VISTA Program Announces 2015–16 Team

Five new volunteers are joining three continuing members for the second year of the South Cumberland Americorps VISTA Program.

“The first-year team of VISTA volunteers can be proud of what they accomplished in partnership with community organizations all across this area. We think this new team will build on those successes by continuing to build community, organizational and leadership capacity here on the Plateau,” said Jim Peterman, director of community engagement at the University of the South, which is the organizational home for the VISTA program. 

The volunteers (who include four Sewanee graduates) and their assignments in the community are Elaine Babb Taylor, C’15, community ambassador coordinator, Discover Together; Jennifer Horton, C’15, communication and assessment coordinator, Mountain T.O.P.; Spike Hosch, C ’12, economic development coordinator, Babson Center; Erica Teasley, C’11, economic development coordinator, Grundy County Mayor’s Office; 

Kelly Farina, healthy living coordinator, Sewanee Dining; McKenzie Liegel, school health activities coordinator, Grundy County Health Council; Bobby Luffman, health network coordinator with Grundy County Health Council; and Hilda Vaughan, grant writing and nonprofit management coordinator with South Cumberland Community Fund.

In 2014–15 the VISTA program members organized and implemented mobile food pantries, partnered with USDA to develop a summer meal program, secured funding for school garden projects and health activities in schools, created a local weatherization network, and researched and developed best practices for community ambassador, work force and economic development programs.

The VISTA program, a collaboration between the South Cumberland Community Fund, the University, and community partners, has started programs on the South Cumberland Plateau to address community-identified needs and pressing issues such as food security, education and economic development. By partnering with the VISTA program, local nonprofit groups are leveraging their resources to provide better outcomes for themselves and the clients they serve.

VISTA is the national service program designed specifically to fight poverty. Authorized in 1964 and founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA has been on the forefront of ending poverty in America for 50 years.

For more information, visit <www.southcumberlandcommunityfund.org/capacity-building> or contact Nicky Hamilton, VISTA director, at <nhamilto@sewanee.edu>.

South Cumberland Community Fund Announces 2015 Grants

New park facilities, a walking path and a community garden for the Grundy County Jail are among the projects being funded by the 2015 grants awarded by the South Cumberland Community Fund (SCCF). 

“Since 2012, one of our core missions has been to cultivate resources by supporting nonprofit organizations across the Plateau,” said Margaret Woods, board president of the Community Fund. “We are thrilled with this newest series of projects, which create opportunities for our youth, build new community spaces and expand local support services for our communities.” 

There will be a reception at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 2, in St. Mark’s Hall, in Claiborne Parish House at Otey Church in Sewanee to celebrate the new grant recipients and to thank the AmeriCorps VISTA members and volunteers.

The City of Coalmont, thanks to a group of volunteers led by Jeff Sholey working in partnership with county government and the South Cumberland Community Fund, now enjoys a public park on the shore of Big Creek Lake. The park was built in 2013 on county-owned land that had not been developed or maintained for recreational uses. The subsequent popularity of the park for families in the area has led to plans to add a 4,000-foot gravel walking trail. The SCCF grant of $10,000 will support the construction of the trail, which is expected to increase community access to safe areas for healthy exercise.

The City of Palmer has a town center where a public park, a museum of mining, the seat of government and the public school are all in close proximity.The park has many features, but lacks a restroom. In cooperation with the Conservation Committee of Grundy County and with the support of a $10,000 grant from SCCF, the community of Palmer will construct an ADA-accessible restroom to serve the park patrons and will extend the uses of the park.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s office, with the assistance of this $9,500 grant from the Community Fund, will construct a greenhouse and raised garden beds. Inmates, jail administrators, youth probationers and the community will maintain the garden and greenhouse, and food grown there will feed the inmates and be shared with the community. Taking care of the mini-farm will be a daily chore for inmates, who will receive training from community partners in planting and storing food. 

The Grundy County Historical Society library and research center holds approximately 1,600 books, photographs, albums and newsletters, as well as thousands of loose historical documents that date as far back as the 1840s, including volumes of records pertaining to the coal, iron/steel, and railroad industries of the region. SCCF’s grant of $7,406 will enable the Historical Society to purchase library software to identify, organize and improve public access to its holdings. In addition, the grant will support the temporary employment of a professional librarian to implement the project and train voluntary staff in managing the Society’s records and special collections in the future.

