Greetings!
Pandemics are difficult. In addition to daily inconveniences, nonprofits and those they serve are struggling. Yet, it’s during these times that the critical role of nonprofits is highlighted, and the efforts of staff and volunteers shine brightest. While we had to cancel our Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Breakfast scheduled for later this month, there is no better time than now to pause and thank those who are on the “front lines.” Although many volunteers have had to step back from their responsibilities temporarily, some continue to offer their time and expertise by adapting creatively or serving in new ways altogether. There are even those who have been motivated to volunteer for the first time, including the one who chalked pictures and encouraging messages on the sidewalks in the neighborhood behind where I live.
Crises come when least expected and expose our strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, we’re forced to think differently and change how we do things. I’m preaching to the choir, but I’m proud of the way in which many nonprofits have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by collaborating and providing innovative solutions, albeit some short-term, to continue providing services. Like everyone else, HandsOn is now looking to technology to help deliver some of our programs, while making decisions on a case by case basis to postpone or cancel others. For example, although the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Breakfast was cancelled, we are planning new ways to recognize and honor these volunteers; training for the current
Service Enterprise
cohort has been postponed; the next
Nonprofit Essentials
class and the
information session
on the
Women's Emerging Leaders program
will be held virtually (cue applause for Zoom;) and, there are new offerings like our weekly
Virtual Happy Hours
, and
Building Relationships in an Un-relatable World
, hosted virtually by our friends at
CapDev
.
Thank you for your patience as we've made these changes and continue to check our
website
, newsletter, and
social media
for further updates.
Whether on the front lines or behind the scenes, we really are in this together and our individual and collective efforts matter. Our goal has always been to help you “
make it easy to make a
difference,
” and that’s what we’ll continue to do…with or without Zoom…in the current crisis and in future ones.
Yours in Service,
Kathy
Kathy Davis
Program Director
HandsOn NWNC
Ed note: Although Kathy has worked at HandsOn for over a decade, this is her first column in the newsletter! Are you interested in sharing your love of HandsOn with our network in a guest column? Then please
let Amy know
!
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A New Way of Celebrating the 2020 Forsyth County
Governor's Volunteer Service Awards
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So much has changed in the world and in our community within the past several weeks. This is normally the time of year when we are making final plans to gather approximately 300 community and business leaders, together with our nominees and their families, to celebrate the best of the best volunteers in Forsyth County. However, due to recommendations and protocols set forth by federal, state, and local authorities, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Forsyth County Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards Breakfast that was original scheduled for Tuesday, April 28th. Please be assured that this decision was not taken lightly, as volunteers, nonprofit leaders, business officials, and community members look forward to it each year. It is also the highlight of the year for our staff and board, as nothing gives us greater joy than to recognize the selfless service of our nominees and to hear the compelling and inspirational stories of our category winners.
However, that certainly does not mean that our nominees and categories will go unrecognized! We will be kicking off
National Volunteer Week
on
April 19th
by highlighting one of our 29 nominees each day through photos and a narrative about them and their service on our
Facebook
,
Instagram
, and
Twitter
pages. (If you aren't following us already, you'll want to make sure you do so prior to April 19th!) Meanwhile, we will be working with each of our 15 category winners to prepare a "virtual acceptance speech" so that the community doesn't miss out on the inspirational stories that are always the highlight of this event. We will share one category winner's speech each day beginning on
May 18th
, also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We will also be sending out special emails to you, our BELOVED NETWORK, to lift up the stories of these wonderful individuals and groups, as well as working with the Winston-Salem Journal and the Chronicle for an even broader reach.
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As Kathy discussed above we, like all of you, have been working furiously to adapt our services to the changing needs of our community during COVID-19. One of the ways we've done this is by further leveraging our online volunteer engagement platform,
GetConnected,
to elevate our partners' needs and compile resources for both nonprofits and volunteers. We
update two new pages regularly: one that focuses on
volunteer needs and resources for nonprofits
, and one that emphasizes
health and safety protocol for volunteers
. We have been curating resources and opportunities both locally and globally, and our pages have been referenced in the Winston-Salem Journal, the Governor's Office, and by local community groups and agencies. If you would like your nonprofit to be featured on our list of agencies with needs specific to COVID-19,
please email Julia Ough
on our team. She will include you on the list of featured agencies and help you update or create your GetConnected account. We know that agencies are overwhelmed right now, so we want to create as little additional work for you as possible. After all, that's what we do:
make it easy to make a difference!
