“Showing love is the best thing we can do for ourselves and others.”
jane hixson wants Charlotte to be known for being a loving and giving community. Speaking about her neighbors who are experiencing financial crisis she says, “If we do not help them, it says a great deal about each one of us.” For decades, jane [sic] has demonstrated generosity of time and spirit and her support for Crisis Assistance Ministry has meant that struggling neighbors have received urgent assistance with life’s most basic needs.
One of jane’s most significant volunteer accomplishments is her annual holiday Loved Ones Luncheon, a women-only fundraising event to benefit Crisis Assistance Ministry. She created the event in 1997 in memory of her mother, Rosemary Bolles, and her mother-in-law, Gay Hixson – two special women who believed in taking care of their own and their community. The luncheon brings friends and family members together to enjoy fellowship and to honor lost loved ones, allowing attendees to reflect and give back in honor of their special person. Through jane’s vision, countless volunteer hours, and personal contributions toward event expenses, the luncheon has grown from a small gathering of family members to an annual fundraising event that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Her involvement with Crisis Assistance Ministry has not stopped with the Loved Ones Luncheon. Over the years, jane has also sorted and inspected clothing donations, written holiday cards, and served on the agency’s speaker’s bureau, advocating publicly for families living in poverty. Her family also organizes an annual NoDa Day festival in their neighborhood, with the proceeds benefiting the agency. “Crisis Assistance Ministry is the charity of choice in the hixson household,” says jane, “especially because we know people that have had their lives turned around because of the help they received there.”
jane is a local hero and inspiration to the community. She is the recipient of the agency’s 2003 Shirley Henry Award for outstanding volunteer service, a 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, and has been recognized by the Charlotte Observer as an influential woman in giving. She uses her influence to educate those around her about the needs of those facing poverty, and she works nonstop to make this community a better place for all to live.
