About Us

The Mission of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

HandsOn NWNC mobilizes the people and organizations that inspire community change in Forsyth, Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.

The Vision of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina

HandsOn NWNC envisions a Northwest North Carolina where citizens and nonprofits are equipped and engaged in creating thriving, healthy communities.

Staff Descriptions

Amy Lytle became the first Executive Director of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina in October 2007, bringing with her over ten years of professional nonprofit management experience. Amy came to HandsOn from The Volunteer Center of Greensboro, where she served as Assistant Director for more than eight years and was the lead staff member providing training and technical assistance to the nonprofits with which the Center worked. She has developed and presented workshops throughout the state of North Carolina on a variety of volunteer management and nonprofit governance topics. In the past, Amy served on the board of ncyt , a statewide organization of young, non-profit professionals, and as President of NCAVA, the North Carolina Association of Volunteer Administrators, and continues to serve as a volunteer with numerous other professional, educational, nonprofit, and community groups. Amy is also proud to be a founding member of the Fondue Fund, a Triad-wide giving circle comprised of diverse young women that merged with The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem in 2010, with whom she nows serves as a member of its Leadership Development committee. For all of these efforts, Amy was honored to be recognized in 2006 as one of the Forty Leaders Under 40 by the Triad Business Journal. Amy graduated from Guilford College, received her CAVNC (Certified Administrator of Volunteers in North Carolina) credential from NCAVA in 2001 and graduated from Duke University’s Certificate Program in NonProfit Management in 2003.

Kathy Davis started with HandsOn NWNC as Program Director in October 2008 to lead our professional development and leadership training efforts. A Winston-Salem native, Kathy has an MPA from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has extensive experience building capacity with small nonprofits and governments from nine years of community and economic development work in upstate South Carolina where she wrote grants and managed infrastructure, housing, building renovation and construction projects. Kathy also has experience in budgeting and program evaluation from her tenure with the City of Charlotte. She has a certification in community development from the University of Central Arkansas’s Community Development Institute and spent several years helping local nonprofits in the Charlotte area with grant writing and project development.  Kathy is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Winston-Salem.

Brittney Albert joined the HandsOn NWNC team as the Program and Marketing Assistant in July 2016. She came to HandsOn from Family Services, Inc., where she served as a Victim Advocate for three and a half years, working with individuals and families who had been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Brittney is a Zionville, NC native who has lived in the Winston-Salem area for nine years. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University and is currently pursuing her Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in Nonprofit Management at UNC-Greensboro. Brittney is also a graduate of HandsOn NWNC’s Women’s Emerging Leaders and Project Blueprint programs and has a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Wake Forest University’s Pro Humanitate Institute. Apart from HandsOn, Brittney has a passion for animal welfare and educating others about the benefits of animal companionship and therapy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center and the Piedmont Down Syndrome Support Network.

2018 Board Members

HandsOn NWNC History

HandsOn NWNC has its roots in two separate unincorporated initiatives – NonProfit Connections and Volunteer Connections. In 2007, the two quasi-organizations merged to become NonProfit and Volunteer Connections (NPVC). Then, in August 2008, NPVC adopted the HandsOn name, to more closely align with one of its national networks. At that time, we also expanded our service area to Surry, Yadkin, Davie and Davidson counties. In 2010, at the request of local nonprofit leaders there, we added Stokes County to our service area.

NonProfit Connections was originally created to help build and strengthen nonprofits in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County area. Its goal was to provide area nonprofits with the tools to fulfill their missions and ultimately enhance the vitality of our community. NonProfit Connections provided information, assessment tools, and referrals on a wide variety of topics related to development, support, and professional development and training for individual nonprofits and the local nonprofit community as a whole. It was a funders’ collaborative that indirectly employed a part-time staff person.

Volunteer Connections evolved out of the work of the volunteerism committee of the ECHO (Everyone Can Help Out) Council, which was spearheaded by the Winston-Salem Foundation in 2003 to work as a promoter, incubator, facilitator, and advocate for social capital. (In 2009, ECHO was spun off as an independent nonprofit, but remains co-located with HandsOn.) Volunteer Connections’ mission was to serve as a focal point for mobilizing and connecting both new and established volunteers and leaders and for engaging them in activities that strengthen and unite our community. In February 2007, Volunteer Connections launched its web site designed to match volunteers and nonprofits in Forsyth County. Until the merger, it was a volunteer-led group that was supported by a consultant.

Combining the two organizations created a single entity devoted to building a stronger and more engaged community by improving the effectiveness of nonprofits and connecting volunteers with opportunities for meaningful community service. The merger allowed for the opening of a dedicated office and the hiring of full-time staff for the first time in October 2007.

HandsOn NWNC continues the work and goals of its two predecessor groups while working to expand services into other counties to the north and west of Forsyth County.

Location and Directions

HandsOn’s offices are co-located with The Winston-Salem Foundation in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem at 751 West Fourth Street, Suite 200, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-2702. Please call and make an appointment before visiting to ensure that staff will be available to meet with you. The majority of our workshops and meetings take place in the Burress Family Center for Philanthropy, on the 3rd floor of our building. Free parking is available for workshop and meeting attendees in a lot directly across 4th St., at the corner of 4th and Broad St.  In Stokes County, workshops are usually held at the libraries in either King or Danbury; in Davidson County, at the College of Davidson and Davie Counties; and, in Davie County at United Way of Davie County.