North Elementary School, operating under the auspices of the Grundy County Board of Education, is working to make its gymnasium a more effective venue for multi-media presentations, programs, assemblies and sporting events. Lacking an auditorium, the gymnasium is the only setting for a variety of school-related and community presentations. The configuration of the gym with side seating makes it difficult for the audience to see and hear many such programs. With this Community Fund grant of $10,000, the school will purchase two automated projection screens, two wireless projectors and the hardware to operate them. In addition, new microphones and speakers will be purchased to upgrade the school’s public address system.

Palmer Elementary School, one of seven public elementary schools in Grundy County, was built in 1927. It is one of only two schools with both a gymnasium and an auditorium. This SCCF grant of $1,600 will enable the school to replace its 15-year-old public address system with Bluetooth and wireless technology to serve both venues. The school has more than 75 events (such as sporting events, spelling bees and holiday programs) during the year, in addition to daily assemblies. The completion of the $2,000 project will be made possible by additional investments by the town and the school, plus local business and individual contributors.

Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park (MOM POP) is a year-old organization formed to create a major public recreation area with special emphasis on children with special needs in Grundy and surrounding counties. The park will be constructed on 14 acres located on Highway 108 across from the high school, on land which will be leased from the county. This grant of $10,000 from SCCF will be applied toward the $51,900 cost of Phase I, which will include parking and roadway access, restrooms and a concession stand, an amphitheater, and paved pathways to make the entire area ADA-compliant.

Mountain Heritage Preservation Society was established to educate the community, especially its children, about the unique cultural heritage they inherit from growing up on the Cumberland Plateau. The hope is that people will be strengthened by an understanding of and loyalty to that heritage. The Preservation Society is best known for the annual Mountaineers Day Festival, but the organization is broadly committed to advancing the welfare of Mountain communities. This SCCF grant of $10,000 will enable the Society to partner with the local baseball/softball organization in the construction of batting cages at the current ballfield in Tracy City. The organizers of baseball/softball have renewed energy and stability, and will seek further upgrades and expansion of the facilities in coming years.

Mountain T.O.P. is a 40-year-old, interdenominational ministry dedicated to addressing issues of poverty in the rural Cumberland region. The organization has drawn upon a culture of faith-based social commitment to recruit individuals, families and church groups to work on projects that meet the social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs of area residents. The projects are usually organized around the repair of homes and the operation of day camps for children and youth on the Plateau. The Adventure Guild in Chattanooga has assisted Mountain T.O.P. in the construction and operation of two challenge courses (a low and a high ropes course) on the Altamont campus. The Adventure Guild has given the courses to Mountain T.O.P. With this grant of $8,009 from the Community Fund, the organization will purchase equipment and do training for its staff for the ongoing operation of the courses. It is expected that the new arrangement will be more efficient and help Mountain T.O.P. recruit additional retreat groups that are attracted to the area’s wilderness hiking and camping resources.

The Sewanee Children’s Center is a preschool operated by a parents’ cooperative to provide early learning experiences in a full-day program to children ages 2 to 5. The Center also provides after-school care for preschoolers and children through 8 years of age. Under the leadership of new director Harriet Runkle, the SCC has planned a school/community garden to serve as an outdoor classroom to teach students gardening skills, healthy eating habits, life cycles of plants and animals, and good stewardship of natural resources. Produce will be shared with the Community Action Center and used for special events at Otey Parish. This SCCF grant of $9,587 will enable the construction of the 40-foot by 60-foot garden, including a deer-proof fence.

Sewanee Community Chest, organized by the long-standing Sewanee Civic Association (SCA), has raised a million dollars in the last decade to support local organizations serving the public good. During its storied history, the SCA has advanced the welfare of the unincorporated community of Sewanee and the region around it through initiatives as diverse as building the public elementary school in Sewanee, completing a state highway to the Marion County line, and raising money for a black community center. The Parks Committee of SCA has proposed to restore Elliott Park on the campus of the University at a cost of $70,000. The park, open to the public, will have a rich assortment of features to promote physical adventures by children. The Community Chest will raise the funds as a special project; this grant of $10,000 from the Community Fund will be applied to the overall cost of the park. 

Earlier this year, the board of the Community Fund became aware of a plan to create a plateau-wide children’s choir to perform traditional Appalachian folk and gospel songs at the annual Trails and Trilliums spring festival produced by the Friends of South Cumberland State Park. This project was a perfect fit for the Paul S. McConnell Music Grant of $3,500, awarded to the South Cumberland Community Fund to support music programs in our region. The board reached out to the Friends group to offer support for the choir project. The presentation by 130 children in grades 4–8 from five elementary schools was one of the highlights of Trails and Trillium. The hope is that the choir will become an annual program.

