Several Community Clubs of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians won in categories at the recent WNC Honors Awards, a program of WNC Communities. The Wolftown Community Club won the Impact Award.
WNC Communities says of Wolftown, “This award recognizes a community for their outstanding effort to achieve a measurable increase in their community’s well-being. This year, Wolftown was awarded for their organized activism to support 212 families in crises across the wider EBCI community in 2024. This began with a support group called the Community Cafe where individuals could come to Wolftown to express their mental health needs during the pandemic. Once Wolftown members began realizing the extent of the needs, they began weekly meetings. They organized coordinators to collect statistics on residents’ needs, to identify helpful community resources, and to guide families in need to specific mental health, employment, recovery, family support, housing, and transportation resources. Then, during a special meeting with Public Health and Human Services, the Wolftown group and Community Cafe participants were able to voice their concerns regarding social services being provided to EBCI families, using well-researched facts and statistics. Now, one of the Wolftown coordinators sits on the EBCI Family Safety Policy Board as a community liaison. The winner of this prestigious award receives $3000 and a site visit from the Dogwood Health Trust team and WNC Communities to help them identify ways to move forward with their community’s goals.”
All participating communities received $1,000 to support their efforts. Additionally, communities were assessed across six different competencies and awarded a level of Trillium, Mountain Laurel, Redbud, or White Oak according to their demonstrated capacity to lead and serve. These competencies include Good Governance, Leadership Excellence, Financial Stewardship, Volunteer Recruitment and Retention, Community Programs and Civic Engagement, and Collaboration.
Some communities advanced to the next level and Best in Class Awards were awarded to the stand-out communities at each level. The 15 Best in Class communities for Trillium took home an additional $500. Fourteen communities received an extra $1,000 for Best in Class in Mountain Laurel. Two communities were awarded an extra $2,000 for Best in Class at the Redbud level, and one community received an additional $3,000 for Best in Class at the White Oak level.
Cherokee County Indian Community and Towstring were honored at the Trillium level, with Cherokee County taking home a Best in Class. Big Cove, Big Y, Birdtown, Painttown, Snowbird, and Yellowhill were recognized at the Mountain Laurel Level, with Big Y and Snowbird each receiving a Best in Class. Wolftown was recognized at the Redbud Level and received a Best in Class.
- Information taken from WNC Communities release
