Carolina Meadows is proud to be a part of Chatham County and has a history of partnering with the community through outreach and volunteer efforts. In 2007, the Carolina Meadows Community Grants Program was launched to support local not-for-profit agencies that serve Chatham County residents. Since that time, Carolina Meadows has awarded more than $700,000 to local agencies. The focus of the funding has been to provide basic necessities, such as food and prescription drugs, to Chatham County residents.

There was great need this year in Chatham County due to the current economic situation, and 33 charities applied for funding. The Carolina Meadows Board of Directors recently awarded $116,000 to 15 charities that deliver care for the county’s citizens in a variety of ways:

• Chatham Cares Community Pharmacy: To increase access to pharmacy services to those in need. 

Chatham Council on Aging: To provide nutritious, hot meals for older adults at local Senior Centers.
• Chatham County Schools: To enable students in Siler City Title I Schools to attend a four-week summer enrichment camp, CAUSE (Chatham Activities Unlimited Summer Enrichment).
• Chatham Family Resource Center: To increase transportation services to medical appointments for low income pregnant women and others in need.
• Chatham Outreach Alliance (CORA): To purchase food for distribution to needy families through the CORA pantry or through the summer SNACK program.
• El Futuro: To help provide accessible, affordable and appropriate mental healthcare for Latino youth in Chatham County.
• Family Violence & Rape Crisis Services: To help victims through crises and build a community that works to end domestic violence and sexual assault.
• Farmer Foodshare: To provide seasonal weekly boxes of fresh food from Chatham County farms to families in need of food.
• Fuel Up at Perry Harrison School: To support the Fuel Up program to provide nutritious meals and snacks for eligible children to enjoy on weekends and breaks from school.
• Hispanic Liaison: To help provide basic needs and hunger relief to Hispanic families in need.
• Pittsboro Elementary School PTA: To purchase shelf-stable food for the supplemental food program Panda Packs for school children whose families are experiencing economic hardship.
• Project Compassion: To create, train and sustain a new volunteer Support Team to provide volunteer caregiving support to Chatham County residents living with serious illness.
• St. Julia Catholic Church: To provide food and grocery gift cards through their food pantry.
• Take and Eat Food Pantry (Evergreen United Methodist Church): To help provide supplemental, nourishing food at no cost to economically disadvantaged citizens of eastern Chatham County.
• West Chatham Food Pantry: To provide weekend food for the backpacks of as many hungry children as possible at Siler City and Virginia Cross Elementary Schools.

Carolina Meadows, Inc., a continuing care retirement community, is located in Chatham County, N.C. Carolina Meadows’ mission is to provide housing, health and wellness services, and social opportunities for older adults in a financially secure community that respects individual dignity, encourages independence, and promotes life-long learning.

From staff reports