Impact Alamance 2022 Annual Report

Again and again, we return to our mission statement:

That effort, Alamance Forward, collected more than 70 hours of input from people from every corner of Alamance County. We discovered common concerns about parental involvement in the schools, whether students could see themselves represented among teachers and in the curriculum, and the safety of the school environment.

In 2022, we continued that mission by redoubling our efforts to be true partners with the community, including the many residents who often don’t feel included or heard when community leaders discuss the future.

We asked the Harwood Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit group that has worked with communities like ours for three decades, to help us. The aim was to listen to all residents: from southern Alamance to urban Burlington, from people who trace their family roots to before the founding of our country, to people who have been here only a few years and are still learning the language. We wanted to understand what keeps us from working together to solve our common challenges. And we wanted to find a way to bridge geographic, economic, racial and political divides.

Alamance Achieves also doubled down on connecting to the community. It partnered with the CityGate Dream Center and LatinxEd to facilitate community listening sessions about the challenges and hopes people have when it comes to public education.

Alamance County has the creativity, will and desire to solve its own problems – though sometimes it takes someone from outside the community to remind us of that. To create a future in Alamance County for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren, we need to work together. Alamance Forward, the Harwood initiative and our grantmaking activity are all designed to help us – and you – do just that.

We hope you will join us and the rest of the community in that effort this year and in the future. Together, we can go further.

F.D. Hornaday, Board Chair Tracey Grayzer, President

“We partner and invest to achieve hope, health and prosperity for everyone in Alamance County.”

ALAMANCE COUNTY

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Pages 4-5

HEALTHIER

Pages 6-7

SMARTER Pages 8-9

STRONGER

Page 10

PROGRAM UPDATES

Page 11

BOARD & STAFF MEMBERS

Back Cover OUR IMPACT

HEALTHIER

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY GARDEN IN WILLOWBROOK PARK OPENS IN OCTOBER 2022

The Children’s Activity Garden at the Burlington Arboretum at Willowbrook Park is a stimulating, safe outdoor play area for children.

The garden was developed in partnership with the New Leaf Society and supported by a $485,000 investment from Impact Alamance. The Children’s Garden was conceived of in 2017 as part of the larger arboretum construction and Willowbrook Park expansion.

The Activity Garden gives children and families another option for outdoor play and physical activity. The Activity

Garden is completely natural and designed to spark curiosity, exploration and a love of nature.

Outdoor learning environments benefit children in many ways: healthy physical activity, stress relief, boosts to attention and cognitive abilities, increased creativity, and strengthened verbal and social skills.

Having safe and healthy outdoor environments in Alamance County strengthens the grid of resources families in our community rely on to ensure healthy development.

RIDER’S PLAYGROUND GETS COMMUNITY MOVING

A $50,000 investment in 2021 to the Town of Elon helped create an inclusive playground for children of all ages to ride bikes, trikes and scooters. The project is an investment in an underserved part of Elon with a very diverse population.

This rider’s playground aims to facilitate positive police interactions, boost physical activity and increase social

engagement activities in the community. The site includes a safe practice ground and a repair station.

The joint initiative by the Town of Elon and Impact Alamance adds to the network of community resources that support a healthy community, including opportunities for physical activity.

CREATING MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAY & MOVEMENT

In 2022 Impact Alamance completed a multiyear $1.1 million investment in our community’s infrastructure.

We invested $150,000 to upgrade the playgrounds at Garrett, North Graham and East Lawn elementary schools. With this grant, Impact Alamance completes a multi-year funding journey that has improved playgrounds at every public elementary school in Alamance County.

Several years ago, the Alamance County Board of Education approved a community-use policy

for elementary school playgrounds. The policy allows the general public to access and use elementary school playgrounds outside school hours, such as after school, on weekends and during holidays.

By expanding access to those playgrounds, ABSS has strengthened the network of community assets that encourage activity and physical play, which are critical to children’s healthy development and an important part of establishing lifelong exercise habits.

