our partners

At Dogwood, we couldn’t exist without our partners – the community organizations and government entities that are helping their fellow citizens live, learn, earn and thrive, without exception. Our partners have a shared vision of making the places we call home healthier, stronger, more inclusive, better educated, economically stable and more resilient today and for future generations.

Find out more about our partners’ stories and the positive outcomes our work together is bringing to Western North Carolina. Search by partner name, strategic priority area or county to find out about the amazing work being done to close gaps, clear roadblocks, pursue opportunities and apply imaginative ideas!

Full DHT logo on white background

Moving Good Ideas Forward: How Mountain CAC Expanded Access to Trauma Therapy with Support from the Leverage Fund

It started with an offhand comment in a staff meeting nearly a decade ago. The team at Mountain Child Advocacy Center (CAC) was troubleshooting a familiar challenge: getting young clients and their caregivers to therapy appointments.
image

Digital Opportunities Update: Creating a Healthier, More Collaborative and Connected Western North Carolina

Dogwood Health Trust launched the Digital Opportunities Initiative in January 2025, partnering with ten collaboratives representing over 50 organizations across Western North Carolina.
Cover Image

Together We Thrive: The Asheville Beyond Schools Network

With another school year underway, a newly formalized network of out-of-school (OST) providers is working hand-in-hand with Asheville City Schools to better support young people once the afternoon bell rings. 
IMG_7795

Isothermal Builds Early Childhood Workforce by Helping Students Stay the Course

Vincient Bohannon jokingly refers to himself as a “unicorn” when reflecting on his pursuit of an Early Childhood Education degree at Isothermal Community College.
SmartStart Transylvania FFN-Child Caregiver Play

Homegrown Care – Why Family, Friends and Neighbors are Key to WNC’s Childcare Crisis

As a former elementary school teacher of 30 years, Karen Kreigsman is no stranger to spending her days with young children. Even in retirement, that hasn’t changed much.
cp3 (1)

Building Homes and a Workforce to Power the Economy

On a 12-acre stretch of donated land in Cherokee County, NC, a new neighborhood is taking shape. Three homes are framed, one is nearly dried in and another is ready for a roof.
DSC09976

Cultivating Healthy Aging in Western North Carolina

A few years ago, Burke County senior citizen Vivian Lawrence had never grown her own food. Today she confidently tends rows of vegetables, fruits and herbs at a local community garden discovered through a class offered by Cooperative Extension in Burke County called the Farm to Senior Services Project.
DSC07725

A Reason to Smile: Bringing Critical Dental Care Back to WNC

In many dental practices across North Carolina, front desk staff are shuffling appointments. A routine cleaning might be pushed back three months, or a child needing a filling might need to wait a little longer for care.
WorxProject139

Curiosity at “WORX” — Middle Schoolers Get a Hands-On Head Start on Their Futures

At age 14, Savannah Jefferson is considering a career in forensic science, maybe one day as a private investigator.
PEAK_STEMWest LEGOs Flat Lay

Closing the STEM Gap, One LEGO at a Time

At 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon at Saluda Elementary School, dozens of elementary students work together to solve an archaeological challenge.
Celo Inn

Still Standing: Celo Commons provides new nexus for South Toe Valley

For 40 years, the historic Celo Inn offered the South Toe Valley community in rural Yancey County both a cherished gathering space for locals and a comfortable home base for visitors.
MTCC Story Image 1

Solving the Childcare Crunch: How McDowell Tech Is Growing the ECE Workforce

In McDowell County, like many communities across Western North Carolina, working families know firsthand the challenges that emerge when childcare is hard to come by.
RT-Kayla

Collaboration & Innovation: Shaping the Future of WNC Healthcare

Three years into a project aimed at fortifying the diminishing supply of future health care workers, especially in rural regions like Western North Carolina,
Stephen Balsam Edge

The Difference Maker: WNC Affordable Housing Loan Fund Brings Balsam Edge to Life

Haywood County residents in search of local, affordable housing options are now one step closer to coming home, thanks to a multi-pronged, collaborative effort
Image (9)

Older Adult Collaborative Launches & Related Report Released

Dogwood’s Older Adult Collaborative (OAC) grantee cohort launched in January 2026.
waypoint5

Breaking Barriers Through Adventure: Waypoint’s Expanding Impact in Western North Carolina

When Jacob initially joined a small group of peers in the Leaders In Training (LIT) program to venture into the Western North Carolina (WNC) wilderness last summer, he was admittedly uncertain.
DSC_0260

Looking Back and at What’s Ahead for the Digital Opportunities Initiative

When it comes to our work on digital opportunities or any issue, our why always starts with the people who live here.
Monica Leslie, NC District Court Judge

Telling the Story – Court Delays & Foster Care in WNC

According to professionals who work within the child welfare system, time in foster care should be measured in minutes — not days, weeks or months.
BAND-NC-Net-Inclusion-2026-1536x1111

Power of Partnership: How Community-Led Solutions are Expanding Broadband Access

How can we bridge the digital divide in Western North Carolina (WNC)? For Through the Trees, the answer lies in our communities.
Full DHT logo on white background

Making headway — WNCSBI grants shore up small business recovery

Thousands of Western North Carolina small businesses have moved further down the road to recovery, thanks to grants from the public-private Western North Carolina Small Business Initiative (WNCSBI).
Helpmate-Leverage-Fund

Fueling Safer Futures at Helpmate with the Leverage Fund

With the rising rate and severity of domestic violence in Buncombe County, Helpmate’s crisis shelter for survivors fleeing intimate partner violence is bursting at the seams.
Full DHT logo on white background

Strategic Planning Grants Help WNC Communities Combat the Opioid Epidemic

The historic $26 billion national opioid settlement agreement is bringing millions to communities that experienced the devastating effects of opioid misuse and addiction.
Rutherford 1

Lending an Ear — How Community Listening Sparked Progress in Child Welfare

In the fall of 2021, Dogwood Health Trust received a flurry of grant requests for emergency transitional housing for children in Western North Carolina (WNC) involved in the child welfare system.
Members of the WNC After 3PM Collaborative

Better Together: WNC Afterschool Programs Collaborate to Serve Local Families

Childcare challenges for working families don’t end once kindergarten begins.

search stories

search by name
search by county
County Served
By County
search by focus areas
By Area Served
Facebook Instagram Linkedin
Facebook Instagram Linkedin