(upbeat orchestral music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(upbeat orchestral music) - Just ahead on "Carolina Impact," affordable housing.

While it remains out-of-reach for many families, we'll shine the spotlight on two solutions making a positive impact, we're also marking a milestone, 60 years of PBS Charlotte, serving our community by educating, inspiring and entertaining, and later, discover how one woman is stirring up more than good food in the kitchen, she's teaching kids incredible life lessons.

It all starts right now on "Carolina Impact."

(upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music continues) - Good evening, thanks so much for joining us, I'm Amy Burkett.

Affordable housing has been a challenge across our region for decades, touching families, seniors and young people alike.

Rising costs and limited availability have left many struggling to find a safe, stable place to call home.

Tonight, "Carolina Impact's" Dara Khaalid and Russ Hunsinger explore two programs taking innovative approaches to ease the burden and provide hope for those in need.

(dramatic whooshing) (relaxed electronic music) (faucet running) - [Dara] There's a strong sense of pride as Sharee Allen does the little things around her house, like tidying up her bed and watering her favorite plants.

Some days, she still has to pinch herself when she thinks about finally being a homeowner.

- We came to this home, and I walked in and I was like, "This is it, we don't need to talk anymore about anything, don't give my house away to anybody, this is it," you know, I just felt like it was a home that I could grow my family.

- [Dara] For this mom of two, she always dreamed of a moment like this, but didn't know if it'd be possible financially.

- I was paying $2,000 in rent, which is a lot of money.

I really couldn't afford to stay there, but that was my only option, I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, wasn't really having anything left over that I could do with my kids.

(relaxed electronic music) - [Dara] Then everything changed last year when she found out about WeBuild Concord, an affordable workforce housing developer, investing over $10.2 million this year.

Sharee was making around $55,000, which qualified her for their Prosperity Unlimited program.

With a mortgage of around $1,300 a month for this $190,000 home, Sharee finally has wiggle room in her budget because she's saving around 36% from the original cost of $250,000.

- The pressures of, you know, trying to work, support your children and just being able to not have to worry about, "Oh, my gosh, how am I gonna live?

How am I gonna eat?

How am I gonna do all these things?"

It's just a great opportunity and a burden lifted off of you, I feel very blessed.

Hey, come on in.

- How you doing?

- I'm good, I want you to... - [Dara] And for WeBuild Concord CEO Patrick Graham, who's been there throughout the process, from the showing, housewarming, and now, finally decorated space, he shares Sharee's joy.

- A lot of times, when people think of affordable or workforce housing, I think you have to cut corners, but the reality is, if you really build with solid materials and provide people some dignity and respect at the same time, then it gives you a more lasting impression.

- [Dara] Just a few blocks away from Sharee's place sits another affordable housing project done by the organization, 26 units called the Lincoln Street Townhomes.

The first residents moved in in March.

- [Patrick] Most of our individuals that live in our townhome units or even our single homes are really earning below $60,000, and sometimes, those are families of three on average, so you can see that's pretty tough to make things work.

- [Dara] As the city of Concord continues to grow, that brings challenges.

- Concord, by the 2020 census, increased by 33%, and that increase has continued far after the pandemic, and so, the shortage of housing, both in rental as well as in ownership in this area, is predicted to be around $14,000 over the next five years, so that really tells you that there's not only a need, but there's a growing need.

- [Dara] And WeBuild Concord is doing its part to keep up with the demand, and not just with new construction, but giving old buildings new life.

- So you are in a place that's called the 114 Street Baptist Church, but this is gonna be converted into what we call the Sanctuary, it's a building that will have 13 affordable loft apartments and will have incubator space for entrepreneurs as well as artists.

- [Dara] They were able to purchase this property with money from the American Rescue Plan.

Funding will also come from the city of Concord, private sources, and some of their sales revenue from other developments, but they're not the only group fixing up old structures.

A little over 18 miles away, Davidson Housing Coalition in Mecklenburg County has repairs underway on its affordable housing community, the Bungalows.

- They're checking the plywood underneath to make sure any rotted boards are coming up, it's really a comprehensive roofing job, so these guys are knocking this out, they show up at, like, 7:00 in the morning, they take the full roof down, and then, by, like, probably two, three o'clock this afternoon, they'll be done with this building and ready to move on to the next.

- [Dara] The 32-unit rental property has been open since 2001, a recent grant of $175,000 from Davidson College Presbyterian Church is funding the roof replacements for all nine buildings.