Reincarnation of Old GCHS in Tracy City -- A Dream on the Verge of Coming True

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

What had seemed like a lost cause may soon become a reality with reincarnation of the old Grundy County High School building in Tracy City as the South Cumberland Learning and Development Center. The center will focus on workforce development, helping local people get ready for local work by providing the skills needed to fill jobs in Grundy County and the surrounding vicinity. Julie Willems Keel, associate executive director of Mountain T.O.P., a local nonprofit agency, and Emily Partin, a Grundy County native, serve as project co-chairs. But the story that gave birth to the initiative, an effort plagued with obstacles and misfortune, began long before Partin and Keel became involved.

In 2006, the Southeast Development District of Chattanooga applied for a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) on behalf of Tracy City to establish a trade school in the old high school building. Grundy County mayor LaDue Bouldin spearheaded the effort on the local level, along with Tracy City mayor Barry Rollins. ARC awarded Tracy City $500,000 with the city required to supply $100,000 in matching funds.

With the grant in place, oversight fell to the Tracy City mayor, but Rollins was not re-elected, and his successor died in office. The onset of the 2008 recession left Grundy County struggling with day-to-day survival, and efforts focused on programs meeting immediate needs, such as the Grundy County Food Bank.

Keel’s work with Mountain T.O.P. stresses capacity-building for groups awarded grants for community development.

“It’s not uncommon for small communities to be granted large sums without a mechanism in place for planning and implementing the project,” Keel said.

Keel credits Emily Partin with reviving the ARC grant and getting the project back on track.

As a mental health professional, Partin worked off the Mountain until a job with the Grundy County School system brought her back home. Partin first learned about the ARC grant in 2011 from Tracy City mayor Jimmy Campbell. Campbell didn’t know the status of the grant. He was in ill health and soon after, resigned from office. Then in early 2012 at a Grundy County Rotary Club meeting, a visitor asked if Tracy City intended to pursue the project outlined in the ARC grant. The visitor was Tara Nichols, a representative from the Southeast Development District (SDD), the organization that had originally applied for the grant on Tracy City’s behalf.

Partin met with Nichols and took her to visit the old high school. The original grant was to cover the cost of a roof for the library wing of the school and to purchase equipment to teach carpentry skills. In the six intervening years, water damage to the library wing rendered it irreparable. Nichols insisted the money could not be used for other purposes, but Partin persuaded her to request the grant be refocused to fund renovation of the front portion of the building for use in technical education rather than as a trade school.

Unfortunately, Nichols left SDD, and her successor served only a short time, relocating to another state before he succeeded in getting authorization to repurpose the grant. But, finally, in the summer of 2014 the granting agency, ARC, gave permission for the funds to be used to renovate the front portion of the building.

Bid requests went out for the project for window repair; upgrading the wiring, technical specifications, and heating and cooling unit; and installation of a required sprinkler system. Then doom again reared its head. All the bids came back dramatically over budget. There just wasn’t enough money.

Almost coincidentally, though, another door opened. Grundy County officials completed a Community Development Block Grant project, making the county eligible to apply for another grant. On Jan. 26, 2015, the County Commission voted to apply for a $315,000 Block Grant to flesh out the budget for the old high school project. Partin also plans to apply for a grant to help offset the cost of window repair and the heating and cooling unit.

Partin and Keel have secured pledges to cover 100 percent of the $100,000 in matching grant money, with donors ranging from the South Cumberland Community Fund to individuals pledging in-kind contributions in the form of labor.

Mountain T.O.P. Awarded Grant for Home Repairs

Mountain T.O.P. (MTOP), based in Grundy County, has been awarded a grant of $46,304 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program.

The funds will be used in Grundy County to do minor and major home repairs using volunteer labor. MTOP and USDA Rural Development have an established relationship and have worked with many families in Grundy County to make home improvements. Because of MTOPs use of volunteer labor, all grant funds are used for materials, allowing them to help more families.

Since 2007 MTOP has been awarded a total of $266,304 in HPG grants. During these same years, MTOP leveraged HPG funds with volunteer labor and additional donations at an estimated value of $701,333. At the end of this grant cycle, MTOP will have assisted approximately 42 families with necessary repairs to their homes.