2022 WELLNESS SUMMIT BREAKFAST

“Our ability to stay healthy can be addressed through how cities, towns and communities are designed,” keynote speaker Charles T. Brown told more than 85 community leaders and representatives at the 2022 Wellness Summit Breakfast.

Brown is a Rutgers University adjunct professor and founder of Equitable Cities, an urban planning, public policy and research firm focused on the intersection of transportation, health and equity. He provided advice

on best practices to consider in building healthier environments for all in Alamance County.

The Wellness Collaborative is a joint effort from a wide range of local government, education, healthcare and community organizations focused on policies, systems and environmental changes that encourage healthy activity and increase access to healthy foods.

INVESTING IN ALAMANCE SMARTER

Impact Alamance invested $100,000 to support the Alamance Chamber and Alamance Economic Development Foundation’s Invest in Alamance 2.0 effort. The five-year economic development strategy has five key components:

• Job creation

• Workforce development and talent attraction

• Small business and entrepreneurial development

• Community visioning

Medora Burke-Scoll went to work as a scientist after earning her master’s degree in biochemistry but soon realized she wanted to teach science. After taking education courses at UNC Greensboro and observing classes at Eastern Alamance High School, she found herself in a science classroom.

Eleven years later Burke-Scoll was named ABSS Teacher of the Year.

“I have made it my goal over the last 11 years to advocate for quality public schools,” Burke-Scoll told the Mebane Enterprise. “And that comes with funding and access to resources and equity amongst the schools in Alamance County.”

Burke-Scoll plans hands-on activities, trying to bring science to life for students in her class. Her goal is to teach students to put the scientific method into action – asking questions, making observations and testing theories with experiments.

Along with teacher-of-the-year honors, Burke-Scoll also received a $10,000 Impact Alamance grant for a classroom makeover and $2,000 for a professional development opportunity of her choice.

• Investor relations

They are designed to strengthen our economy, create jobs and ensure a prosperous future for all Alamance County residents. Technological innovation and shifting economic forces affect Alamance County, playing a vital role in the well-being of the county’s employers.

“The contribution from Impact Alamance to the Invest in Alamance 2.0 campaign further demonstrates the reach of this program of work,” says Reagan C. Gural, President & CEO of the Alamance Chamber.

“With the strong focus on workforce development and community visioning, this grant underwrites short-term and ongoing growth with innovative strategies.”

ALAMANCE FORWARD

Alamance Forward is a community-led initiative to address some of the obstacles to having equitable, high-achieving public schools in Alamance County. The initiative is a partnership between Alamance Achieves, the CityGate Dream Center and LatinxEd, and is funded in part by the Walton Family Foundation.

In 2022, the initiative facilitated a series of listening sessions, led by community members, focusing on four key needs:

• Parental governance in schools

• Diverse teacher representation

• Safe school environments

• Culturally responsive curriculum

Some 70 hours of listening sessions, including sessions conducted in Spanish, have created a blueprint to move forward on these key issues in ways that the community supports.

“SCIENCE IS FUN; WE SHOULD DO SOME.”

Graduates of the 2022-2023 Parent Engagement Program cohort.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

Alamance Achieves, an Impact Alamance initiative, has relaunched the Parent Engagement Program (PEP). PEP aims to help the community better understand and actively support public education.

The cohort-based program is designed around a series of sessions based on a curriculum developed by Parents for Public Schools, a national organization. Parents, other caregivers of students and interested community members can participate.

Participants hear from Alamance County education leaders, learn to understand education data and how ABSS operates, and develop leadership skills.

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF JUVENILE CRIME

An Alamance Community College program aims to channel troubled teens away from crime and back to education and the workforce.

Many studies show that once juveniles have an encounter with the justice system, their chances of completing high school, getting post-secondary training or education, and finding a good job are dramatically reduced.