- For our members, and for me, it feels really good and it feels impactful, folks love the new projects, they love to see the things emerge from the ground, but we've gotta maintain what we've built and honor our commitments to our neighbors.

- [Dara] Davidson, similar to Concord, is growing rapidly.

- It has really threatened the ability for many people to live in a town like Davidson because it has become so popular, the supply and demand issues are an extreme example of what happens to affordable housings, that's that working people cannot live in a community like Davidson.

- [Dara] On a warm, sunny afternoon, resident Victoria Burley relaxes on her front porch, playing one of her favorite games on her phone.

As she navigates through her virtual house, she's grateful for the real house she has because Davidson Housing coalition's income eligibility is based on 50% or under the area median income of $152,969.

The average price for a home in the town is around $626,000.

- With prices getting high and stuff, it's...

It can really get to somebody, it can be really nerve-wracking and, you know, cause a lot of problems, so it's really security, it really is.

- [Dara] As we've seen, affordable housing isn't just about buildings, it's about restoring hope, stability and dignity to individuals and families.

Whether through city-backed initiatives or nonprofit programs, these efforts prove when communities come together with purpose, lives can be transformed.

- Ah, nice.

- Oh, yes.

Right?

- For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Thank you, Dara.

Davidson Housing Coalition also plans to update the heating and cooling systems, water heaters, and unit interiors as quickly as it secures more funding.

Well, do you remember when a loaf of bread cost 25 cents and gas was only 35 cents a gallon?

The year was 1965, the very same year PBS Charlotte first went on the air.

For 60 years, we've been proud to educate, inspire and entertain this amazing region, serving viewers like you through every generation.

"Carolina Impact's" Jason Terzis brings us this history lesson as we celebrate our anniversary.

(dramatic whooshing) (upbeat horn music) - [Jason] It all began at 7:00 PM on August 27th, 1965, WTVI Television signing onto the air for the very first time.

Less than a month later, the station's very first local program aired when it collaborated with Children's Theater of Charlotte, and so began WTVI's long history of serving Charlotte and the 13-county metropolitan region.

- But Charlotte was growing so rapidly in the '60s that it was almost hard to keep up with what was going on.

- [Jason] Originally owned by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education, WTVI's Commonwealth Park Studios once housed an elementary school, it's early programming focused mainly on in-school instructional programs.

- It was exciting because public television, or instructional television as it was then, was new and everybody was very excited about having a television station as part of Charlotte and Mecklenburg schools.

- Being here at that time was exciting because it was new, we were the first station in the country to provide a weekly sustaining news broadcast, especially for schoolchildren.

- [Jason] By the time WTVI signed on in 1965, public television already had a history of producing quality new programs.

Julia Childs, the French chef, was a wildly popular program, her humor and her expertise on French cuisine gave viewers a treat every time they tuned into her show.

For younger viewers, there was Fred Rogers.

♪ It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood ♪ ♪ A beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine ♪ Every day, Mr. Rogers would welcome children into his neighborhood with a soothing message that kids everywhere could relate to.

♪ Sunny days sweeping the clouds away ♪ In 1969, the Children's Television Workshop produced a brand-new program called "Sesame Street."

The show would feature human actors interacting with puppet characters, and it was a huge success.

- [Person] Hey, you guys!

- [Jason] The 1970s brought shows like "The Electric Company" and lots of local productions, game shows, community affairs programs, and a totally '70s production bus.

- Hello, I'm Jerry Hancock, thank you for joining us tonight on "Final Edition..." - [Person] We didn't have nearly the equipment or sets that we have now, it was pretty amateurish by comparison.

- [Announcer] It's time once again to play "Media Madness."

- "Media Madness," yes, that was...

It was, like, a takeoff on a game show, it was instructional, and we were trying to break out of just the straight instructional mode.

- Thank you, thank you, and welcome... - [Donald] We're trying to be entertaining, and then, sell a message at the same time.

- I did this series with them called "I Hate Math" here at WTVI, and "I Hate Math" was hosted by Ben Franklin, so I played Ben Franklin.

It was kind of lessons on why math is so important.

- [Jason] In 1978, WTVI separated from the school system, with its license transferred to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Broadcasting Company, a division of the county, becoming the Carolinas' only community-owned-and-operated public television station.

- I remember the first WTVI fundraiser.