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Join Us for Nonprofit Happy Hour!
Celebrate getting through another week!
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Every Thursday, 4 pm to 5 pm
Location: Zoom
Most of us are on Week 4 of social distancing and staying-at-home, while many of our nonprofit colleagues remain on the front lines, trying to provide essential services to our neighbors as safely as possible. We're all facing unprecedented programming, staffing, and funding challenges. Now more than ever, we all need a chance to come together, share joys and challenges, ask questions, and get support. And that's what our Happy Hours are all about!
Most weeks, we'll try to have a "special guest star" who can answer questions or provide support around a given issue or topic, but it's really just a time when we all can get out of our immediate bubbles, complain about our new "coworkers" and see each other's faces.
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2019-2020 Nonprofit Essentials:
Program Evaluation
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Thursday, April 23rd, Noon to 2 pm; 2:30 to 4:30 pm
AND
Thursday, April 30th, Noon to 2 pm; 2:30 to 4:30 pm
Location: Zoom
We all know that the nonprofit sector is increasingly under pressure to show meaningful results--not just what we do, but why what we do matters to our clients and communities. While program evaluation can be daunting, this interactive class will demystify the process. You'll explore different evaluation models and will be led through the process of designing an approach to measure programs, create meaningful measures, collect and analyze data, generate reports, and communicate results to document impact, improve services, and support fundraising efforts.
The class is taught by
Lori Fuller
,
who spent twenty years with The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust focused on evaluation and learning. She recently left the Trust to launch
Fuller Impact
, her own consulting firm dedicated to supporting nonprofits and foundations. She brings her realistic optimism--her head and her heart--to helping groups make their thinking visible, deepen their strategy, and improve their implementation in order to amplify their impact.
Lori is a certified master practitioner in Emergent Learning and serves as faculty of Fourth Quadrant Partners' Emergent Learning Certification Program.
This class will be offered virtually in two parts
. Additionally, each session will offer two levels from which you can choose, depending on your experience and comfort with program evaluation.
Level 1
is for those with little to no program evaluation experience.
Level 2
is
for those who have some experience with program evaluation. The times for each session are as follows:
Level 1
Part 1: April 23, 12-2 pm
Part 2: April 30, 12-2 pm
Level 2
Part 1: April 23, 2:30-4:30 pm
Part 2: April 30, 2:30-4:30 pm
COST: $50 for Supporting Partners; $60 for all others for both sessions
Supporting Partners can register for the
entire 10-class series
for just $450 ($550 for all others), and you can begin the series with any class. (
Not currently a HandsOn
Supporting Partner?
Become one when you register for the class and enjoy the discount today!)
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Information Session:
2020/2021 Women's Emerging Leaders Program
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Wednesday, May 13th, Noon to 1 pm
Location: Zoom
Attention all mid-level female staff and new female Executive Directors! If you are currently working in a nonprofit and looking for leadership development, a better understanding of nonprofit operations, and the opportunity to meet other women like yourself, come to this information session to learn more about the
Women's Emerging Leaders Program
.
This 10-month, equity-focused program is designed just for you by developing the skills needed to move into next-level leadership positions within the nonprofit sector. We'll discuss the program and what to expect, as well as review the application and answer any questions. We'll have representatives of our more than 100 graduates available to provide their insight and the impact that the program has had on them as well.
The program is open to mid-level female and non-binary staff or to Executive Directors of new or emerging nonprofit organizations who have 3 years or less of experience
in their role as Executive Director. All participants must currently work for nonprofits serving people in Forsyth, Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties.
We are currently accepting
applications
for the program, and the deadline to apply is June 30th!
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Sterling Volunteers Webinar-
Risking Your Reputation: A review of volunteer screening research and insights
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Thursday, May 14th, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Location: Zoom
We are happy to co-present this webinar with our partners at
Sterling Volunteers.