“While these numbers are impressive, the really impressive marker is the value of the volunteer,” said Julie Willems Keel, MTOP’s program manager of the HPG. “These numbers show that over 70 percent of the value that is put into homes in this area comes from the volunteers. Through purchasing materials, the dollars that come from the HPG unlock the ability for us to use the skills of willing individuals. Without the HPG, we wouldn’t be able to utilize volunteers.” 

The HPG allows MTOP to work with families who otherwise would not qualify for assistance. Because MTOP is a partnership ministry and not a charity, each family gives something toward the completion of their project. 

“This news gives us hope that we can continue helping our neighbors in real, life-altering ways,” said the Rev. Ed Simmons, MTOP executive director. “We are grateful to all who are involved in the selection process.”

VISTA Volunteers Work Across the Plateau

Nine VISTA volunteers are beginning their work with five local organizations. The AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program, co-sponsored by the South Cumberland Community Fund and the University of the South, is sending volunteers to work for one year or more with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s mobile food pantries, Discover Together, the Grundy County Health Council, Mountain T.O.P. and the South Cumberland Community Fund.

McKenzie Liegel and Zach Berry are working with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank in Grundy and Marion counties. Liegel grew up in a small town in rural Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is the VISTA mobile food pantry coordinator for Grundy County. 

Berry is from Chattanooga and studied literature and philosophy before graduating with a B.A. in 2013. He is the VISTA mobile food pantry coordinator for Marion County. Liegel and Berry will work to develop mobile food pantry programs and delivery systems with a local support network in their respective counties.

VISTAs working with Discover Together are Chris Paff and Michelle Thibodeaux. Paff, from Portland, Ore., worked as a computer programmer for a year before serving in Tanzania for three years with the Peace Corps. As VISTA community workforce development coordinator, he will build workforce development activities for parents of young children participating in Discover Together, and potentially for other adults in the community. 

Thibodeaux is a recent Sewanee graduate, originally from Atlanta, Ga. As a student, she worked with multiple schools in Grundy County and now plans to pursue a career in education. She is the VISTA community ambassador coordinator for Discover Together, and will develop a network of trained volunteers to better engage families in Discover Together programs and the community.

The Grundy County Health Council will be working with VISTAs Lacey Oliver and John-David Wheeler. Oliver was raised in the local area and graduated from Sewanee in May. As the VISTA school health activities coordinator, she will develop trainings for students and other volunteers in all seven schools in Grundy County and will develop a school anti-tobacco program. 

Wheeler is originally from Union City, Tenn. He served in the U.S. Army, then graduated from University of Tennessee-Martin. He is the VISTA health network coordinator, and will expand GCHC’s partnerships with local social service agencies and churches to develop a community-wide health information and education network.

Ida Zago and Melanie Pozuc are working with Mountain T.O.P. Zago grew up in Michigan and New York City, and also graduated in May from Sewanee. She is the VISTA weatherization coordinator, and will create a new low-income housing weatherization program that will help improve the economic well-being of area families. 

Pozuc is a recent graduate of Kent State University. She has experience with Mountain T.O.P. and is looking forward to working with the organization in a new capacity. As the VISTA communication and assessment coordinator, she will develop a volunteer networking and communication system in support of Mountain T.O.P. programs, determining community needs and assessing the results of programs.

Franklin County native Charles McClain is working with the South Cumberland Community Fund. Serving in his church has been important to him, and last year he entered into the discernment process. He is the VISTA grant-writing coordinator and will help build the capacity of community organizations by developing a grant-writing and management network for them.

For more information contact Jim Peterman, director of Community Engagement at Sewanee, at 598-1482 or by email to <jpeterma@sewanee.edu>.

Camp Discover Completes Third Year, Children Learn about Community

For two weeks in June, Camp Discover students explored their community, learned about the stories and music of the area, read books about community and recorded their thoughts in special camp journals. More than 80 children from Tracy Elementary and the surrounding area completed their camp experience on Friday, June 13, with a final celebration and barbecue lunch at the South Cumberland State Park Visitor’s Center that included community and family members.

This marked the third year of Camp Discover, based at Tracy Elementary School. The community-based partnership is a project led by members of the Grundy County community in partnership with Scholastic, Yale Child Study Center and Sewanee. Local organizations also generously contribute to make it possible for Camp Discover to provide its rich program, including Tracy City Elementary, the Friends of the South Cumberland, Morton Memorial Methodist Church and Mountain TOP.

