Fund for WCU supports School of Nursing health outreach efforts in 2 WNC counties
By Bill Studenc
Students, faculty and alumni from Western Carolina University’s School of Nursing offered a series of outreach events providing holistic nursing assessment and care coordination, navigation and education at sites across Western North Carolina over the summer.
The outreach initiative is supported by $10,000 from the 1889 Impact Grants Program and the Fund for WCU.
Working with alumni from across the region, School of Nursing faculty and students held two community outreach events in July and August. The events included providing holistic nursing assessment for individuals in Haywood County who have been affected by the closure of the paper mill in Canton, one of the county’s largest employers.
In August, School of Nursing alumnae also participated in the Jackson County Back to School Bash, planned in conjunction with local and regional partners, said Kae Livsey, WCU professor of nursing and director of community partnerships for the School of Nursing.
“These events encourage and support individual regional and community engagement by students, faculty and staff and encourage external collaboration of faculty, staff and students with industry, start-ups, research institutes, nonprofits, and government agencies,” Livsey said. “Our goal is that this will spur a mechanism for alumni engagement within the School of Nursing and create a sense of belonging.”
Launched in 2021, the 1889 Impact Grants Program is designed to provide a consistent source of funding for colleges and other units at WCU in support of initiatives that enhance the engagement of alumni and community stakeholders with the philanthropic activities of the university.
Funding for the program comes from annual contributions to the Fund for WCU, including leadership gifts from members of the 1889 Club, which recognizes donors for gifts made on an annual basis to the Fund for WCU. The club, among four giving societies established by the Division of Advancement to celebrate the impact of philanthropy on the institution, is named in honor of the year of WCU’s founding.
Campus partners requested more than $200,000 in 1889 Impact Grants through 16 campuswide grant applications for the 2022-2023 academic year, and the Division of Advancement allocated $43,500 overall for eight awards, a slight increase from the inaugural $40,000 in grant funding awarded last year.
The WCU Foundation Board Executive Committee reviews all submissions and selects the awardees in the fall of each year. In addition to the 1889 Impact Grants Program, the Fund for WCU provides first-year access scholarships to new incoming freshmen and supports ongoing donor stewardship efforts.
Learn more about how the Fund for WCU and 1889 Impact Grants provided support for this project.