ACC’s Alamance Juvenile Opportunity Bridge (AJOB) aims to interrupt that downward spiral by diverting first-time offenders accused of non-

felony crimes. The teens attend a Saturday class at ACC that provides additional soft skill training, such as time management and financial management skills, and allows them opportunities to explore indemand career paths with hands-on, interactive experiences.

Impact Alamance is providing a $53,150 grant to cover the initial costs of the program. Once proven successful, ACC hopes to make the program permanent through additional state and county funding.

STRONGER

ALAMANCE COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS EXPANDS

For half a century, Alamance County Meals on Wheels has been a critical part of our community’s efforts to support some of our most vulnerable residents.

The organization, which has been housed by First Presbyterian Church of Burlington since 1973, started out serving hot meals to just a handful of people. It now delivers more than 100,000 meals – hot and frozen –annually, serving more than 300 people a day.

A $34,000 Impact Alamance grant is helping the program feed more people. The funds will be used to expand the kitchen and add a commercial freezer, enabling Alamance County Meals on Wheels to prepare and deliver more meals to more people.

COMMUNITY FORWARD GRANTS

In 2022, Impact Alamance opened a new community investment opportunity. The Community Forward Grants are designed to encourage new opportunities, build stronger relationships, and inspire community developments. A direct result of the foundation’s ongoing equity work, the grants empower people to invest in community-led solutions. The foundation invested in five community forward grants in 2022, for a total of $51,000.

Although rates of mental illness in minority communities are similar to rates in the population overall, Black and Brown people are less likely to receive mental health care. Stigma, mistrust and lack of access are

barriers. The mental health services people of color receive are often of lower quality.

Burlington Native Joshua Alston, a musician and peer support counselor, organized the first Mind Over Matter Conference at Burlington’s Mayco Bigelow Center to address these issues. Impact Alamance invested $10,000 to support this effort to strengthen community scaffolding around mental health resources.

The conference featured two workshops — on education and the justice system. It also included food, musicians, vendors and music therapy stations.

SUPPORTING YOUNG LEARNERS

A $22,500 grant will be used by the Mayco Bigelow Center to reestablish the community garden at North Park. The garden will provide a sustainable outdoor learning environment and program space, including 25 raised beds, a shed and a sitting area. More than 100 local residents, campers and others will participate in events there, and the garden will grow produce to provide more people access to fresh food.

A $16,000 Impact Alamance grant is enabling the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club to reimagine and reinvigorate critical learning spaces that support academic achievement for the youth the program serves in after-school programs.

The grant is being used to purchase wobble stools, chairs with wheels, tables with adjustable heights, and other learning accessories. These help children improve their focus and attention while facilitating collaboration and problem-solving.

New lighting and white noise machines will also help tailor the learning environment for the needs of individuals.

“Because we are striving to help our youth succeed in all areas, but especially academically, it was time to change the learning environment here,” said Tara Nager, branch manager for the Boys & Girls Club. “Not everybody learns in a traditional classroom style setting. Some kids need to move around in a wobble stool, or maybe the lighting is affecting their learning.”

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

In 2022 Alamance County invited the Harwood Institute to help people from across Alamance County to come together to identify common values and hopes so we can address the challenges we face together.

The Harwood Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with decades of experience working in communities like ours, where our differences can sometimes seem too wide to bridge. It is not a consulting firm that tells communities what to do or how to do it; rather, it helps communities come together to solve problems and create a better future.

Harwood facilitated 16 listening sessions with hundreds of people and conducted 36 one-on-one interviews with community leaders to better understand our differences and our commonalities. We heard from diverse groups of people from all parts of the

county and all walks of life, including those more comfortable participating in Spanish, religious leaders, young people and more.

Harwood’s report found real divisions, mistrust and a deficit in the civic infrastructure required to address community challenges. But the listening sessions also found a deep desire for hope and healing – a longing that could grow into dialogue, collaboration and action.

One common interest that ties us together, even in the face of geographic, economic, racial and political divides, is our common interest in providing a good future for our children.