We really didn't know what we were doing, but we just solicited, we talked about upstairs, downstairs, we talked about the station and the type of programming we had in this community that was local, and we were absolutely dumbfounded when we raised over $11,000.

- [Jason] The 1980s brought more change to WTVI, new leadership and more locally-produced content.

- Everybody shared the vision, and we all wanted to be a first-class community television station.

WTVI was in a state where it was either gonna make it for the long haul or it wasn't, but we needed the new tower, the transmitter that I inherited was down more than it was up.

The next step was two bond referendums, unique in public broadcasting's history nationally, and we were able to build this facility.

- [Jason] The 1990s brought locally-produced shows like "Art Scene," profiling area musicians, artists and actors, and saw the launch of "Carolina Business Review," the longest-running show on business and industry in the Carolinas.

- I knew what was going on behind the eyes there and I was just as scared as I was now, maybe not... Maybe more scared than I am now, but it was...

It's fun to see Jason, it was neat to know some of the things back then that we thought were big news, and how we compare and contrast it now, and some of the headlines are different, but a lot of the challenges and the dynamics are the same.

(upbeat jazz music) - [Jason] Moving into the 21st century, "Antiques Roadshow" was a tremendous find for PBS and helped spawn Charlotte's own version of the program, "Carolina Collectibles."

- This is one of my favorite days of the year, it's "Carolina Collectibles" day.

- You guys are professional, we have some great people here who are evaluating this, so it's wonderful.

- [Jason] Over its 60-year history, WTVI has perfected a couple of things, a phone number... - Call that number on the bottom of the screen... - Call 1-888-371-9884... - 1-888-371-9884... - The number's 704... - 371... - 9884.

- So go ahead, give us a call, 888-371-9884... - [Jason] And a couple of simple words.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

- Thank you tonight.

- Thank you.

- Thank you, Jim.

- Thanks so much.

- Thank you, thank you, thank you.

- Thank you so much for sharing your time with your local public television station, PBS Charlotte.

- [Jason] In 2012, WTVI became a viewer-supported service of Central Piedmont Community College, rebranding itself as PBS Charlotte, and since then, its local content has earned two national PBS Awards and six Emmys.

- Public television's always been the honorable place on the dial, but I always thought that that was the town square, that was the place to find real dialogue that would matter.

- I consider myself a great friend of WTVI, I've participated in fundraisers for the station, I just think public broadcasting is essential.

- It's feeding the brain, it's giving you information that you can't get from a... Just a general station 'cause they don't have the time to cover it, it's maybe not that they don't want to, but you guys take the time to tell the story and that is just so important to me... - I love to see the stories, I love historical fiction, I love everything about PBS.

- So I hope another 60 years is around the corner for you guys.

Happy birthday.

- [Jason] And for that, we thank all viewers just like you.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thank you, Jason, we're also very proud of those locally-produced shows like "Trail of History" and "Carolina Impact," and our brand-new show, "Dapper Dad's Kitchen," be sure to check it out.

Well, for generations, summer camp has been a rite of passage where friendships are forged, memories are made, and lessons last a lifetime.

Across the country, nearly 12,000 camps welcome millions of kids each year, one of them is at King's Mountain State Park.

Camp Wildwood is giving campers more than just outdoor fun, it's shaping tomorrow's leaders.

Producer John Branscum takes us outdoors to check it out.

(dramatic whooshing) (upbeat rock music) - Camp Wildwood is a wonderful leadership, stewardship conservation camp that we have here in South Carolina, not a lot of people know about it, been around for almost... A little over 70 years, and the majority of these kids come from all over South Carolina.

- I was terrified on the first day.

- I didn't know anyone here.

- And I wanted to just put myself out there.

- We keep them hopping from when they wake up at seven o'clock until they go to bed at midnight, they are in classes, but they're not your normal class.

- My personal favorite is fisheries, and then, wildlife.

Fishery's a lot of fun, I love fish, I love to fish, and today, we went electro-fishing.

- [Dan] And the males will get those, so we can pass... (indistinct) - [Evans] Looking at different types of fish, like, in the creek.

- [Dan] We saw one that came up that was brilliantly colored.

- [Evans] And different varieties of wildlife and, like, how they grow.

- All right, guys.

- [Evans] Wildlife class is a lot of fun.

- Can anybody tell me what this is?

- [Evans] Today, we used a tracker.

- [Person] Need to go a little bit slower.

- You hold it up above your head and it searches for a collar, and it'll make, like, a beeping noise when you hit it.

