Recently in Good Deeds Category
College students giving up something they love for a bigger cause? It happened right here in Cullowhee, as students, faculty and staff at Western Carolina University pledged themselves to a day of "fasting" to help members of the conflict-stricken area of Darfur in the African country of Sudan. Each participant agreed to forego something for the day -- perhaps a meal or even just a snack -- and then donate to the cause the money that would have been paid.
The Fast Day was held on Wednesday, December 5, the day that Darfur's case was presented to the United Nations, where advocates asked for UN and African Union peacekeeping troops in Darfur. The conflict in Darfur is a politically charged, long-running strife between factions of Sudan's government. Millions of persons have been killed, wounded or rendered homeless.
The movement, begun by WCU freshman Katy Elders, attracted prominent members of the community and campus. Their organized effort is pursuant to international guidelines for a "STAND" club (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur). STAND's faculty adviser is Steve Carlisle, who is Associate Dean of the Honors College and Director of the Humanities Program.
Students staffed an information booth on Fast Day on the front lawn of WCU's University Center. Already the effort had generated more than $600 through collections on campus and at booths that were set up by WCU students near Ingles and Wal-Mart in Sylva.
Elders says the focus of the group in the future is to provide information, outreach and education, with fundraising as a secondary but still important goal. Future plans include educational programs in local schools, including Smoky Mountain High School, advocacy initiatives, a student movement to write federal congressional representatives and senators, advocating for genocide education in public schools, and working with the student-run Last Minute Productions group at WCU to put on a benefit concert in the spring.
For more information about Darfur, STAND recommends www.standnow.org or www.savedarfur.org. Also, stories about Darfur have been featured recently at www.bbc.com, www.usatoday.com, and www.msnbc.com.
For more information on pledging or donating to the WCU effort, contact Elders at cullowheesavesdarfur@gmail.com.
The Fast Day was held on Wednesday, December 5, the day that Darfur's case was presented to the United Nations, where advocates asked for UN and African Union peacekeeping troops in Darfur. The conflict in Darfur is a politically charged, long-running strife between factions of Sudan's government. Millions of persons have been killed, wounded or rendered homeless.
The movement, begun by WCU freshman Katy Elders, attracted prominent members of the community and campus. Their organized effort is pursuant to international guidelines for a "STAND" club (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur). STAND's faculty adviser is Steve Carlisle, who is Associate Dean of the Honors College and Director of the Humanities Program.
Students staffed an information booth on Fast Day on the front lawn of WCU's University Center. Already the effort had generated more than $600 through collections on campus and at booths that were set up by WCU students near Ingles and Wal-Mart in Sylva.
Elders says the focus of the group in the future is to provide information, outreach and education, with fundraising as a secondary but still important goal. Future plans include educational programs in local schools, including Smoky Mountain High School, advocacy initiatives, a student movement to write federal congressional representatives and senators, advocating for genocide education in public schools, and working with the student-run Last Minute Productions group at WCU to put on a benefit concert in the spring.
For more information about Darfur, STAND recommends www.standnow.org or www.savedarfur.org. Also, stories about Darfur have been featured recently at www.bbc.com, www.usatoday.com, and www.msnbc.com.
For more information on pledging or donating to the WCU effort, contact Elders at cullowheesavesdarfur@gmail.com.
Your vote in an online contest could help WestCare Health System win an MRI (magnetic resonant imaging) machine for Swain County Hospital in Bryson City.
An MRI is an expensive medical technology device that scans a patient's body and provides interior views of living tissues, enabling physicians to diagnose and monitor disease.
Nearly 100 other hospitals are competing against WestCare for the new MRI machine, manufactured by Seimens Medical Corporation. Only hospitals of less than 180 beds that have no fixed-installation MRI machine are eligible.
Each hospital has created its own video (no music, film or video professional services were allowed). The video receiving the most votes via a Web page wins. To view the videos and vote for WestCare's video, point your web browser to www.WinAnMRI.com (click here).
The last day to vote is December 31, but you can vote more than once. The contest's rules allow each person to vote once per day.
The Web page includes these details: "One hospital in America will win a free MAGNETOM Essenza, an all-new 1.5T MRI. This powerful diagnostic tool can help improve the quality of care for friends, families, and neighbors in your community. View the videos and vote for the hospital who has the most compelling argument for why they should win." The page includes a link to a page in the Products and Solutions department of Siemen's Web site with a photo of the product. No price is given, although it is described as being the "most affordable all-new 1.5T MRI." A trade magazine (click) describes the unit as being priced "as much as $500,000 below similar 1.5 Tesla systems, making it the least expensive of the new 1.5T brands."
