Need for volunteers clear after first-ever Highlands Volunteer Fair

With Highlands Chamber of Commerce hosting the first-ever Highlands Volunteer Fair last week, the need for volunteers at various organizations in the community is clear, after 20 organizations showed up to the Highlands Community Building.

“I think the event went great,” Marci Sherwood, with the Highlands Chamber of Commerce, said. “I think one, obviously, we all want volunteers, and we need volunteers, but to get 20 of these organizations in the room and for them to make these connections, there is so much overlap that has been wonderful on that level. Volunteers are the backbone of this community.”

For the volunteers that came in, Sherwood said they are high quality volunteers.

“These are people who went around to each table, took literature and really want to get plugged in,” Sherwood said. “I am super excited about the turnout, and we are hoping to make this an annual event.”

The different organizations that came to the event were the Mountain Theatre Company/Highlands Playhouse, Highlands Biological Foundation, Highlands Cashiers Land Trust, The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Mountaintop Rotary Club, The Literacy and Learning Center, the International Friendship Center, the Highlands Cashiers Hospital, the Eckerd Living Center, Mountain Findings, R.E.A.C.H. of Macon County, Pisgah Legal, Cashiers Highlands Humane Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Plateau, the Dazzling Dahlia Festival and the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

Mountain Theatre Company/Highlands Playhouse

Executive director Scott Daniels said they need volunteers because they are used to supplement their small staff and because they want the community to get involved.

“We keep our full-time staff quite small,” Daniels said. “We are a nonprofit, so the volunteers help in general to supplement our staff, but we also want the community to get involved in our company. We want them to invest in us because we are investing in them with every product we produce.”

Daniels said events like these are important for his company especially as the season is starting.

“I hope there is an opportunity for our community members that live here all year long who may feel as though some of the town is not for them anymore, that these nonprofits are,” Daniels said. “They are the bedrock of what we do here. It’s why we have expanded our programming to include free theater for all of the students here. It’s not about coming here and paying for the experience while your grandparents are in town. We want our 900 populous and their children to have access to the arts and entertainment and feel the joy that we get to feel.”

Highlands Biological Foundation

HBF executive director Charlotte Muir said the foundation needs volunteers to help facilitate all of the many programs going on at the Highlands Biological Station.

“Especially in the garden, the nature center and with our research programs, there is so much going on that we need everyone in the community to chip in,” Muir said. “This is our first time coming to an event like this and it has been a great way to talk to people about who we are and what we do. Even if they aren’t going to volunteer, at least they know about us.”

Highlands Cashiers Land Trust

Stewardship coordinator Andrew Renfro said they do a lot of things as a nonprofit and volunteers are integral to helping the land trust accomplish their mission of preserving and protecting land for generations.

“We have a lot of public access properties that the people really enjoy,” Renfro said. “We have public access trail systems throughout them, and we utilize volunteers a lot with new trail development as well as maintaining. We are also looking for individuals that want to get involved in fundraising, social media, kid’s programs and education. There’s really a lot that people can do, and we encourage folks to connect with us and find a way to get involved.”

Renfro said these events are important because it gives an opportunity to nonprofits to network with each other, as well as reaching the community.

“It’s not only a connection point for us as a nonprofit to connect with other nonprofits, but also the connection with the community,” Renfro said. “Events like these are incredibly important to help with that process.”

The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center

New executive director for the Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Steph Anderson said they have multiple opportunities for volunteering.

“We have a farm at the bottom of our property, so anyone who is interested in working outside is more than welcome to come out,” Anderson said. “We have a retreat center at the top of the Mountain where we have a ton of cabins and a dining hall. So, we have kitchen needs, housekeeping needs, general clerical needs. We are a nonprofit, so anywhere we can get volunteers and let them experience the magic that is The Mountain is amazing.”

For Anderson, who’s only been here three months, she said events like these are an important way to meet the community.

“The Mountain has relied on volunteers for its entire life,” Anderson said. “Being a nonprofit with not a ton of money to do everything, we really rely on the community. Just being able to remind the community of who we are is a big plus for us.”

Mountaintop Rotary Club

Lorine Spencer said they do a lot of community projects, so it is important to have volunteers.

“We do a lot of community projects like collecting coats for kids at Christmas time, give out turkeys at Thanksgiving, cut firewood for people that use that for heating, we are supporting the arts and crafts fair starting in June and we help with the cleanup that the chamber does,” Spencer said. “We just do a lot of community service. We have a passion for giving back to the community. So, we do like for people to come and if they want to join that’s great, but if they want to just come out and help us, that is great too. We just want to give back to the community, that is what we are all about.”

Spencer said volunteering is a great way to give back to the community, which is why this event was so important.

The Literacy and Learning Center

Anna Norton, with the TL&LC said they are a staff of three, which is why they are widely reliant on volunteers.

“Our largest program is our after-school program, and so that is where most of our needs lie,” Norton said. “We also need help with our summer camps. Those are the two major areas, but we also are doing the Twilight 5K this year, the Highlands Motoring Festival and our annual event, so we will need help with all of those projects.”

Norton said this event is huge for the community.

“This community is so full of nonprofits and each nonprofit is pretty dependent on the help from the generous community that we have here,” Norton said. “Having this event to connect people is great.”

