Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation is excited to announce a generous investment of $1 million from the Howard R. Levine Foundation to The CommonSpark Campaign. This gift will support the Howard R. Levine Opportunity Center in the new Main Library, slated to open in late 2025.

The Howard R. Levine Opportunity Center, designed to serve teens and adults seeking support for college and ongoing career development, will be located on the Opportunity and Innovation second floor of the new Main Library where resources will be provided to improve access to education and upward mobility in the region. Building upon the Main Library’s previous job help center resource, the Howard R. Levine Opportunity Center will feature private meeting rooms for counseling, personal assistance and virtual interviews. It will also provide computer workstations and assistive technology. The Center will include the Library’s business reference, nonprofit, entrepreneurial and personal development print and digital resources, as well as offer professional apparel for patrons to check out for job interviews. It will be staffed with professional librarians trained as certified career counselors, and provide specialized programming delivered in partnership with area experts.

Howard Levine and his wife, Dr. Julie Lerner Levine, established the Howard R. Levine Foundation in 2010 and have focused much of their support on nonprofit programs that offer support to low-income and struggling families in a myriad of ways, with many grants staying close to their home in the Charlotte community.

“The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has played a significant role in my family’s lives over the years, and I am excited to be able to support this dynamic new education center, especially a robust program that focuses on providing free access to important tools and skills to ensure personal growth and future success,” said Howard Levine.

The new Main Library will be a destination for Mecklenburg County and beyond, a hub of dynamic programming for the Library system, and an anchor of Uptown’s Seventh and Tryon redevelopment.

“We’re very excited about the resources the Howard R. Levine Opportunity Center will make possible to our growing community, said Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s CEO and Chief Librarian Marcellus “MT” Turner. “An investment in the Library is an investment in a strong community, and we couldn’t be more grateful to Howard Levine for his gift and belief in this project and the well-being of our residents.”

The CommonSpark is a comprehensive, $143 million public-private campaign to ignite change within the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system. The campaign includes funding for construction of a new Main Library; renovation of a Library Administration Center; technology, innovation and programming throughout the Library system; an endowment for the future and annual operating support.

For more information on The CommonSpark campaign, contact Karen Beach at 704.416.0802.