SCCF Philanthropy Awards Ceremony scheduled for next Friday, November 18th, 5-7 pm at Convocation Hall at the University
Arts Inside: $5,000 of a $5,251 project
Arts Inside will create and manage a Mutual Aid Network that will be dedicated to
meeting the immediate needs of formerly incarcerated people and other at-risk
individuals. The program is meant to fill immediate financial gaps in resources available
for necessities like housing, food, and fuel while connecting individuals with other
resources to ensure they are able to build safe, stable environments for themselves and
their families. Arts Inside will partially fund the volunteer stipend for the project, and the
SCCF funds will be last dollar in. The need to create a mutual aid network was an
initiative that all those in PIP believed was necessary towards helping our community.
Easy’s Dog Shelter: $5,000 of a $5,000 project
The funding from this grant will allow Easy’s Dog Shelter to complete the in-take
building by adding a washer and dryer, and installing heat and air. In doing so, the
shelter will be more efficient and better able to care for the animals by providing clean
bedding in the winter and a climate-controlled in-take building for new arrivals. On the
day of their interview, Easy’s had just taken in a total of 17 boxer puppies, which
demonstrates more than ever the need for this grant to properly care for all of the dogs
in their facility.
Folks At Home: $750 of a $1,000 project
Harvard Medical School has recently released a 53-page Special Health Report entitled
“Better Balance: Simple Exercises to improve stability and prevent falls”. This
comprehensive little booklet – well illustrated and easy to read - includes an explanation
of how balance works, problems that can arise with one’s balance (particularly age
related), safety measures around the home to prevent falls, and simple, beginner,
intermediate, and advanced exercises that can improve one’s balance. Fall related
injuries are a major threat to older adults and often reduce their ability to remain
independent; they are the leading cause of accidental death in older adults. Folks at
Home would like to purchase and distribute (to its members and to Sewanee Senior
Center members, and a limited number to the public) 100 copies of this booklet (at a
bulk rate 50% discount). The additional funding needed for the books will come from the
Folks at Home program budget, which has funds available since programs remain on
hold due to Covid. PIP was impressed by the booklet that Folks at Home wants to
provide copies of to community members. It was very easy to read and follow along,
and this booklet will be an important resource to older community members.
Friends of South Cumberland Park: $5,000 of a $10,000 project
The Friends of South Cumberland (FSC) in partnership with the South Cumberland
State Park (SCSP) and the South Cumberland Regional Land Trust seeks funding to
launch the Cumberland Forest School, with the goal of providing a Forest School that
serves the whole of the Plateau. In keeping with SCCF’s goals of encouraging
collaboration FSC is partnering with a local land trust, which also has aspirations of
developing educational programs. Both organizations will, through this grant, employ
the services of Abbey Moore, founder of the Cumberland Forest School LLC to launch
the school and to develop plans for each organization to enhance its educational
offerings, as well as develop upon the potential of the fledgling Nature Play Area located
at the South Cumberland State Park Visitors Center located between Monteagle and
Tracy City. The $5,000 requested will pay for startup costs for the project. As Moore
builds the school, she will also receive revenue from tuition-paying students beyond the
students being subsidized by the grant. PIP believes that the creation of a forest school
will be valuable for the youth in the area.
Grundy County Food Bank: $5,000 of a $23,098.46 project
Grundy County Food Bank is asking for an SCCF Philanthropy Grant of $5,000 to
provide partial funding toward the purchase of a second walk-in freezer. GCFB believes
that this is necessary to provide flexibility in obtaining food at the lowest cost and to
reduce the risk of loss in the event of the failure of one freezer. Residents of Grundy
County rely heavily on the Grundy County Food Bank for meals. GCFB holds the
additional funds needed for this project in its New Building Fund, and will continue to
seek other funding sources so as not to deplete the New Building Fund entirely. PIP
believes that it is important for the Grundy County Food Bank to upgrade its facility to
better serve the community.
Grundy County Mayor's Office: $5,000 of a $15,000 project
An important part of our ability to grow a sustainable, responsible tourism economy
involves using words and images to tell prospective visitors about this region, and why
they should plan a multi-day visit – even a “destination vacation” -- in this area. To make
that possible, Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism Partnership seeks to create a
short, engaging, professional video about Tennessee's South Cumberland region that
can be used in all of our online media (website and multiple social media channels), as
well as in advertising on broadcast and cable channels in target markets across the
Southeast. This grant will enable the Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism
Partnership to hire a professional videographer to shoot and edit the video; the raw
footage will also provide future content that can be re-edited for a variety of other
marketing purposes. The videographer is a local resident who will be able to begin a
new career with stable income as a result of this project. The additional funds needed
are through a Tennessee Department of Tourist Development grant; the SCCF funds will
enable the project to begin. The work of the local videographer was truly amazing, and
PIP believes that the videographer and Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism
Partnership will produce a compelling video that best showcases the beauty of our
community.
Mountain Goat Trail Alliance: $4,250 of $4,680 request
With the completion of several new sections of the Mountain Goat Trail, new signage is
needed to direct users and increase awareness and knowledge of the trail. SCCF
funding would be used for both posted signs and for thermoplastic signage on parts of
the trail. PIP sees the value of the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance and recognizes that their
project is easily scalable in comparison to the other organizations.