2021-22 Community Chest Fund Drive

The 2021-22 Sewanee Community Chest (SCC) Fund Drive is underway. Sponsored by the Sewanee Civic Association, the SCC raises money yearly for local organizations serving the area. This year’s goal of $102,291 will help 20 local organizations provide for basic needs in the community such as books, food, recreational spaces, elder care, children’s educational needs and more. The following organizations will receive funding when the goal is met.

Animal Harbor (Franklin County Humane Society), $3,000 to rescue and find homes for 350 abandoned pets. Sewanee Community Chest funding helps to provide complete care for these pets while they are in Animal Harbor’s care. The average direct and indirect cost of vetting and caring for one animal is $467.

Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, $1,000 to contribute to the salary for an Executive Director with appropriate skills competitive with other nonprofits requiring multiple talents. Their goal is to provide quality, accessible care to patients on the South Cumberland Plateau. Active fundraising, community education, outreach, use of social media, and coordination of current and additional services by a qualified Executive Director are critical.

Blue Monarch, $3,000 to help build a multi-purpose building on its 58-acre-farm. With the eight-family home currently under construction and converting existing office space into more family living spaces, the residential population will grow to serve 30 families or 90 women and children annually.

Boy Scout Troop 14, $500 to help boys attend events and campouts even if they cannot afford to fully pay. These Scouts attend summer camp which costs $295 each, winter camp $135 each, and a high adventure week long event can cost anywhere from $600-$800 each. Other expenses include Scout equipment such as camp stoves, tents and other troop equipment that has to be replaced every few years.

Community Action Committee, $3,000 to help with the Kitchen2Table (K2T) program and the Farm2Table (F2T) program. The K2T program averages 200 meals a week. In the F2T program, financial assistance from the Sewanee Community Chest helps with the cost of fresh produce that is purchased to compliment the staple dry goods provided in the CAC food pantry. Each week, fresh produce is delivered to the CAC to be distributed. It is averaging 25 full bags of fresh produce per week and growing.

Folks at Home, $5,000 to coordinate services and programs to empower individuals to live at home with dignity in the community they love. The grant will be used to provide services beyond the boundaries of our member group, especially in this time of a continuing pandemic. It also provides scholarship memberships to one organization and seven community members.

Fourth of July Celebration, $3,000 to support the mission of celebrating Independence Day by bringing the community together and having families enjoy provided events intended for all ages. Receiving funds from the Community Chest allows us to have a bigger and better celebration, which then brings more people to the Mountain.

The Growing Roots Program, $2,000 in funding towards general operating support, which includes office rent, utilities, and facilitator compensation for their equity and justice wellness workshops such as Community Service & Equity, Indigenous Voices on the South Cumberland Plateau, Self-Care in Volunteer Settings, and Leadership Awareness and Healing.

Housing Sewanee, $10,000 to build affordable housing in the Sewanee community for low-income individuals and families. Funding will support the efforts to build the second Sherwood Spring house.

Little Bella’s, $250 for girls who need tuition assistance and help with facility fees at the summer camp. Little Bellas is a mentoring on mountain bikes program that is open to girls of all abilities. The goal is to create an environment where learning mountain bike skills, building confidence, and growing the camaraderie among young girls is centered around having fun.

MARC, $7,000 to spay and neuter dogs and cats, getting them ready for adoption and helping low-income people keep their pets without contributing to the proliferation of unwanted animals. In addition, the money will be used to pay for some of the heartworm treatments, and necessary surgeries. MARC’s mission is to improve the lives of animals through spay/neuter, humane education, and rescue/rehoming.

Mountain Goat Trail Alliance, $1,500 to sponsor bicycle safety and promotion days at Sewanee, Monteagle, and Tracy Elementary Schools. The events would involve bicycle maintenance, riding lessons, helmet and bicycle giveaways, and other activities to encourage bicycling to school.

Reach Out and Read, $2,541 to give young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read together. Funding from the Sewanee Community Chest will put a beautiful, new book in the hands of every young child who has a checkup at Sewanee Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine between April 2022 and April 2023.

SES Parent Organization, $25,000 to fund classroom supplies; new books for the library, and material purchases; enrichment funds for T-cap Carnival, Forest Friday School, Field Day, and academic tutoring; place-based educational opportunities; license fees for online instructional curriculum and software; work study salaries for part-time University student classroom helpers; and professional development funds to support travel and registration costs.

Sewanee Angel Park, $500 to help pay for an outdoor sound system for events that are held in the park.

Sewanee Children’s Center, $12,000 to be used for need-based tuition assistance for qualifying families in all our programs: in preschool, after-school, and summer camp. The Sewanee Community Chest funding remains an integral part of our budget, as it is our primary source of funding for financial aid to the families of SCC students, thus significantly broadening access for early childhood education beyond the University community. Thanks to the Community Chest funding, the preschool program is more accessible to a wider population than it might otherwise be, helping the Center not only to meet an important community need but also to fulfill a central part of our mission: reaching out to families of diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Sewanee Community Center, $4,000 to be used for the general operating costs of keeping the Center open including utilities, insurance, maintenance, mowing and manager’s salary. Every year the Center anticipates a few special projects that will be addressed during the year to improve the use of the space. The purpose of the Sewanee Community Center is to improve the quality of life in Sewanee by providing a space for community-initiated programs and projects.

Sewanee Mountain Messenger, $6,000 to help with the printing expenses and for part of the cost of distributing the free community newspaper not covered by advertising revenue or the print reimbursement donations from the University of the South.

Sewanee Senior Center, $12,000 to pay the cook who prepares meals five days a week. The Center is open to all individuals living in the Sewanee area who are 55 years or older. The Center provides approximately 8,000 lunches annually Monday through Friday. Local delivery of these lunches is available to shut-ins regardless of their ages.

St. Mark’s Community Center, $1,000 to help with operating expenses to keep the Center open.

Since 1908, the goal of the Sewanee Community Chest has been to help citizens by funding the community. The Sewanee Community Chest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible. Send your donation to Sewanee Community Chest, P.O. Box 99, Sewanee, TN 37375. Or use our PayPal Giving link.