint sometimes.”
The goal is to create a citywide youth calendar — starting with social media content and eventually evolving into a dedicated website — that highlights accessible, low-cost opportunities for young people, including outdoor activities, creative learning experiences, arts, crafts, sports, and more.
The My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg Instagram account recently shared the concept with the caption:
“9 Workdays. 4 Early Releases. 1 Citywide Calendar. Let’s try something different this year. School’s out, but our young people shouldn’t have to navigate a maze to feel supported, engaged, and connected. Hang tight — we’re attempting to build Charlotte’s all-in-one youth calendar to make finding youth engagements a tad bit easier.”
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The post is calling on event organizers, businesses, nonprofits, and youth leaders to help create more experiences and opportunities for young people across Charlotte — especially for families who may face financial, transportation, or accessibility barriers to after-school programs, sports, and arts programs.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with local business owners, community leaders, influencers, parents, and educators expressing interest in participating, contributing resources, and helping expand the effort.
“Imagine a one-stop shop, like, ‘Hey, September 21 is a teacher workday — here are six things that are available for kids,’” Singh said. “That’s what we’re hoping to provide.”
Singh, My Brother’s Keeper, and its youth-led initiative The 704 Way are already building momentum by creating new spaces and experiences for Charlotte youth. Led by teens and designed to give young people a stronger voice through collaboration, The 704 Way aims to change the narrative around youth in Charlotte by empowering them to take an active role in shaping their communities. The initiative has already partnered with local businesses, nonprofits, and event organizers to create opportunities for teens to explore new skills.
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Through activations at FOMO, Compare Foods, Harvey B. Gantt Center, Do Greater Charlotte, and a recent sneaker-designing workshop with Archive CLT and the Charlotte Hornets, MBK and The 704 Way are creating meaningful community experiences that provide value and creative opportunities. The goal now is to expand that impact by making them easier to discover and access for families. Eventually, the initiative hopes to partner with emerging youth influencers and teen content creators to help promote activities and opportunities across the city.
“The long game is that we want to actually hire some teen content creators who want to do some of those [promotional] videos every week,” Singh said. “But I think we have to start somewhere, and the first step is to hit the teacher workdays and early releases, and then we can build from there.”
Singh wants the majority of September through November events and activities to be available by the end of August, while continuing to update and curate the calendar as new opportunities are secured and verified, providing parents and families with at least a month’s notice to plan.
MBK has created an online form for community members interested in participating, including teens and young adults interested in leading creative cohorts, local businesses, institutions, and nonprofits looking to host events and provide experiences, as well as content creators interested in helping promote the guide.
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You can access the form here and follow My Brother’s Keeper Charlotte-Mecklenburg and The 704 Way on Instagram.
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