The Waynesville Rotary Club recently made a donation of $8,093.12 to the HCC Foundation to support the Haywood Strong scholarship, a scholarship fund established to support the Pactiv Evergreen mill workers and their families.

Funds for this donation were raised from ticket sales from the Poor Man’s Supper event this fall, which served 450 with 100% of the proceeds supporting this donation.

Bill Cole, the Publicity Chair of the Waynesville Rotary shared “We chose to help Haywood Strong with the proceeds from our Poor Man’s Supper because we saw a community need not only for the workers that lost their jobs, but also for family members that were impacted by the mill closure.”

The Waynesville Rotary Club has been serving the community since it was founded in 1925. The organization’s 70 members support a number of community activities. Among them are Haywood Habitat, Manna Backpack Food Drive, Haywood Pathways, Christmas baskets for families in need, United Way Day of Caring, Lake Logan Multisport Festival, and more.

To date, the Haywood Strong scholarship has supported over 50 students at HCC with approximately $45,000, allowing them to pursue their next step on their educational journey.

If you are interested in making a donation to Haywood Strong, please contact Hylah Birenbaum at 828-627-4544 or [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Bill Owen. Left to Right: Rick Croskery, Waynesville Rotary President, Hylah Birenbaum, HCC Foundation Director, and Bronwen Talley-Coffey, Waynesville Rotary President-Elect presenting the check to the HCC Foundation.