Empowered women empower their community

In 2011, Nikki White and Michelle Briggs sat on a porch drinking wine, envisioning an organization by women, for the women and children of Waynesville. They conceived of a team of ladies that would assist the organizations and nonprofits on the ground, already doing the work to aid women and children in the community. Ten years later, Women of Waynesville has not only provided massive support to those existing organizations, it has also created its own philanthropy projects.

Rooted in home: Cherokee’s newest Beloved Woman reflects on life of service, learning and tribal identity

Carmaleta Littlejohn Monteith has taken countless flights to innumerable destinations during her 86 years on Earth, so she no longer recalls exactly what year it was when she found herself on a flight to Los Angeles making what would later prove to be memorable small talk with the man who settled into the seat beside her.

WNC African American conference to focus on reparations

The eighth annual African Americans in Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia Conference will be held virtually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. The focus of this year’s event is “Reparations, Revelations and Racial Justice: The Path Forward.”

Q&A with Jessica Merritt of Nurture + Nature Glamping Retreat Center

Special Liberty Project, what is it and how did it get started?

The Special Liberty Project is a nonprofit organization serving healing veterans and families of America's fallen heroes, referred to as Gold Star Families. In nature, healing is plentiful. We bring together veteran families who have experienced similar traumatic experiences, or losses, to create healing in nature. 

Creating A Different Kind Of Church

“This is my kind of church.”

That’s how one participant described the lunar women’s circles I started hosting recently.

Making sense of the unimaginable: Floodwaters ravage the tightly-knit mountain community of Cruso

It’s about a mile past Jukebox Junction, down along U.S. 276 heading towards the small mountain community of Cruso, when the strong, pungent smell of mud wafts into the open truck windows and up through your nostrils.

Grateful for tribes

Everyone needs a tribe, and sometimes we need more than one. 

Curatory creates space for contemporary art, community

Ashten McKinney is the new kid on the block, but already she’s making friends with her neighbors and offering a welcoming, safe space for her community. 

Removing the stigma: Spreading Hope and Awareness with the SHARE Project

By Boyd Allsbrook • Contributing writer | “I’m looking for a personal trainer who also knows kickboxing.” An innocuous Facebook recommendation post by an ordinary Waynesville mom. The sort of thing most just scroll past daily without so much as a second glance. But under and behind the normalcy was a cutting need for an outlet to that mother’s unresolved pain. 

Caring for our own is what matters

By Catherine Sawyer • Guest Columnist | When I think of the stereotypes against Appalachia, what comes to mind is what popular culture has had to say about Appalachian people. The mockery, generalization, and misunderstanding that Hollywood has been producing for generations is the most glaring. I also think of the lesser known impacts of the stereotypes, such as the way the government and our fellow Americans treat the area. I’ve said before that growing up here, in a small town as widely known and simultaneously forgotten as Bryson City, was somewhat like growing up in a novelty store. “One of the cutest small towns in the country,” they boast. “Rated top in the nation for small town living” is displayed across the covers of national travel magazines. 

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