Forestry, learning how to identify trees, that's another fun class, and then, we did hunter's ed, so that was a good way to, you know, get involved in hunting.

(upbeat rock music) - The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is our biggest sponsor, including the Garden Club, and we have a lot of technicians and biologists that teach these kids about our natural resources, and the kids have a great time and they get interested in doing that for a career.

- I wanna be a game warden when I get older.

Just being around them, I like what they do.

You get a lot of perks with it, like, you get trucks, and boats, and all these other things, but the retirement plan is also really nice.

- I'm interested in a job at DNR, maybe, like, a game warden or something like that, and I'm hoping to go into wildlife and fisheries biology at Clemson.

- Our focus is leadership, and stewardship, and conservation of our natural resources while using King's Mountain as our backdrop.

I think there are natural leaders out there that never see their potential until they're put in their natural habitat, and this is a good place that they can do that.

- One of my personality traits is confident, so I'm very confident when I do things, so I think coming out here, it's just, like, meeting all these people and you have to talk to them.

- We put all these campers in different situations that they're not accustomed to... - I've been working on this for three years, so I appreciate that.

- [Dan] And they learn, through those processes, how to be leaders.

- You don't have to be a leader to come to this camp, but it definitely helped...

It helped me personally grow into being a leader.

(audience cheering) Just, like, stepping up and... During games, during chance, if you put hype into it, other people around will start to put, you know, energy into it and stuff like that, and so, this camp has helped me a lot to develop into more of a leader.

(upbeat guitar music) - No phones, you leave 'em in the car.

- The Garden Club of South Carolina realized that kids were not getting into the outdoors like they were, and you can imagine in the '50s, and we see it more than ever today, that these kids need to get off their phones, they need to enjoy what we have around us.

- [Evans] The view out here in nature is gonna be better than just about everything you're gonna see on your phone.

- I think a camp like Camp Wildwood is very important for young people to go through because as our population is growing, we're tapping into these natural resources more and they're going away some, so it's important for these young people to realize just how special it is.

- I wanna protect the Earth, how we're destroying it and people are being careless with it, and I just wanna help prevent that.

- All the knowledge I've gained, fisheries class, wildlife, forestry, all those classes are amazing, and then, the friendships I've made, I knew one person coming here and I now have at least six new friends.

- And making friends just makes me wanna, like, wake up knowing that my niche is gonna be there, and, like, be hype and excited to, like, be there and be with me, and I'm excited to be with them.

- [Dan] By the end of the week, they don't wanna leave, there's tears and there's tears of joy, and they keep up with each other.

- [Person] I think that's one of the best things, is just making friendships.

- Thanks, John.

The week at King's Mountain State Park is designed especially for first-year campers, but Camp Wildwood doesn't stop there, a select group is invited back for a second year and a third year, each offering unique opportunities for leadership and conservation training.

Well, finally tonight, we take a look at another program that gets young people out of their comfort zones.

As a parent, we all know getting kids to eat healthy isn't easy, but having them make their own food, well, that's even tougher, but that's exactly what chef Gillian Howard does, from planting seeds to stirring pots.

"Carolina Impact's" Chris Clark uncovers how she inspires kids to grow their own ingredients, explore new flavors, and find confidence that extends beyond the kitchen.

(dramatic whooshing) (food sizzling) - [Gillian] Let's take this and your chickpeas over to the blender.

- [Chris] In this kitchen, the ingredients are simple.

- My favorite thing to do with Chef Gillian is making different things.

- [Chris] A little flour, a few vegetables... - My favorite thing to make is called... (indistinct) It's with sausages and eggs, and with some tortillas.

- [Chris] What these kids are really cooking up is confidence, connection, and the kind of skills that feed more than just hunger, because for many of them, learning to cook isn't just fun.

- I think it is a life skill, I think it's informational, I think it's easy in terms of how she's teaching the youth, she's making it fun for them.

- You guys use honey at your house, or sugar, or agave, or what?

- [Chris] The joy in the kitchen is the vision of chef Gillian Howard, the creator and driving force behind Junior Cultured Chefs, where kids learn to cook, connect, and care for themselves.

- To see the pride that they have, knowing that they created something, and then, don't let it taste good, and then, when their parents come, and these are the same parents who says that their babies only eat chicken tenders and french fries, and when they've seen that they've done something as crazy as, you know, banana sushi, they can't even believe that their kid has it in them.

