Dogwood Health Trust

We salute the first class of graduates from Project AWE (Addiction Workforce Education) along with their instructors at Western Carolina University's Department of Social Work.?Dogwood is proud to support Project AWE, which trains certified peer support specialists who have overcome addictions to help others working toward recovery. These graduates will ultimately become certified alcohol and drug counselors after completing an additional 90 hours of education and 6,000 hours of supervised practice. Read more about these inspiring graduates and Project AWE working to create a healthier #WNC. https://lnkd.in/eMQ8nA2b #SUD #rural #recovery #harmreduction? #substanceusedisorder #addictionrecovery #addictiontreatment

Congratulations to our VP of Health & Wellness Alex F. Howard for receiving the Distinguished Leader Award from the University of Kentucky College of Public Health. #publichealth #WNC

#VeteransDay2024 #thankyouforyourservice

When Hurricane Helene hit, C2Life/C2Life Foundation had to pivot. Before the hurricane, this Burke County human service provider was shipping out 1,500 healthy pre-packed frozen meals a week to Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) participants. After the hurricane hit, C2Life was left without power and so were their HOP clients who could no longer safely store or heat and eat their meals. Quickly calling on their community, C2Life partnered with UPS and used a $10,000 emergency grant from Impact Health to create shelf stable meal kits for HOP clients and hurricane survivors. With volunteer drivers, they were able to deliver shelf stable meal kits to distribution sites across Western North Carolina. Now they are looking to do more. C2Life is partnering with other human service organizations in the Impact Health network to help support them as they recover from hurricane-related impacts and continue to support HOP participants.

Congratulations to Dogwood Trustee and founding Board Chair Janice Brumit, a 2024 WomanUP honoree! Janice received the Suzanne DeFerie Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce for outstanding service in business and philanthropy. She leaves an indelible mark on our region as a mentor known for empowering other women and for her servant leadership in support of education, health care and economic development. ? https://lnkd.in/e5yeTh8x ? #WomanUP #AshevilleChamber #WomenInBusiness #WNC

The WNC Small Business Initiative application is now live. Visit the link below to learn more about the criteria and to apply for small business relief grants. #smallbusiness #WNC #HurricaneHelene

Dogwood’s second round of #HurricaneHelene relief funding invests another $20+ million in #WNC, bringing the total to $50+ million. These newest funds prioritize the urgent financial needs of small local businesses and farmers, housing stability, and continued support for organizations providing direct relief and FEMA navigation services. ? Learn more about our coordinated response and the soon-to-be-launched WNC Small Business Initiative that will make up to $25K grants to very small businesses impacted by the storm: https://lnkd.in/ecu_-Mv2 #SmallBusiness #HurricaneHelene #WNCRecovery #HurricaneHeleneRecovery #HurricaneHeleneRelief

Since the storm, the Dogwood team has been in active, close communication with funders and local leaders to coordinate a response that considers the needs of relief, recovery and rebuilding; upholds our equity commitments; and ensures that resources reach people and organizations who are most affected. Find out more about our coordinated response. https://lnkd.in/es57SbUk #HurricaneHelene #WNCRecovery #HurricaneHeleneRecovery #HurricaneHeleneRelief

Today, we announced more than $30M in initial relief funding for the unnatural devastation across Western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene. Dogwood is prioritizing support for local organizations that will help local people and organizations now and in the days to come. We are actively working with local, regional and national partners to attract additional capital to the region and joining partners to advocate for public dollars. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gpJNti2E ? Dogwood will make more funding announcements in the coming weeks for recovery and rebuilding efforts, including responding to the needs of small businesses, among other opportunities. Information about how to submit future funding ideas to Dogwood will be shared on www.dht.org soon. Many Dogwood staff are still affected by the hurricane, so time is needed for our organization to get back to full capacity. #helenesupport #wncstrong #WNC

The impacts of Hurricane Helene are challenging our region, especially with the devastation, loss of life and uncertainties of basic necessities. Our Dogwood team is heartened by all the care and leadership of neighbors reaching out to help neighbors and strangers alike. This is the WNC way. It will take this type of camaraderie to get through this. We are relieved to share that all of our staff and board members are safe and accounted for at this time. We know that many people continue to anxiously await word from loved ones and are grateful for everyone working to help in this effort. Dogwood anticipates the response to this unnatural event will take both short-term relief and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts. Dogwood is committed to both and helping communities through the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. As a first step, Dogwood is working with the The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and WNC Bridge Foundation to make immediate relief funds available. Today, we are elevating the community foundation's Emergency and Disaster Response Fund (EDRF), which will accept and disburse funds for regional response and relief efforts in the Qualla Boundary and 18 counties of Western North Carolina. The Dogwood team is also working with local, regional and national partners to attract additional capital and contributions to the region. Later this week, Dogwood will announce its contribution to the EDRF along with additional contributions to organizational partners for short-term relief. We will continue to announce more contributions for medium- to long-term recovery efforts across Western North Carolina in the coming days and weeks. Please stay safe, stay strong and continue our WNC tradition of pulling together to help all of our neighbors through these challenging times. #WNC #hurricanehelene https://lnkd.in/giBXfVDN