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Press Release
Golden LEAF News - October 2009
Greetings!
October 2009 marks the Golden LEAF Foundation’s 10th anniversary.
The Foundation was formed in 1999 under a charter established by the North Carolina General Assembly to promote the social welfare and lessen the burdens of government by providing economic impact assistance to economically affected or tobacco-dependent regions of North Carolina. The charter adheres to the 1998 master settlement agreement and consent decree between North Carolina and cigarette manufacturers.
To date, the Foundation has awarded 825 grants totaling more than $393 million to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and governmental entities across North Carolina.
Please visit our website www.goldenleaf.org to learn more about our grant opportunities and initiatives.
Thanks to all of our grantees, partners, supporters and friends who have helped us help North Carolina’s communities grow and succeed.
Best,
Jenny Tinklepaugh
Program/ Communications Officer
jtinklepaugh@goldenleaf.org
www.goldenleaf.org
Featured articles in this edition of “Golden LEAF News”:
Business loans available in $27.5 million program
Whiteville News Reporter
Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton has joined Golden LEAF, the N. C. Rural Economic Development Center and the Center for Community Self-Help in announcing the creation of the Golden LEAF Loan Program and the Rural Center Loan Program. These programs will be administered through Self-Help to leverage over $27.5 million in loans to help North Carolina’s small businesses. For more information about how to apply for a Golden LEAF loan, contact Self-Help Senior Loan Officer Jane Hatley at 828-771-2817 or by e-mail at jane.hatley@self-help.org.
Perdue Launches Program to Boost Rural Health Care Facilities -
NC Magazine
Gov. Bev Perdue recently joined the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, the Golden LEAF Foundation, and the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund in announcing the first phase of grant awards for Rural Hope. Rural Hope is a rural health care initiative designed to enable better health care delivery and job creation by assisting in the construction and expansion of rural health care facilities. The three funders made 24 grant awards totaling over $3.8 million.
$120,000 Grant Awarded For Spivey’s Corner Urgent Care
Dunn Daily Record
Through Rural Hope grants, Sampson Regional Medical Center and Benson Area Medical Facility will receive help for their health facilities. Sampson Regional Medical Center has been awarded a $120,000 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to help construct a new facility in the Plain View/Spivey’s Corner area. Benson Area Medical Facility has also received a Golden LEAF grant totaling $60,000 to assist in renovations at the location to accommodate a new physician, pharmacist and three support staff.
Grants aim at bettering rural health
Winston-Salem Journal
Medical and dental services in Alleghany, Ashe and Surry counties are among 24 grant recipients getting a portion of $3.8 million in the first phase of Rural Hope, a rural health-care initiative designed to create jobs and improve health care through the construction and expansion of rural health-care facilities. Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital in Surry County received $84,000 from Golden LEAF, for renovations and new space for an expansion of the emergency department.
Expansion projects boosted by grants
Cherokee Scout
The three Rural Hope grants will go toward expansion and construction projects at Industrial Opportunities in Andrews and Murphy Medical Center. The new initiative is designed to improve health care delivery and create jobs through construction and expansion of rural health care facilities. Golden LEAF awarded $100,000 toward the Murphy Medical Center project and $387,500 to Industrial Opportunities to expand the company's manufacturing area to create 75 new jobs.
Feedback from Golden LEAF is valuable
Whiteville News-Reporter
Golden LEAF President Dan Gerlach gave feedback on over 20 applications to be narrowed down by the Columbus County Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative steering committee. The Foundation awards approximately $2 million to counties participating in the Initiative and the Golden LEAF Foundation Board of Directors makes the final decisions on funding.
Global TransPark wins Business Recruitment Award
NC Global TransPark website
The N.C. Global TransPark Authority, the Golden LEAF Foundation, and other partners received the 2009 Excellence in Manufacturing Recruitment Award from the Southern Business & Development magazine for efforts in attracting Spirit AeroSystems to the GTP. Spirit will invest more than $570.5 million and create 1,031 jobs over a six-year period, beginning in 2010.
Watauga Opportunities adds jobs
Watauga Democrat
Watauga Opportunities, Inc. has received $107,500 from the Golden LEAF Foundation to help with a manufacturing expansion for its Boone plant. The expansion will create 10 new, full-time jobs with benefits. Watauga Opportunities continues grow despite the recession.
CCC uses grant to expand student opportunities
New Bern Sun Journal
Golden LEAF Foundation awarded Craven Community College $100,000 to support short-term training programs in health care and law enforcement through its Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work (GLOW) program. Funding aims to help fill gaps in high-demand industries by training a workforce for available job opportunities.