WestCare has one fixed-installation MRI and one mobile MRI in use at Harris Regional Hospital in Jackson County. A mobile MRI is taken to WestCare's Swain County Hospital every other week. If Swain County Hospital can obtain its own MRI, Swain County emergency patients would not need to come to Jackson County for MRI work, and Swain's regular patients would not need to wait for the mobile unit's scheduled visits.
"Having an on-site MRI machine at Swain County Hospital would eliminate the waiting period that patients in our area often face when their doctor orders an MRI. We serve a very large region of Western North Carolina and an on-site MRI machine would provide our physicians with the information they need in order to diagnose patients faster and begin treatment sooner, which leads to better care," said Ronnie Sloan, administrator of Swain County Hospital.
More information is available from WestCare at 586-7404.
As of December 5, the contest's Web page reported that Westcare's video had 295 votes. The leading contestant was Sumter Regional Hospital of Americus, Georgia, with 167,965 votes.
Although the MRI to be given to the winner is manufactured by Siemens, the contest is administered by Elite Marketing Communications of Orlando, Florida. The contest's web page includes a link to tips for contestants, which recommends using the popular YouTube video site and contacting local community groups and organizations.
Shown below: U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler casts his vote online for WestCare's video on Friday, Nov. 30, when he visited Harris Regional Hospital to participate in WestCare's celebration of National Home Health and Hospice Month.
An MRI is an expensive medical technology device that scans a patient's body and provides interior views of living tissues, enabling physicians to diagnose and monitor disease.
Nearly 100 other hospitals are competing against WestCare for the new MRI machine, manufactured by Seimens Medical Corporation. Only hospitals of less than 180 beds that have no fixed-installation MRI machine are eligible.
Each hospital has created its own video (no music, film or video professional services were allowed). The video receiving the most votes via a Web page wins. To view the videos and vote for WestCare's video, point your web browser to www.WinAnMRI.com (click here).
The last day to vote is December 31, but you can vote more than once. The contest's rules allow each person to vote once per day.
The Web page includes these details: "One hospital in America will win a free MAGNETOM Essenza, an all-new 1.5T MRI. This powerful diagnostic tool can help improve the quality of care for friends, families, and neighbors in your community. View the videos and vote for the hospital who has the most compelling argument for why they should win." The page includes a link to a page in the Products and Solutions department of Siemen's Web site with a photo of the product. No price is given, although it is described as being the "most affordable all-new 1.5T MRI." A trade magazine (click) describes the unit as being priced "as much as $500,000 below similar 1.5 Tesla systems, making it the least expensive of the new 1.5T brands."
WestCare has one fixed-installation MRI and one mobile MRI in use at Harris Regional Hospital in Jackson County. A mobile MRI is taken to WestCare's Swain County Hospital every other week. If Swain County Hospital can obtain its own MRI, Swain County emergency patients would not need to come to Jackson County for MRI work, and Swain's regular patients would not need to wait for the mobile unit's scheduled visits.
"Having an on-site MRI machine at Swain County Hospital would eliminate the waiting period that patients in our area often face when their doctor orders an MRI. We serve a very large region of Western North Carolina and an on-site MRI machine would provide our physicians with the information they need in order to diagnose patients faster and begin treatment sooner, which leads to better care," said Ronnie Sloan, administrator of Swain County Hospital.
More information is available from WestCare at 586-7404.
As of December 5, the contest's Web page reported that Westcare's video had 295 votes. The leading contestant was Sumter Regional Hospital of Americus, Georgia, with 167,965 votes.
Although the MRI to be given to the winner is manufactured by Siemens, the contest is administered by Elite Marketing Communications of Orlando, Florida. The contest's web page includes a link to tips for contestants, which recommends using the popular YouTube video site and contacting local community groups and organizations.
Shown below: U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler casts his vote online for WestCare's video on Friday, Nov. 30, when he visited Harris Regional Hospital to participate in WestCare's celebration of National Home Health and Hospice Month.
The folks at the Community Table, Jackson County's combination soup kitchen and community gathering center, are gearing up for a holiday season filled with warmth, fellowship and, most importantly, food.
This Christmas season, Timara McCollum, the Table's executive director, is encouraging everyone to give a little time to helping make holidays for those in need. She's joined by the Table's newest addition: Kitchen Manager Samantha Crawford, who joined the Table in August.
Crawford's role is to take whatever donations, Table garden produce and stocked items are available and magically create delicious, nutritious home-cooked meals for hundreds of people. The Table has served more than 100,000 hot meals since its inception in 1999.
She also coordinates the volunteers and garden workers who serve, clean, cook, cut desserts and wash dishes during special events and the four-times-per-week meals.
"I've made stuffed peppers, because we had so many out of the garden once. They also really like that Southern favorite of beans, greens and cornbread," she says, when asked what her most creative or favorite recipes have been. "But then, I've made Chinese stirfry before, and they ate that too," she adds, smiling.
