Press release from
Friends of the Smokies
Waynesville, N.C. – Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is pleased to receive a generous gift of $2,000 from Sustainability for Generations to Come LLC (SFGC).
“We are so fortunate to have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park right here in our back yard. We’re honored to lend our support to the Friends and the work they are doing to preserve and protect this very special and treasured place,” said SFCG partner Jeff Murphy.
SFGC is a Western North Carolina organization formed to support the preservation of open lands and conservation efforts in the mountain region. SFGC partners are Mark Harrill and Tommy Soffield of Boone, Tim Campbell of Dillsboro, Jeff Murphy of Waynesville, and R.K. Whitehead of Gainesville, Ga.
“The initiative that SFGC has taken to bolster land conservation and stewardship efforts in our treasured mountains is commendable,” said Holly Demuth, Friends of the Smokies North Carolina Region Director. “Our Great Smoky Mountains greatly benefit from the generosity of individuals and business leaders who recognize the economic and environmental cornerstone the half million acre national treasure represents.”
The donation from SFGC will help support Park priority initiatives including managing bears, repairing the historic Little Cataloochee Church, bringing thousands of schoolchildren to learn science and social studies in the Park, and supporting the all-volunteer Elk Bugle Corps who assist and educate elk-watching Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors.
Friends of the Smokies welcomes this gift during their 20th year of bringing resources to the Park to support educational programs, historic preservation projects, conservation of natural and cultural resources, and wildlife research and protection in the Smokies. For more information about Park projects that donations to Friends of the Smokies from individuals, groups, and businesses support, go to www.friendsofthesmokies.org.
Since 1993, Friends of the Smokies has raised more than $37 million to help maintain Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a crown jewel of the national park system, including the establishment of the $4 million Trails Forever endowment to improve Smoky Mountain hiking trails in perpetuity.
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