#FeedTheNeed for the Haywood Pathways Center

Welcome to the #FeedTheNeed crowdfunding campaign! We are so happy you’ve stopped by. Read on to hear what our program is all about. We have one amazing story to tell.

The Gist

Out of 500 entries across the nation, our small town(Waynesville, NC) won the inaugural Guaranteed Rate/Ty Pennington Ultimate Neighborhood Give Back Challenge. How awesome is that!

With the $50,000 prize, our community was able to begin undertaking a large renovation project; flipping an old prison into a place of hope, a campus which includes a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, and halfway house.

We are still renovating, at a slower pace because of funding, but the momentum is still kicking, and we don’t want to lose the energy and urgency behind this mission.

To finish the project and purchase remaining items, we need to raise some money, folks. And we need your help!

The Whole Story

Nestled among the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, our town is known for its colorful fall foliage, thriving tourism industry, farm-to-table restaurants, and outdoor excursions. To any onlooker, it seems like a place in a Norman Rockwell painting.

Hidden amidst our picturesque community, however, is a population of people whose hearts are full of despair and hopelessness. Alongside the reusable shopping bags and craft fairs are meth addicts, homeless children, and condemned structures serving as ghastly “homes”.

Reflecting upon these individuals and the lack of resources to help them, the Sheriff developed a vision which became a plan and has now turned into a reality…almost.

Sitting next to the sheriff’s office was an old minimal-security prison surrounded by barbed wire fences. The sheriff began imagining those fences being torn down and the campus being used for something good.

Three Christian-based ministries developed a plan to combine a homeless shelter, soup kitchen, and halfway house onto one campus and name it the Haywood Pathways Center. On this campus, heartbroken people will gain the basic needs and education to change their path from one of crime and destitute to one of optimism and promise.

A combination of Christian ministries, government agencies, groups and individuals began raising money to begin the process of renovating the old prison. Pretty quickly, it was realized that to truly create the campus that was envisioned, a significant amount of money and man power would be needed.

Ty Pennington Meets Small Town America

In hopes of garnering the necessary funds, a core group of community members entered the Ultimate Neighborhood Give Back Challenge hosted by Guaranteed Rate and their spokesman, Ty Pennington. The energy behind this contest was incredible. Facebook was abuzz with people sharing the link to vote for this project.

We found out we won the contest in early August and on September 25, Ty Pennington and the Guaranteed Rate crew rolled into Waynesville, North Carolina to flip the old prison.

The day was filled with excitement and passion. Hundreds of volunteers worked alongside Ty as old floors were ripped up, walls painted and trees planted. Most importantly, we all watched as the old fences were finally torn down.

The tearing down of fences was extraordinarily symbolic. A sterile place of imprisonment was being transformed into a welcoming place of enlightenment.

Though this day was fun and certainly memorable, it was only the beginning. Once the hoopla of the event ended, there was still much work to be done.

Since Ty’s visit, many volunteers and workers have made progress, but more funds are needed to complete the project and create the campus imagined by the Sheriff.

The Quantitative Goal

We have many folks who are excited to be part of the mission of the Haywood Pathways Center. Countless people are concerned about the welfare of the individuals utilizing the services this center will offer. Before the campus can flourish as a true entity, we need more money to complete the project.

$100,000 is needed to completely finalize the campus. A significant portion of this money will go toward finishing the remaining buildings as well as putting folks through the Sheriff's program and feeding those who go hungry. It will take a lot of  supplies to make this a thriving campus.

The Qualitative Goal

Hundreds of people in our community are either at a dead end or a crossroads. Some have lost all hope and truly believe the only answers are drugs and alcohol. Others want to make a change but know there’s no way they can do it alone.

The goal of the Haywood Pathways Center is to help hurting individuals completely change their path. Basic needs of food and shelter will be provided along with an educational component pairing the individual with a mentor and opportunities in the community.

Feeding the Need

This is where you come in! To truly impact these people who are homeless in life and hopeless in the heart, we need funding to complete the Haywood Pathways Center. Whether it is a donation of $5, $100, $1,000, or $10,000, we appreciate anything you can give. A donation of only $5 would provide a soft pillow for someone.

This money will go toward finishing the campus and finally being able to help those that seek help so badly. With this money, we will be able to feed families, including children who haven’t eaten a warm meal for days. We will be able to provide a hot shower for folks who haven’t had one in entirely too long.

Perhaps most importantly, we will be able to help these people become functioning members of our community.

Thank you for helping #FeedTheNeed! We appreciate it more than you know.