Community Almanac
Smoky Mountain News
Quilters group gifts pillowcases to Broyhill On Sept. 11, residents of The Broyhill Children’s Home in Clyde received 128 handmade pillowcases from the Martha Curtis Quilters group. The Martha Curtis Quilters are a group of ladies who come from all over the country — from Florida to Connecticut — to get together and sew. For the past 30 years, they’ve held their retreat at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. The only time it was cancelled was in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year, the group of 40 quilters chose the Broyhill Children’s Home as their charity organization and pillowcases as their project. President Rita Fowler said they chose this organization because “this is such a wonderful place for children and we plan to do some sort of charity project every year from now on!” Each pillowcase was carefully crafted from fabric with a youthful theme such as teddy bears, elephants, monkeys and more. Linda White, Cottage Parent of the Broyhill Children’s Home said, “the children are always delighted to receive thoughtful gifts from donors, and the pillowcases will be a pleasant reminder of the Martha Curtis Quilters when they go to bed at night.”
Grants totaling $247,500 for flood relief The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently approved two additional grants totaling $105,000 from its Emergency and Disaster Response Fund to nonprofits in counties significantly affected by the recent floods. With these awards, $247,500 has been awarded from the Fund to address response and relief efforts. The most recent grants include $95,000 to Haywood County’s Mountain Projects that will support the rehabilitation of approximately five homes to livable standards and provide funds for increased staff costs related to flood response work. A $10,000 grant to Pisgah High School in Haywood County will purchase technology, equipment and other teacher support supplies that would have been paid for through activities made impossible by the flood. The school campus experienced significant damage, and it will not be able to conduct fundraising for necessary items not covered by local, state and federal funding. In addition to CFWNC and a lead gift from Dogwood Health Trust, funders include WNC Bridge Foundation, Mission Health, Wicked Weed Brewing and donations from CFWNC fundholders and the community. To donate, visit www.cfwnc.org. Administrative fees are waived so that every dollar will go directly to assistance.
Foundations team up for housing Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation, Nantahala Health Foundation and Dogwood Health
Trust announced a new collaborative initiative to address the need for home repairs in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary. The initiative is targeted to owner-occupied homes of individuals at 60% of the area median income (AMI). Many of these homeowners are unable to afford the repairs needed to maintain the safety and health of their home’s occupants. Others require home modifications to ensure they can safely age in their homes or to address physical challenges or disabilities. Affordability of repairs and home modifications have been further compromised by supply chain and labor challenges exacerbated by COVID-19. Dogwood Health Trust is supporting the Healthy Homes Initiative and the work of HCHF and NHF with a $400,000 grant. A new grant cycle specifically requesting proposals from nonprofit, governmental and faithbased organizations that have demonstrated success in the past identifying and implementing critical home repairs and rehabilitation projects is now open. Grant applications will be accepted until the closing date of Oct. 15, 2021. Information regarding the grant application process can be found at highlandscashiershealthfoundation.org.
Pregnancy Care Center celebrates 20 years Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Center will hold its 20-year Celebration at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. The Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center has professionally staffed clinics in Franklin and Cullowhee, and now has a mobile medical unit to
take their services to more people in Western North Carolina. It provides pregnancy testing, limited OB ultrasounds, Earn While You Learn classes, and more. All services are free to clients. Guest speaker Melissa Ohden, a saline abortion survivor, will tell her remarkable, inspirational story. There is no cost to attend, but guests are asked to preregister at smokypartners.com or by calling 828.349.3200.
Join Alzheimer’s Walk The Alzheimer’s Association is inviting Haywood and surrounding area residents to join the fight to end Alzheimer’s by participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Pack Square Park in Asheville. Check-in opens at 9 a.m. with an opening ceremony at 10 a.m., but the walk route will open at check-in time to allow teams to start walking when they are ready. The Asheville walk will implement safety protocols including physical distancing, contactless registration, hand sanitizing stations and more. Masks are welcome and will be available on-site. To sign up as a walker or team captain or to learn more about becoming a sponsor of Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Asheville, visit act.alz.org/asheville or call 800.272.3900.
Village Green director retires The Village Green Board of Directors announced the upcoming retirement of Executive Director Ann Self effective in December. Self is the founding executive and has led the organization since 2012. Self’s achievements while leading The Village
23
Green include the annual Cashiers Christmas Tree Lighting that started in 2012; initiating the annual community Independence Day celebration, Fireworks Extravaganza On the Green; four new gardens being installed in the park, a StoryWalk and more. Self has also been instrumental in the park venue expansion with the opening of The Village Green Commons Hall, the 5,400 square foot cultural events and community activities building. The Village Green Board has identified and hired Self’s successor who will begin later this fall. An announcement concerning this will be made at that time. To learn more about The Village Green, the 13acre privately conserved park for the people of Cashiers, visit villagegreencashiersnc.com.
McNeil honored with annual award Long-time Lake Junaluska supporters Frank Stith III and Kathy Geyer McNeil are the 2021 recipients of the Chief Junaluska Award, an honor bestowed annually during Associates Weekend at Lake Junaluska. The 2021 honorees, Stith and McNeil, are Lake Junaluska residents and charitable supporters who have “worked tirelessly to make Lake Junaluska a place of Christian hospitality where lives are transformed through renewal of soul, mind and body,” said Bob Bowling in co-presenting the award with his wife, Robin. A retired Elder of The United Methodist Church, Stith first came to Lake Junaluska 75 years ago when he was 6 years old. McNeil’s father was a Methodist minister, and her family used to vacation at Lake Junaluska. As early as the 1960s, they enjoyed the annual Independence Day Celebrations at the lake and she even performed music at the lake as a youth.
HCC Foundation hires new director Haywood Community College recently hired Hylah Birenbaum as the new executive director of the HCC Foundation. Birenbaum has called Waynesville home for more than 25 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from American University in Washington, D.C. She comes to HCC from The Smoky Mountain News where she served as editorin-chief for Smoky Mountain Living magazine and Blue Ridge Motorcycling magazine. She also worked for USA Today and owned and operated a bed-and-breakfast in Waynesville for 10 years. “The Foundation Board is excited to welcome Hylah to the position of executive director,” says Jon Overbay, HCC Foundation board chair. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her work with numerous other charitable foundations. She approaches the position with an unbridled enthusiasm that is contagious. Hylah’s leadership enables the Board to strengthen and expand its financial support of the students, faculty and staff of Haywood Community College.”
