Introducing Charlotte TRACKS, a New Website for Charlotte Parents

First of all, Happy Easter and Happy 1st Birthday to Triangle TRACKS! One year ago today, on April 12, 2008, Triangle TRACKS burst onto the Triangle region's Internet scene. Today, in addition to enjoying a beautiful Easter, we're also celebrating the launch of our sister site, Charlotte TRACKS! Here is a press release with more details that will go out to Charlotte's media today.

Charlotte, N.C. (April 12, 2009) Apex, N.C. mom and former magazine editor Elizabeth Shugg has launched Charlotte TRACKS at http://www.charlottetracks.com, a social networking website for Charlotte parents that consolidates 1,500-plus links to local resources for children in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. TRACKS is an acronym for “Tools, Resources and Activities for Carolina Kids.”

Charlotte TRACKS enables members who register for a login to the site to post blogs, forums, calendar entries and other helpful information for local families. It links to children’s businesses and resources in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Union, Iredell, Lincoln, Lancaster and York counties. The site’s content focuses on schools, museum exhibits, parks, youth sports, camps, music lessons, performing arts studios, birthday party venues, amusement centers, restaurants, childcare facilities, healthcare resources, clothing stores and more.

“There are thousands of wonderful resources just for children in the Charlotte region, and now they are all consolidated on one website,” Shugg says. “Charlotte TRACKS simplifies the process of locating the resources families are looking for, and members can help generate the website’s content by posting blogs, forum discussions and calendar events to share information.”

Those interested in joining Charlotte TRACKS can visit http://www.charlottetracks.com and click on “sign up.” Members will receive mid-month and end-of-month emails listing links to accumulated blogs, forum discussions and calendar events posted during that part of the month. “It’s like getting a biweekly newsletter created by all of Charlotte TRACKS’ members,” Shugg says.

Charlotte TRACKS displays whimsical art created by internationally renowned artist Laura Kelly, and follows Shugg’s launch of Triangle TRACKS exactly one year ago, on April 12, 2008. Shugg came up with the idea and name for Triangle TRACKS in January 2008 during her children’s winter break. “I started thinking about how nice it would be to rely on one website that consolidates all of the resources for children in the Triangle. I did this as much for my family as everyone else’s, and was excited to share it with other parents. Now I can do the same for Charlotte parents.”