Friends group launches for Cherokee National Forest

Friends of the Cherokee National Forest, a new nonprofit based in Knoxville, aims to become a driving force in preserving one of the region’s most cherished landscapes. 

Medicaid expansion passes

More than half a million low-income, uninured North Carolinians will gain access to comprehensive health coverage when Medicaid expansion launches on Dec. 1, 2023.

Hawthorn Heights home now locally owned

Hawthorn Heights WNC, a nonprofit founded in Bryson City, announced it has purchased its current facility from Children’s Hope Alliance.

Bringing help: Western North Carolina’s connection to the war in Ukraine

Leaning against a wall in the basement of the train station right about midnight, they were cold and tired and broken, and it quickly became clear that they wished to go no further.

Bringing hope: In Ukraine, American nonprofits stave off humanitarian catastrophe

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine millions of people have left the war-torn country, with millions more driven from major cities and small villages in the east by the fighting.

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.

Macon approves emergency funds for KIDS Place

Macon County commissioners recently approved $55,000 worth of emergency funds to KIDS Place Child Advocacy Center to ensure the nonprofit can continue to offer services to children who’ve experienced trauma. 

Safety net: Nonprofit aims to bolster search and rescue ops

It was the fall of 2019, and Bill Zimmerman had just hopped in a truck with other members of the Haywood County Wilderness Search and Rescue Team in response to one of the 21 deployments the crew handled that year. 

“Somebody goes, ‘We don’t even have a gas card. We don’t even have money to put into the truck to get up to the mountain,’” Zimmerman recalled. 

Sylva will grant $20,000 to local nonprofits

A new grant program approved by a unanimous vote from the Sylva Board of Commissioners Sept. 24 will allocate $20,000 to help nonprofit organizations better serve Sylva residents during the pandemic. 

Foundation awards $18,700 to area nonprofits

When Haywood-area Realtors merged with their Charlotte counterparts earlier this year to create the Canopy Realtors Association, one big reason was the opportunity to dispense charitable support that would address unmet housing and educational needs. 

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