The CAHEC Foundation improves the quality of life for youth and young adults through wellness and education. So far in 2019, we have distributed $89,500  to support our mission of offering life-changing opportunities to the residents in CAHEC's footprint. Here's an overview of the grants and initiatives we've proudly supported: 
  • Active Lifestyle Grant - $43,500
    • 5 recreation areas
  • Rex Williams Wellness Grant - $22,000
    • 3 wellness rooms
  • Youth Leadership Initiative - $24,000
    • 30 youth will attend summer camp
    • Sponsored a bookmobile 


CAHEC Foundation Awards $20,000 in Scholarships

The CAHEC Foundation had the opportunity to partner with Drew Charter School , one of CAHEC New Markets' investments in Atlanta, GA, to sponsor four $5,000 scholarships for their graduating class of 2019. As part of the application process, students were asked to write an essay showing how they exemplify their school Norms: show respect, act responsibly, present professionally, and honor trust. After much deliberation over the many applicants, four students were selected as the 2019 Norms Scholarship recipients: Haley Whetstone, DeGreer Harris, Zakia Tookes, and Christopher McCrary.



Stefanie Lee, Community Relations Specialist for the CAHEC Foundation, had the honor of announcing the four scholarship recipients during the school's Senior Awards Ceremony earlier this week.  "Being at the ceremony and celebrating with the scholarship recipients and their families was very meaningful," Stefanie explained. "I can only imagine how this scholarship will help these very deserving students during their first year of college. We know how important it is to continue your education after high school, so being able to help these students in any way is extremely rewarding."
 
Congratulations to the class of 2019!


Second Food Box Distribution a Great Success

The CAHEC Foundation recently partnered with the  Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina  to sponsor a second food box distribution event for low-income families. The event took place in Caswell County, NC, and nearly 165 families received boxes filled with nutritional food options. Each family who came to the distribution site received enough milk, produce, bread, and non-perishable items to provide 25 meals for their family. 

"We are very grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the CAHEC Foundation to connect food insecure neighbors to nutritious food," explained Peggy Robinson, Regional Partnership Manager for the Second Harvest Food Bank. "Collaborations such as this help meet the needs of local families and support healthy choices. Together, we can continue to make our communities healthy and hunger free."

The CAHEC Foundation's Nutrition Assistance Initiative was implemented in 2016 as a way to connect residents to healthy meal options throughout the year. Since inception, we've provided over 140,000 meals to low-income residents throughout our footprint. 


Help the CAHEC Foundation Change Lives through Education!

Meet Brook Williams. She may look familiar because she was our Participant of the Year  at the CAHEC Partners Conference in 2016. We recognized Brook for pursuing her educational goals while  being a single mother  and managing her career as a high school teacher. Brook was also a recipient of scholarship funding from CAHEC, receiving a total of $6,000 to help pay for her college tuition.

"CAHEC provided me with the opportunity to help fund my education through their scholarship, which has been awesome," Brook commented. "It's been a struggle and I've wanted to give up more times than I can count. But, the end result to me is just so important."  Brook went on to graduate with her Masters in Special Education and continues to teach today. This is just one example of how providing financial assistance for education can help change a resident's life. 

This year, the CAHEC Foundation is on a mission to provide even more scholarships to low-income residents within our footprint. In order to do this - we need your help! Each scholarship is now worth $2,500 and goes directly towards a student's college expenses. Any donation amount - big or small - could help someone like Brook pursue a post-secondary education. Together, we can award more scholarships and ensure tuition costs aren't an obstacle for our residents. 

If you'd like to sponsor a scholarship, please contact Stefanie Lee at slee@cahec.com to make a donation.


For more information regarding the wellness and education initiatives offered by the CAHEC Foundation, or to make a donation, please contact Stefanie Lee at (919) 645-9825 or slee@cahec.com.