Crawford encourages everyone to volunteer, and promises she can find a job to suit just about anyone -- even kids can play a role in volunteering at the Table. And she finds herself completely in line with the group's mission and goals. To find out more, you can call her at 586-6782.
The Table will hold a Holiday Cookie Bake on December 1, 5, 7, 8 and 12, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on each of those days. The baking event will use donated sugar cookie dough, cookie cutters and decorations like sprinkles to bring together kids, adults and Table patrons and staff at the holidays.
Parents are encouraged to bring children, and community members are encouraged to come help bake holiday cookies for distribution to patrons of the Table as well as to their friends and families. (There'll be lots of tasting for the chefs, too!)
RSVPs are requested for the Cookie Bake. Call Timara McCollum at 586-6782. If you'd like to donate items for the bake-off, you can call the same number to find out what's needed.
Another holiday event for the Table is an upcoming Christmas feast. The date has not yet been determined.
The Table feeds home-cooked meals to anyone and everyone in need in a homey, restaraunt-style atmosphere, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m. In addition, they offer a Blue Plate Special the last Wednesday of the month during which local chefs provide food for $5 per plate, with all proceeds going to the Table. More information is available by contacting McCollum at 586-6782.
The Table is located at the corner of Storybook Lane and Bartlett Street in Sylva, next to the Church of Christ and 2 blocks from St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Shown below: volunteers and staffers at the Community Table (click photo to enlarge). From left: Josh Schond, a WCU student volunteer; Samantha Crawford, the Community Table's Kitchen Manager and Volunteer Coordinator; and Tim and Linda Rice, longtime volunteers. They're working on putting together pots and pots of homecooked spaghetti for dinner.
This Christmas season, Timara McCollum, the Table's executive director, is encouraging everyone to give a little time to helping make holidays for those in need. She's joined by the Table's newest addition: Kitchen Manager Samantha Crawford, who joined the Table in August.
Crawford's role is to take whatever donations, Table garden produce and stocked items are available and magically create delicious, nutritious home-cooked meals for hundreds of people. The Table has served more than 100,000 hot meals since its inception in 1999.
She also coordinates the volunteers and garden workers who serve, clean, cook, cut desserts and wash dishes during special events and the four-times-per-week meals.
"I've made stuffed peppers, because we had so many out of the garden once. They also really like that Southern favorite of beans, greens and cornbread," she says, when asked what her most creative or favorite recipes have been. "But then, I've made Chinese stirfry before, and they ate that too," she adds, smiling.
Crawford encourages everyone to volunteer, and promises she can find a job to suit just about anyone -- even kids can play a role in volunteering at the Table. And she finds herself completely in line with the group's mission and goals. To find out more, you can call her at 586-6782.
The Table will hold a Holiday Cookie Bake on December 1, 5, 7, 8 and 12, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on each of those days. The baking event will use donated sugar cookie dough, cookie cutters and decorations like sprinkles to bring together kids, adults and Table patrons and staff at the holidays.
Parents are encouraged to bring children, and community members are encouraged to come help bake holiday cookies for distribution to patrons of the Table as well as to their friends and families. (There'll be lots of tasting for the chefs, too!)
RSVPs are requested for the Cookie Bake. Call Timara McCollum at 586-6782. If you'd like to donate items for the bake-off, you can call the same number to find out what's needed.
Another holiday event for the Table is an upcoming Christmas feast. The date has not yet been determined.
The Table feeds home-cooked meals to anyone and everyone in need in a homey, restaraunt-style atmosphere, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m. In addition, they offer a Blue Plate Special the last Wednesday of the month during which local chefs provide food for $5 per plate, with all proceeds going to the Table. More information is available by contacting McCollum at 586-6782.
The Table is located at the corner of Storybook Lane and Bartlett Street in Sylva, next to the Church of Christ and 2 blocks from St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Shown below: volunteers and staffers at the Community Table (click photo to enlarge). From left: Josh Schond, a WCU student volunteer; Samantha Crawford, the Community Table's Kitchen Manager and Volunteer Coordinator; and Tim and Linda Rice, longtime volunteers. They're working on putting together pots and pots of homecooked spaghetti for dinner.
Volunteers are asked to assemble at Smoky Mountain High School this Saturday morning beginning at 8:30, to do weeding, mulching, planting and general cleaning. The event is sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Organization.
Bring your rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels and brooms. At 1 p.m. SMHS principal Jay Grissom will provide a cookout lunch for the volunteers.
The PTO can provide more information, at 226-1078.
Bring your rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels and brooms. At 1 p.m. SMHS principal Jay Grissom will provide a cookout lunch for the volunteers.
The PTO can provide more information, at 226-1078.