Halifax County one step closer to $2 million
Daily Herald Roanoke Rapids
At the Halifax County/ Golden LEAF Community Assistance Initiative meetings, meeting participants narrowed the focus to three areas — economic development, education and infrastructure. Golden LEAF President Dan Gerlach offered insight about strengths and weakness in the projects that will then go before the county’s nearly 50-member review team.
Grand Opening for the Engelhard Medical Center
Office of the Governor Bev Perdue website
The Engelhard Medical Center celebrated the grand opening of its new 6,000-square-foot medical facility on Oct. 4, 2009. The new center reflects a collaborative effort involving the community, the Golden LEAF Foundation, The Duke Endowment, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Rural Health and Community Care. The opening of the new facility culminated a six-year effort spearheaded by a group of concerned local citizens to return primary medical care to Engelhard.
UNC-TV’s town hall on economic development comes to WCU
Mountain Xpress
UNC-TV invites residents to participate in the North Carolina Rising topical town hall meetings to discuss the state’s changing economic landscape. Meetings will be held at Catawba County (broadcast live on Wednesday, November 4, at 8 p.m.) and East Carolina University (broadcast live Wednesday, November 18, at 8 p.m.) on UNC-TV. Register today to join the live, town hall audience at http://www.unctv.org/ncrising/townhalls.html or to submit a question to our panelists,
UNC-TV’s North Carolina Rising project is funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation.
Davie plans add value
Winston-Salem Journal
The expansion of a poultry company's operation in Mocksville means 103 new jobs over three years, about a $3 million investment in the community, and a commitment to buy an additional 6 million pounds of chicken from N.C. growers. The Golden LEAF Foundation awarded a $700,000 grant to the Town of Mocksville to buy new production equipment to lease to Townsend at fair market value.
Ashe County’s Gates Corporation Wins Prestigious N.C. State Award
High Country Press
In just more than two years, Ashe County’s Gates Corporation manufacturing facility translated a federal training grant into huge financial returns that have not only saved jobs, but have also won the company a prestigious award from N.C. State through Six Sigma Green Belt training. Thanks to funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation, six of Gates’ Six Sigma Green Belts will soon begin Six Sigma Black Belt training to enhance employees’ skills, increase the business’s productivity and increase the potential for company growth.
Local restaurants support Haywood County farmers
Smoky Mountain News
Haywood County farmers are receiving support from local chefs in an effort to buy local foods and therefore support the local economy. Buy Haywood, which helps develop stronger markets for Haywood County farm products, is managed by the Haywood County Economic Development Commission and receives support from the Golden LEAF Foundation.
Two North Carolina High Schools to Be 'Redesigned' for 100 Percent Graduation Rates
Wall Street Journal - Market Watch
Two rural North Carolina high schools, South Granville and Scotland High, aim to graduate 100 percent of their students by employing technology to increase engagement and transform teaching and learning. The work of Golden LEAF, the N.C. New Schools Project, SAS, the Friday Institute and local districts through the North Carolina 1:1 Learning Technology Initiative pilot demonstration program set a precedent for how leaders in North Carolina must work together to transform schools and to connect them to the emerging economy.
SCC grant will provide more opportunities for truck training
The Sampson Independent
A $100,000 Golden LEAF grant awarded to Sampson Community College will allow for the purchase of two additional tractor-trailer trucks for the school’s truck driver training program. The purchase will enable students on a yearlong waiting list to enter the course this year and will produce skilled workers ready to enter available jobs throughout Sampson and surrounding counties.
Airplane plant set to open in April
News and Observer
Spirit AeroSystems' plant near Kinston remains on track to open in April 2010. The plant will employ more than 1,000. The Golden LEAF Foundation awarded $100 million grant, the biggest in the Foundation's history, to the Global TransPark to help ensure Spirit’s plans to locate in eastern N.C.
Tasty hospital food? It's true, especially with the help of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
AshVegas blog
Thanks in part to a Golden LEAF grant, Park Ridge Hospital is involved in Farm to Hospital project, a program of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) that helps hospitals support local farms and connect patients and staff with healthy food. The hospital provides locally grown food on their menu and identifies them with an Appalachian Grown logo, and displays promotional materials created by ASAP that tell diners about the farmers who grow their food.
SCC goes green for $85,000 Golden LEAF grant
Whiteville News Reporter
Golden LEAF awarded an $85,000 Golden LEAF Opportunities for Work (GLOW) grant to Southeastern Community College to assist with training in green construction trades. The college has identified 76 new construction jobs and 32 construction employers who are ready to make a transition to green technology.
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