- [Chris] Chef Howard's love for cooking was born in her grandmother's kitchen, where summer days were filled with warmth, laughter, and the unforgettable smell of something delicious on the stove.

- It would smell like grits and eggs, and maybe fried green tomatoes and some biscuits, and I could hear maybe her feet sliding across the floor.

All we had to do as kids was set the table, right?

And that was a place to get, you know, three square meals, and it wasn't until growing up and going to different places, and realizing that that's not every child's story.

- She joined the Air Force, traveling to Japan, Korea, Thailand and England, but was nowhere near a kitchen.

Instead... - I build the avionic systems for F15s and U-2s, so I'm talking grueling 14-hour days on the flight line, turning wrenches under, you know, running jets, it was insane.

- [Chris] Far from home, Chef Howard never lost her love of cooking.

In country after country, she paid close attention to how people prepared their meals, soaking up new flavors, new techniques, and the universal language of food.

- Food was something that came to bring us together, and now, we're breaking bread with people that we would maybe not have otherwise, and so, that's when I realized... (indistinct) Cooking was my superpower.

- [Chris] After 10-and-a-half years in the Air Force, Gillian traded in her uniform for a chef's coat, enrolling at Johnson & Wales to turn her lifelong love of cooking into a career, but she gained more than just technique.

Culinary school opened her eyes to something much deeper, the inequalities woven into the food system itself, including her own community.

- I live in a food desert, I live in food-insecure spaces, and so, that helped me to kind of garnish the type of chef I wanted to be.

- [Chris] Chef Gillian spent years working in restaurants and as a personal chef, feeding clients, crafting menus, perfecting her skills, but her true purpose didn't come into focus until she found herself at a local farmer's market doing simple cooking demos.

That's where something shifted.

It wasn't just about food anymore, it was about who kept showing up.

- As I was doing these things and teaching adults how to eat, you know, well, the babies kept coming, the young people kept coming.

- [Chris] So she launched Junior Cultured Chefs.

It's a hands-on program where kids learn to cook with real ingredients and real purpose.

With ages ranging from seven all the way to 17, it's not about fancy recipes, but empowerment, giving kids the skills to feed themselves and the confidence to feed change.

- It's pretty fun because most of are, like, cooking at home, and I cook a lot of meals for me and my family.

- To be able to teach the babies how to support themselves, their brothers, you know, if they can even help you to make eggs in the morning just so you can help your mom get out the door for school, then we've done something.

(light rattling) - [Chris] Chef Gillian doesn't just teach kids how to cook... - We're waiting for the fruit to come.

- [Chris] She takes them all the way back to the roots, literally, from planting seeds to pulling vegetables from the soil in their very own garden.

- We've got some spinach, try that.

(Chris laughing) Yeah, really, truly just try it.

- Straight-up try it?

- Just straight-up, cheers.

- Only for you, I'll say that right now.

- Oh, let's do it.

(laughs) It's got a nice peppery bite, right?

A little bit on its side, it's kind of a little bit bitter, a little bit peppery, so think about... - That's not bad.

- [Gillian] With the different fruits, and herbs, and lettuces, right?

That you can impart flavor so that you don't have to use so many processed things and ingredients.

- [Chris] From curry to couscous, Chef Gillian uses recipes from her travels and folds them into the Junior Cultured Chefs experience.

It gives kids a chance to try bold new flavors and discover just how big the world of food can be.

- They tell you the ingredients that they're making, so it's fun for them to do that, to learn new ingredients as well.

- These young people make food from Japan and Korea, Greece, we had Jamaica, Mexico, getting ready to explore the world, so even if you can't... No matter your circumstances, if you cannot go to that place physically, you can transport yourself through this plate of food.

- [Chris] What began as a single farmer's market demo has blossomed into something far bigger.

Junior Cultured Chefs now partners with five markets and multiple schools.

The program has grown with the same care and intention Chef Gillian pours into every lesson, but the real growth is in the kids, and what happens when they see what they're capable of.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Chris Clark.

- Thanks, Chris, Chef Gillian is amazing, I wish she could have taught my son how to cook when he lived at home.

Well, we hope you enjoyed tonight's stories, now, it's your turn to be part of our "Carolina Impact" team.

Please share your thoughts on what could be a great future story by emailing the details to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us, we always appreciate your time, and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact," good night, my friends.

(upbeat guitar music) (upbeat guitar music continues) (upbeat guitar music continues) (upbeat guitar music continues) (upbeat orchestral music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(upbeat orchestral music)