Welcome to Charlotte

MOTHERS & SONS SERVING TOGETHER TO IMPACT THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY

Welcome to the Charlotte Chapter of the Young Men’s Service League. 

The four years of high school go by incredibly fast. Finding time to spend together with your teenage son gets harder and harder. When you join YMSL, you commit to spending quality time together with your son serving your community.

In these moments, he sees your dedication to serving others. You see his eyes and heart become open to the world around him. These are memories to last a lifetime and service projects that impact our community forever.

In addition to service, YMSL offers valuable leadership opportunities and a four-year curriculum that covers topics such as car repair, interview skills, cooking, hazing prevention, and more.

We hope you will consider joining us. The time to start the membership process is during your son’s 8th-grade year. We look forward to meeting you and serving together. Scroll down for more details.

About YMSL

The Young Men’s Service League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit national organization. Members of YMSL are moms and their teenage sons who volunteer together to serve their local communities during his four years of high school. YMSL currently represents over 27,500 members and young men as part of more than 160 chapters across 22 states. 

YMSL offers moms service opportunities and time together with her son(s) to grow their relationship and to instill in him a heart of service to last a lifetime. In addition to service, as part of its four-year comprehensive program, YMSL teaches leadership and life skills to develop our young men to become the capable, confident, and compassionate leaders of tomorrow.

The pillars of the YMSL experience are service, learning, and leadership. YMSL is a four-year comprehensive program. Requirements for membership include:

YMSL Mentor (Sponsor)

YMSL is a sponsorship organization; a prospective member needs to be mentored (sponsored) by a current member of the chapter she wishes to join. Contact membership for guidance. Enrollment is during the son’s 8th-grade year. 

4-Year Commitment

Joining YMSL is a four-year commitment. Young men and their mothers are expected to remain active in the chapter during his four years of high school. An annual Volunteer and Senior Recognition Banquet is held each spring.

20 Hours of Service

A minimum of 20 service hours is required annually at a variety of chapter-approved philanthropies. Half of these hours must be served as a Mother/Son team.

Job within the Chapter

Each mom and son must individually serve in a job or leadership position within the chapter. Positions rotate annually. Roles offer valuable experience and leadership opportunities.

5 Meetings

A structured four-year curriculum for young men covers a variety of life skills and brings in local speakers. Young men must attend at least 5 meetings per year. Moms must attend at least 3 meetings per year.

Membership Fees

YMSL annual chapter dues and banquet fee.

Contact membership for more details.

Joining YMSL

Ready to take the next step?

Enrollment for new members takes place in January/February/March of the son’s 8th-grade year.

If you do not know anyone in YMSL, please contact us to assist you.

YMSL is a sponsorship organization, which means a prospective member needs to be mentored and sponsored by a current member of the chapter they wish to join.

If you would like to learn more about joining, please click the contact membership button below to send us a message. 

Our Chapter’s Membership Dates & Deadlines for Enrollment:
  • 01-31-2024Sponsor Forms Deadline
  • 02-05-2024Prospective Members Meeting
  • 03-01-2024Letter of Intent Due (LOI) from Prospective Members

Contact Membership

Testimonials

We are so thankful for the YMSL Charlotte Chapter! We already feel the direct and significant impact it has made on us. There are so many tremendous WINS to list but having to now carve out time together to go out into the community tops it all!
Jessica Wardlaw, with son JakeCharlotte, NC
Our experience at Gigi’s Playhouse was phenomenal! The interaction between the recipients and football players was very meaningful to all parties involved; cannot wait to do it again.
Amy Yancey, with sons Austin and TrevorCharlotte, NC

Leadership

Our Chapter’s Leadership Board

Kathy Cater

Board Member: President

Beth Swinson

Board Member: First Vice President

Nicole Sodoma

Board Member: Parliamentarian

Emily Zarbatany

Board Member: Secretary

Silke Rible

Board Member: Secretary

Vera McDermott

Board Member: Treasurer

Joyti Dhillon

Board Member: VP Communications

Laura Shirey

Board Member: VP Membership

Christina Emery

Board Member: VP Philanthropy

Milena Chotard

Board Member: VP Website

Erika Templeton

Board Member: VP Young Men Coordinator

Sarah Elliott-Burton

Board Member: Assistant VP Membership

Heather Dyer

Board Member: Assistant VP Philanthropy

Jocelyn Awender

Board Member: Assistant Treasurer

Elise Hinton

Board Member: Assistant VP Young Men Coordinator

Philanthropies we Serve

Alphabetical List

  • Abilities Tennis Association of NC
  • Adopt-A-Highway
  • Alexander Youth Network
  • Beds for Kids
  • Charlotte Mecklenburg County Parks and Rec
  • Charlotte Public Tree Fund
  • Charlotte Rollin Hornets
  • Charlotte-Mecklenberg Storm Water Services
  • Common Heart
  • Crisis Assistance Ministry
  • Feeding Charlotte
  • Freedom School Partners
  • Gigis Playhouse
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Hospitality House of Charlotte
  • I Can Shine
  • Miracle League of Greater Charlotte
  • NC Senior Games
  • Nourish Up
  • Our Bridge
  • Promising Pages
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • Roof Above
  • Samaritan’s Feet
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina
  • Special Olympics
  • Take on Sports
  • The Harvest Center of Charlotte
  • The Relatives
  • Trees Charlotte
  • University Soup Kitchen
  • Wreaths Across America

If you are a philanthropy interested in partnering with our chapter, we would love to hear from you. Please use the contact our chapter button below. 

Contact our Chapter

We look forward to hearing from you about membership or how our members can serve your philanthropy and our community. Click the button below to contact our chapter.

If you are interested in joining our chapter, please use the contact membership button in the Join section.

To learn more about the YMSL National organization visit: YMSL.org

To see a full list of chapters visit: YMSL.org/find-a-chapter

YMSL Privacy Policy

Contact Our Chapter