The Camp’s head teacher, Sherry Guyear, working with Tracy Elementary teacher Jan Roberts, brought together a remarkable team of more than 30 local, talented volunteers. Former Tracy City Principal Russell Ladd returned to lead older campers this year. Naturalist Mary Priestley shared her talent and time, working with children on nature journals. The fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders spent time on the Fiery Gizzard trail and learning about the trees, wildflowers and water creatures of the area. 

Local musicians Cameron, Ruth and Sophie Swallow, Betty Carpenter and Barbara Prunty sang traditional Appalachian songs and helped children create their own music. Campers enjoyed learning folk songs and singing, dancing and making musical instruments.

University art professor Pradip Malde and a number of University and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School students continued their ongoing work helping campers tell their stories through photography. Digital cameras were donated for all campers to use, recording their observations on field trips to Grundy County attractions.

These field trips were connected to Camp Discover’s theme of community. Campers visited the Cowan Railroad Museum; St. Mary’s Convent and Gardens; the Highlander Folk School; the birthplace of the Tennessee Walking Horse in Pelham, where they listened to stories from Miss Janie Belle; Beersheba Springs, where they heard the music and stories of Big Don Hill and saw one of the old homes; and Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, where they rode the carousel with scenes painted by local artist Lisa Turner.

On days in Tracy, campers read a variety of books together and enjoyed projects related to the literature, to the local region and to the themes of friends, family and community. 

The Discover Together Partnership runs both Camp Discover and the Discover Together Family Co-op for children birth-5 and their families. For more information contact Emily Partin by email, <epartin1@k12tn.net>.

VISTA Program Hiring Begins

The AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program will bring 10 volunteers to the Cumberland Plateau in August. They will work for a year or more with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s mobile food pantries, the Grundy County Health Council, Mountain T.O.P., the South Cumberland Community Fund and Discover Together (a partnership between the University of the South, Yale University and children’s publishing company Scholastic).

Applications are now being accepted for the 10 VISTAs and one VISTA leader, who will assist the program director. The planners hope to draw applicants from both within and outside the local area. The goal of the VISTA program is to build capacity and expand current outreach projects; the VISTAs will be trained in ways to provide for larger population sizes and new areas. Each volunteer will work for at least a year with his or her designated organization.

The projects are designed to last three years. The link to apply is: <https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=54895&fromSearch=true>. Those who have already served as VISTA members may apply here for the VISTA leader position: <https://my.americorps.gov/mp/listing/viewListing.do?id=54895&fromSearch=true>.

The organizations in which VISTAs will serve offer a variety of services in the region. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank provides food to an estimated 20,000 clients each week, including mobile deliveries to thousands living in the 20-county service area. The Grundy County Health Council addresses the health needs of Grundy County residents, assuring that quality healthcare is available, teaching programs on nutrition and diabetes, and working to get Grundy County residents more active. Mountain T.O.P. is a Cumberland Plateau outreach project that seeks to meet people’s physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs. The South Cumberland Community Fund was established in 2012 to improve the quality of life across the Plateau by providing community leadership and increasing philanthropy. Discover Together, a project of the South Cumberland Collaborative for Children and Families, is designed to provide a safe gathering place for young children and their parents and caregivers to share in learning and exploration.

The VISTA opportunity came about when the University of the South received an invitation from the national office of the Corporation for National and Community Service and applied for a grant to hire local and national volunteers. The program is cosponsored by the South Cumberland Community Fund, whose support, leadership and commitment to benefit Plateau communities was central to the success of the grant proposal.

South Cumberland Plateau Hosts New VISTA Program

Sewanee has learned that it will be an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) site. Ten VISTA volunteers will be hired to serve within a number of community organizations, including the Chattanooga Area Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantries for Local Schools, Discover Together (a collaboration between Sewanee, Scholastic and Yale University), Grundy County Health Council, MountainTOP and the South Cumberland Community Fund. 

VISTA volunteers will commit to a 12-month term of service, beginning in August 2014 and will focus on addressing poverty alleviation through a variety of programs, such as education, health and hunger. Each VISTA volunteer will be matched with a service site at an off-campus, nonprofit partner where he or she will connect the resources of the campus and the community to further strengthen their work. For more information contact professor Jim Peterman, director of Community Engaged Learning, by email, <jfpeterm@sewanee.edu>.