Shortly after opening the doors of the Don Tomas Health Sciences Center back in 2021, Southwestern Community College developed a strategy for not only filling the area’s tremendous healthcare workforce needs — but also providing a promising future for soon-to-be high school graduates. 

Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene showed clearly that resilience is built not just by government plans on paper but by people and organizations rooted in community and commitment.

Three regional philanthropy leaders — Dogwood Health Trust, Mountain Projects and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina — stood at the center of that response, stepping beyond missions and acting as frontline partners in relief, recovery and stability when formal systems lagged or gaps emerged. 

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), a time to raise our collective consciousness about family violence in our community and to highlight the critical support systems available for survivors locally.  

Five days isn’t enough time to process a disaster like Hurricane Helene, yet as uncertainty swirled and rescue operations still played out across Western North Carolina, Dogwood Health Trust’s 16 board members found whatever internet they could, got on a Zoom meeting and approved $30 million in grants to organizations providing vital on-the-ground services. 

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Dogwood Health Trust to support regional strategies to advance tourism and related economic development. The grant activities will benefit workers and businesses in numerous gateway communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. 

Gov. Josh Stein announced that the Dogwood Health Trust, the Duke Endowment and the State of North Carolina have distributed $55 million to 2,812 small businesses through the Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative. These grants are supporting Western North Carolina businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene and bolstering regional economic recovery. More than 7,300 businesses applied.  

HERE of Jackson County, the county’s primary homeless services provider, is requesting half a million dollars from the county to purchase and renovate a facility that would become Jackson’s first and only permanent homeless shelter. 

Jackson County has been working to develop a plan it hopes will mend the multigenerational workforce issue that is impacting communities around the country — childcare, and the lack of availability — on the local level. 

Macon County Schools has spent the better part of a year undergoing a strategic planning process that charts a course for the school system’s future. 

The COVID pandemic may seem like ancient history to most western North Carolinians, but foster children in Haywood County are still feeling its ripple effects. Due to abuse, neglect or other adverse circumstances, they need stable and supportive temporary homes and there are not enough foster homes.