The International Friendship Center/Highlands Food Pantry

IFC executive director T.J. Smith said the Highlands Food Pantry is the main area they need volunteers, but there are several events at the IFC that they need volunteers for, as well.

“For example, our Dia de los Niños event on June 4, is a great day for people to come out and volunteer with us,” Smith said. “Those who have a free volunteer schedule, the food pantry is the best place to do that. Everything from stocking shelves to helping clients, there is something to do.”

Smith said events like this are a way to see the strength of the nonprofit work in the community.

“I knew of different things that were here, but seeing it all in one room is amazing,” Smith said. “Look at how much we have going on here. This isn’t even all of the representation of all of the work going on in Highlands. I think it is a fantastic event and I’m hoping the chamber will do it again in the fall as seasonal shifts happen.”

Highlands Cashiers Hospital/Eckerd Living Center

Jeannie McCloud said they attended the event because volunteers enhance the lives of their residents in the living center.

“The more volunteers we have, the more services we can provide to our patients,” McCloud said. I think this event is really brilliant. For us, it’s an opportunity to meet other organizations and connect with other people who want to help. It’s a great way to get into the community.”

Mountain Findings

Mountain Findings is completely run by its volunteers.

“The public always asks us if we could be open longer,” Carol Misner said. “We are in need of volunteers to do that. This is the first time that they have had this event and I already had two people sign up. So, I think it’s good. It lets people know that volunteers are needed in a lot of situations.”

R.E.A.C.H. of Macon County

Elijah Ingram said they use volunteers for a variety of things.

“They can help out with our 24-hour hotline, different data entries or office work, the biggest area where we could use volunteer work is our department store, helping with bringing in donations and getting them out on the floor,” Ingram said. “Even doing childcare for clients that are staying in our shelter.”

Ingram said events like this help bring attention to what they do at R.E.A.C.H.

“This event helps us interact with people and let them know that we are here,” Ingram said. “If they need something from us, but also, if we need something from them.”

Pisgah Legal

Megan Quattlebaum with Pisgah Legal Services said the reason they need volunteers is because they know that 200,000 people in Western North Carolina would qualify for their services since they are living below the poverty line.

“We have a staff of about 100 people, but that doesn’t help 200,000 people,” Quattlebaum said. “So, to build our capacity, we need volunteers. Last year, we had over 13,000 volunteer hours, which is important when we are doing our legal work, health insurance signups, as well as getting taxes done for our clients. Volunteer services really help make sure that we are building that capacity to help people in Western North Carolina.”

In Highlands and Cashiers specifically, Quattlebaum said they need volunteers to help get the word out since their program is new in this area.

“Although we have over 45 years of experience in Asheville and other Western North Carolina areas, in Macon and Jackson Counties, we need to get the word out that we are here to help,” Quattlebaum said. “Really anybody in this community can help whether they need our services, volunteering for us or if they are giving money to support the services we give.”

Cashiers Highlands Humane Society

For those that want to show some love towards animals, Jodi Hinkle with CHHS said they need volunteers for exactly that.

“We are fully staffed, but most of what our staff does is direct care of the animals,” Hinkle said. “We wish that we had time to love on all of the puppies and kittens like people think we do, but unfortunately, we don’t. We have a lot of office work and cleaning duties, so we mostly need volunteers to give attention and positive human interaction that we wish, as staff members, we had time to do. We need people who are willing to come and show some love to our animals. Another big thing we need help with during the summer is we do a lot of roadside adoption events and the more volunteers we have, the more animals we can get out to the community.”

Hinkle said that events like this are important because it shows people in the community that there is something for everyone.

“There are a lot of organizations that are here that I didn’t even know were here and I live here,” Hinkle said. “So, I think this is important, one for nonprofits to get together and bounce ideas off of each other, but also for people to get out here and find a way to give back.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Plateau

Volunteering for BBBS means mentoring the future, according to Danielle Hernandez.

“We need volunteers because we are serving the children in our community,” Hernandez said. “We are providing one to one mentorship for these children and in order to do that, we need people who are willing to volunteer their time a couple of times a month in order to help these kids find their potential.”

Dazzling Dahlia Festival

One of the Highlands Historical Society’s events that needs volunteers is the Dazzling Dahlia Festival.

“This event increases the awareness of the Historical Society,” Tracy Fore said. “We need volunteers and the nice thing about volunteering for the Dahlia Festival is that it is a short-term obligation. We need help with the exhibits, flower arranging and stuff like that. We are looking forward to another exciting year. This will be our 12th year of the festival.”

Fore said this event is important because it gives everyone a sense of what is going on in Highlands.

“Not just the ones that come in wanting to volunteer, but the ones here at the booths,” Fore said. “We can see how we can interact and learn how to support each other.”

Highlands Performing Arts Center

With the PAC nearing the end of its construction, Mary Adair Trumbly said she is in need of volunteers for upcoming shows.

“I need ushers, bartenders, box office helpers, everything,” Trumbly said. “The first three concerts of the year will be in the current building, but in the new building it’s going to be a larger space. The good thing about being an usher or volunteer, is that you get to see the concert for free.”

- By Christopher Lugo