Three grants have been awarded by The Fund for Haywood County, totaling about $7,000. 

This fund is an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and is a permanent endowment intended to meet the needs of local nonprofits. These awards included a $2,050 grant to Girls on the Run of Western North-Carolina-Haywood-County. As an afterschool program that aims to integrate self-confidence and running for health, the grant will help to sustain and expand their efforts in Haywood County Schools. 

“The value of the program is to help young girls gain respect and feel empowered to be the best they can,” said head coach Nicole Foster. 

Teams of girls, third to eighth grade, participate and, due to the grant, this is the first year for a team from Meadowbrook Elementary. Haywood Waterways Association also received $3,360 for the Lake Junaluska greenway project. This project has plans to slow the erosion of the shoreline in order to maintain the lake for continued use. Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation was granted $1,500 by Haywood County, as well. With the extra funds, Sarge’s — an organization dedicated to the rescue and adoption of pets — will be able to “save several cats and dogs who would otherwise have been left behind out of financial necessity,” said Executive Director Laura Parrott Ivey. 

The grant is already showing its fruitfulness in the rescue story of Breezy, “a lovely Staffordshire terrier who was heartworm positive and now is cured and recovering in the comfort of her foster home.” More animals like Breezy will now have the opportunity to be treated, saved and hopefully adopted.