Windjam Properties’ Involvement in the Community

Lisa-Gray Vick

Lisa-Gray Vick

Director of Community Engagement

Lisa-Gray Vick, Windjam’s Director of Community Engagement, brings a strong background to Windjam Properties’ involvement in the community in both experience and education. After graduating from Meredith College in 1992 with two Bachelors’ degrees (Education and Psychology), she attended N.C. State University where she graduated with honors and received her Master’s in Special Education with a certification in Learning Disabilities for K-12.

In the years since completing her education, Lisa-Gray has found multiple areas that have allowed her to reach out to individuals, as well as the community, to make a positive impact. After graduating from N.C. State University, Lisa-Gray began work as a member of the program staff at the Cary Family YMCA where she was part of the team that designed and organized the very first Camp Rising Sun. Next, Lisa-Gray worked with Project Enlightenment in the Demonstration Preschool which is now a nationwide model, and from there became a Special Needs educator in the Wake County school system. During the time she worked with special needs students, she began to offer private tutoring, which eventually became a full-time endeavor.

Community outreach is Lisa-Gray’s main focus. From working with children at Loaves and Fishes helping to improve their literary skills, to organizing a local Shoebox Project for Samaritan’s Purse, to volunteering at the Special Olympics, Lisa-Gray is instrumental in organizing local efforts to help and make improvements in the community. She dedicates many hours to a great number of organizations throughout Raleigh and Cary, including the Clothing Ministry at First Baptist Church in Raleigh, Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen, Stop Hunger Now, the Read and Feed program, and the Raleigh Rescue Mission. At the latter, Lisa-Gray worked closely with a single mother and her two children, advocating for them in the community and in their schools. Further, Lisa-Gray had one of her dogs go through training to receive therapy dog certification and now Lisa-Gray and her dog make regular visits to local nursing homes, retirement centers, and after-school character programs.

Lisa-Gray finds her greatest joy in life in being of service to others, and she is happy to be part of the Windjam Development team. By seeking out ways to help non-profit organizations through sponsorships and continual engagement in outreach programs, Windjam Development hopes to continue building strong relationships with its community members. Lisa-Gray loves the challenge presented to her to help accomplish these goals, and working together with Windjam Development, she looks forward to all of the future opportunities to be a partner with these deserving organizations and an active member of the community.

Windjam Properties’ Partner Organizations

Raleigh Rescue MissionHope ConnectionWake InterfaithRead and FeedStop Hunger NowCorral Riding Academy

Windjam Properties List of Organizations We Support

CLOTHING MINISTRY OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, RALEIGH

The clothing ministry of the First Baptist Church in Raleigh provides for the distribution of donated clothing. It’s mission is to provide adequate clothing for families, homeless persons, those in transition from relocation or re-entry into the workforce, or any person with an identifiable need. Over 1,000 people are served each month. See more.

SHEPHERD’S TABLE SOUP KITCHEN

Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen provides donated food served by volunteers. See more.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. See more.

SAMARITAN’S PURSE SHOEBOX PROJECT

Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Project presents an opportunity in more than 100 countries to invite children into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ – 11,213,010 shoeboxes were collected and distributed in 2015. Each shoebox has the potential to transform the lives of children and their families around the world through the Good News of Jesus Christ. See more.

THERAPY DOG CERTIFICATION

Lisa-Gray and her dog therapy dog, Sequel, participate in reading with children in schools, visiting colleges during exam time, regularly visiting nursing homes and retirement centers, and helping with after-school character-building programs. See more.

FOOD BANK OF CENC

Food Bank of CENC provides food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina by distributing food to soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters. See more.

SAFECHILD OF WAKE COUNTY

Safechild of Wake County is the only child abuse prevention agency in Wake County that works directly with families. The goal for each family turning to SAFEchild is the same – to build a stronger family and create a healthy, nurturing environment which allows children to thrive. See more.

BROWN BAG MINISTRY

The Brown Bag Ministry prepares and delivers over 1,000 brown bag lunches every Saturday throughout the year to the hungry and those in need. See more.

CARY-KILDAIRE ROTARY CLUB

Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club is an international service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. See more.

LIFE EXPERIENCES

Life Experiences is a non-profit organization that offers a choice of satisfying work experiences for adults with varying disabilities, while allowing those adults the self-esteem of earning a wage for their work. See more.

MIRACLE LEAGUE OF THE TRIANGLE

Provides children with special needs the opportunity to play America’s favorite pastime. See more.

MEMORY CAFE

The Memory Café provides meals and entertainment to people with Alzheimer’s or dementia and their caretakers. See more.

PASSAGE HOME

Passage Home strives to break the cycle of poverty in Wake County communities by connecting families and neighborhoods with resources and opportunities. See more.

INTERFAITH FOOD SHUTTLE

The Interfaith Food Shuttle is an innovative hunger-relief organization serving seven counties in and around the Triangle: Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Johnston, Nash, and Edgecombe. See more.

DORCAS MINISTRY

Dorcas Ministry helps area residents with financial and food assistance, education scholarships, childcare assistance, job training, and more. See more.

BACK PACK BUDDIES

Back Pack Buddies is a branch of the Interfaith Food Shuttle. This program provides children from food-insecure homes with healthy weekend meals during the school year. The backpacks, which are packed by volunteers, contain six balanced meals and two healthy snacks at the end of every week. See more.

NOTE IN THE POCKET

Note In The Pocket provides clothing to children who are identified by various schools and social service agencies in the community as impoverished or homeless and in need of clothing to wear to school. A note is put into the pocket of each shirt or pair of pants telling the child “they are loved.” This is a newer but quickly growing non-profit. See more.

SWEET POTATO GLEANING

Sweet Potato Gleaning takes place after the annual sweet potato harvest. Food gleaned from the fields is given to the Interfaith Food Shuttle who then distributes is to local organizations. See more.

HOPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Hope Elementary School invites the Rotary Club to teach the Rotary Four-Way Test and talk with the kids about how they can apply it to their lives. The Four-Way Test of the things we think, say or do: 1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? See more.

GLOBAL RUN4WATER

Global Run4Water is an event put on by the Rotary Club to raise funds for international water projects. During the first three years over $40,000 was raised through sponsorships, matching grants, and community support. Funds are used towards water sanitation projects in Dominican Republic, Honduras, Lebanon, Bolivia, Uganda, and Guatemala. See more.

BLANKET BUNDLES FOR RALEIGH RESCUE MISSION

Blanket Bundles for the Raleigh Rescue Mission is a project that fills blankets with canned food items. Those blankets are given to the Mission’s residents, as well as the homeless, to help them stay warm. See more.

ERADICATE POLIO PROJECTS

In 1985, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children. Rotary has contributed more than $1.5 billion and countless volunteer hours to immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. See more.

CAMP COMFORT ZONE

Camp Comfort Zone is a nonprofit bereavement camp that transforms the lives of children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. The free camp includes confidence building programs and age-based support groups that break the emotional isolation that grief often brings. See more.