Fort Hill – The Great Smokies Health Foundation held a grant awards ceremony last Friday at Robbinsville United Methodist Church.
The following organizations attended at received their grant funds:
* Blue Ridge Bartram Trail was awarded a grant to help with their outdoor youth employment. The organization teaches kids to take care of themselves and their 110 miles of local environments.
* Grace Place was given funds to assists with the community table. On Sept. 22, Grace Place served 231 people. The funding will allow the organization to host their food drive-thru every Wednesday from 5-7 p.m.
* REVVED UP was gifted funds to improve and revitalize the local community. “We want to enhance the quality of life and the economical health and the physical life, and well-being of everybody in and around Robbinsville,” said REVVED UP Director John Colwell.
* The Robbinsville Tourism Authority received funding for its “Passport to Adventure” project, which will be a booklet with all of Graham County’s local trails. Taylor stated that she was “I am thrilled,” said Karen Taylor, Robbinsville Tourism Authority Director. “This is my first grant as RTA director.”
* GREAT was also awarded a grant. “We are so thankful to be a part of a community, a region, where groups, foundations, organizations and individuals are so willing to work together to make life better for all who live here,” said Eric Reece, on behalf of GREAT. “This generous gift will allow us to continue to work within Graham County to find the best opportunities to improve the quality of life.”
* Graham County Schools was awarded a grant for the mental health and wellness of the teachers and staff. “We want to promote health and safety of our staff, so that we can ensure that in our students,” said Graham County Schools Superintendent Angie Knight.
The Great Smokies Health Foundation gave a total of $18,500 in grants at the ceremony.
Overall, the foundation has approved the funding of 33 grants – totaling $128,760 – to non-profits, schools and governmental agencies in Jackson, Swain, Macon and Graham counties.