About The CARes Project
The CARes Project, Inc.
Begun as an initiative of the United Way of Davie County in 2016, The CARes Project is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation. Operations began in 2017 with individual financial counseling and group home budgeting classes offered in Davie County. The first vehicle loans were made at the beginning of 2018. With an expansion into Forsyth and Davidson counties, The CARes Project, Inc. is now a certified Community Financial Development Institution (CDFI) funded in part by the US Treasury, to address the financial service needs of low and moderate-income residents of these North Carolina counties.
Our mission is to help people become financially secure through car ownership, by making community-funded vehicle loans, and by building skills through financial and credit coaching.
Our financial coaches are certified as CFEIs® through the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) and employ best practices for teaching financial literacy and promoting financial wellness.
Our Team
Scott McLaughlin, D.Min., is the Chief Executive Officer of The CARes Project, Inc. With over twenty-five years of leadership experience in educational, faith-based, and community nonprofit organizations, his mission is to build the organizational and fiscal foundation of the CARes Project, integrate the agency into the region's collaborative community development efforts, and lead the Project's growth into other counties in North Carolina. Scott also enjoys working with applicants to help them become skilled in money management and takes pride in every person who graduates from the car ownership program.
Melinda Beauchamp, Director of Strategic Initiatives
336-840-1555 ext. 107
Heidi K. Eddy, Financial Coach and Certified Financial Education Instructor℠
336-840-1555 ext. 103
Education has been at the heart of Heidi K Eddy’s career for 22 years. Her passion for helping people find self-confidence and self-motivation and then engage them in making changes for the better led her to pursue advanced degrees in education, with an interest in transformative education and social change. Heidi has taught and coached at both the community college and university levels. She has mentored at-risk students, taught in a correctional education university degree program for incarcerated individuals, and led conferences and workshops. She has also coached individuals on topics such as life skills, success skills, financial wellness, and personal growth. At The CARes Project, Heidi is excited about helping people uncover money stories that have kept them trapped in negative financial circumstances, learn the value of budgeting and good credit, and take action steps that move them into better financial situations.
Melinda has been in nonprofit work for over 35 years. She worked for the American Red Cross, SECU Family House, Family Services, Second Harvest Food Bank, and United Way. She served as the CEO for United Way of Davie County for 9.5 years before retiring June 30, 2020. Melinda took the plan of meeting the transportation challenges of Davie County residents with her when she took the position with United Way. The dream of a program to address the transportation issue took 7 years to create. With the help of David Roddick, who volunteered countless hours to help develop The CARes Project, United Way of Davie County was able to launch this program in 2018. CARes was Melinda’s passion and when she retired she knew she wanted to help CARes to expand across the state of NC using her connections with the United Way network. She began working with CARes January 6, 2021 as the Director of Strategic Initiatives.
List of Current Board of Directors
Andrew LaRowe, Board President
Marketing Committee Chair
President of EduCon Energy
Forsyth County
Tamara K. Taylor, Board Vice President
Executive Director
Habitat for Humanity of Davie County
Davie County
Michelle Younts, Board Treasurer
Governance Committee Chair
Market Manager
BB&T
Davidson County
Rick Hall, Board Secretary
Adult Division Director
Forsyth County Department of Social Services
Forsyth County
Neal P. Cheek
Independent Business Owner
Davie County
Fred Bazemore
Director of Programs and Operations
Experiment in Self-Reliance
Forsyth County
Renee Griffin
Executive Support Manager
Senior Services of Forsyth County
Forsyth County
Marcia Phillips
Retired
Advocacy Center of Davie County
Davie County