The Harwood report suggests ways that we can move forward. It starts with building our civic strength – our capacity as a community to communicate and act together to solve problems and address needs.

“An authentic narrative can only be created by starting small, achieving real wins, and making those stories visible.” - Rich Harwood

HOW WE CAN INVEST IN CIVIC STRENGTH

The report suggests investing in these areas to strengthen our civic infrastructure:

• Engaging people authentically

• Developing leaders who are turned outward

• Building more catalytic, boundary-spanning organizations and groups

• Tapping the energy and credibility of the faith community

• Creating a new can-do narrative

PROGRAM UPDATES

ALAMANCE COUNTY RACIAL EQUITY COLLABORATIVE

In 2022 we held the second cohort of the ACRE Co-Lab, a seven-month program that brings together nonprofit, government, community and faith leaders to explore issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in our community.

“The ACRE experience has been a great stepping-off point for me personally to learn and discuss racism. Through this opportunity I have been taught 1) racism is present today in many different forms, 2) we all have bias, 3) history has been whitewashed and 4) change is necessary. This is not easy work and there is no one-step, easy solution.”

—Mary Faucette, Downtown Development Coordinator, City of Graham

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

The Leadership Institute brings together a cohort of nonprofit and local government leaders and managers each year to strengthen their leadership skills and strengthen the ability of their organizations to have an impact. In 2022, 22 individuals from 18 organizations participated.

“Leadership for me is creating a vision. Bringing people up around me and supporting them. Putting them in the right place, at the right time, so that amazing things can happen.”

—Nikki Ratliff, Program Services Director at Burlington Development Corporation

ELON UNIVERSITY YEAR OF SERVICE FELLOWS

Year of Service fellows are recent Elon University alumni who spend 12 months following graduation working as a staff member in an Alamance County community organization.

“What really attracted me was the idea of being able to connect to community. I’ve worked with the Wellness Collaborative and the ACRE Co-Lab and helped on the Harwood Institute work. I’ve also been learning more about what it means to be a nonprofit organization, as well as the professionalism that comes with being part of an organization. Being able to be that community voice in a place that we value community input, has allowed me to speak up about what I believe in.”

“While at Elon, I fell in love with Alamance County through my involvement with community organizations. I saw that wherever there was an issue, somebody was working to address it. I was interested in the fellowship because I wanted to get out of the Elon bubble and become more integrated in the community. When I first came on, I was doing data analysis for a project called Alamance Forward. Now I am co-leading our parent engagement program. I’ve learned that to make progress in our community, we need to engage people across all areas of Alamance County.”

TAYLOR RUSS, IMPACT ALAMANCE

JAZMIN CAMPBELL, ALAMANCE ACHIEVES

* The Impact Alamance staff and board join the community in remembering John Currin, who passed away unexpectedly in April 2023. John was a founding board member and a tireless, unwavering advocate and volunteer for the community. He will be missed.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

F.D. Hornaday

John Currin*

Edward Woodall

Ted Chandler

Kathy Colville

Vernetta Bridges

Nicole Alston

Dr. Yun Boylston

Dr. Ashley Brandon

Mandy Eaton

Martha Krall

Leo Lambert

Griffin McClure

Mark Gordon, President, Alamance Regional

STAFF - IMPACT ALAMANCE

Tracey Grayzer, President

Marcy Green, Vice President of Programs

Tyronna Hooker, Vice President of Education Programs

Laura Fehlhafer, Office Administrator

Anne Baker, Finance and Grants Manager

Jewel Tillman, Community Engagement Manager

Taylor Russ, Elon University Year of Service Fellow

Lexy Roberts, Director, Alamance Achieves

Sylvia Ellington, Collaborative Action Facilitator, Alamance Achieves

Jazmin Campbell, Elon University Year of Service Fellow, Alamance Achieves

Gibsonville

Glen Raven

Burlington

Graham

Haw River

Green Level