They recently conducted a survey of over 700 volunteer managers, executive directors and other volunteer program professionals across the U.S. and asked questions about volunteer background screening practices, processes and expectations for 2020 (pre-pandemic, of course.) This webinar reveals key research results, insights on best practices and where opportunities lie to improve the quality of your screening program. Join this complimentary webinar to learn:
- How your organization compares to other volunteer programs and where potential gaps may exist
- The biggest screening challenges for volunteer programs and how to overcome them
- Trends in volunteer background screening and rescreening and how they compare to research from 2019
APPLY T
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CapDev Zoom Workshop:
Building Relationships in an Un-relatable World
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Wednesday, May 20, 10:00 - 11:00 am
Location: Zoom
In this unprecedented time of great uncertainty, our country has come to rely on nonprofits, from healthcare providers to food banks and many more. We have also seen great inequities exposed, as well as humanity rising to the challenges of this time with great acts of philanthropy. How is your nonprofit tackling the challenges of today and preparing for the rebuilding ahead? Are you continuing to build relationships with donors or have you abandoned fundraising?
Join this special one hour virtual conversation to address some of the tough questions of our time related to philanthropy. Hosted by Allan Burrows and Clare Jordan from
CapDev
, we will offer advice and resources to address issues of donor relations facing nonprofits as we manage through this pandemic together. Please send us your questions when you register and we will prioritize our time to address those points most relevant to you.
Cost: FREE!
Many thanks to CapDev, a HandsOn
Consulting Partner
,
for providing this class pro bono to our network!
AP
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2019-2020 Nonprofit Essentials:
Advocacy and Communications
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Thursday, May 21, Noon to 4:30 pm
Location: TBD
You're heard again and again--we all need to do a better job in telling our stories. But with whom should we be sharing? Our stories of impact deserve to be heard not just by our friends, neighbors, and funders--but by our elected officials as well. As the experts "on the ground," nonprofits need to play an active role in shaping public policy. Learn successful advocacy strategies used to advance an organization’s mission for the public good, how to measure the success of your advocacy and communication efforts, and how to address related legal, ethical and tax issues.
The course is taught by Barbara Lentz, formerly with Wake Forest University and WFU School of Law. Barbara has been awarded both the Jurist Excellence in Teaching Award at the law school and the Innovative Teaching Award from the University, focusing her teaching on nonprofits, entrepreneurship, art law, contracts and writing. Barbara brings real life experiences and scenarios her classes, requiring students to think creatively and work collaboratively to solve problems. Barbara also serves nonprofits and social enterprises, including the National Advisory Council of the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, the Board of the Winston-Salem Symphony, as Board Chair to The Olio, and is a co-founder of Forsyth Backpack Inc., partnering with public schools and the local food bank in providing supplemental food to hungry children in Forsyth County.
COST: $50 for Supporting Partners; $60 for all others
Supporting Partners can register for the
entire 10-class series
for just $450 ($550 for all others), and you can begin the series with any class. (
Not currently a HandsOn
Supporting Partner?
Become one when you register for the class and enjoy the discount today!)
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Participate in the Next Three Parts of a FREE Series to Help Build a Resilient Nonprofit Hosted by the NC Center for Nonprofits!
Many nonprofit teams are not equipped to handle unexpected, chaotic, or emotionally-charged situations--like a global pandemic! The best way to remedy that gap is to take steps that will help your team apply critical thinking skills to the situation at hand. These skills will help the team make the best possible decisions when facing unexpected circumstances beyond their control. Our friends at the
North Carolina Center for Nonprofits
and Duke Energy have teamed up with the Nonprofit Risk Management Center to offer a FREE four-part webinar series,
Building Organizational Resilience
, to help your nonprofit take the necessary steps to prepare for the
next
crisis. All the classes are free, and take place from 11:15-11:45 am.
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"AFP's Fundamentals of Fundraising,"
June 23-24, Ciener Botanical Gardens, Kernersville, $300
The
NC Triad Association of Fundraising Professionals Chapter
is now planning on hosting the AFP Fundamentals of Fundraising two day course in June, rather than the original May dates. The
AFP Fundamentals of Fundraising Course
is composed of seven modules that have been designed by experienced fundraising professionals to meet the real-world needs and challenges non-profit organizations face every day. This 16-hour intensive program will provide an overview of skills, techniques, and program components for individuals with 0 to 4 years of fundraising experience. This up to date course is taught in an active learning style and includes case studies and projects for groups and individuals, making the learning experience both substantive and enjoyable. The AFP Fundamentals of Fundraising Course offers a complete overview of the development function, featuring the most current information and techniques. More details and registration is on
their website.
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- Specific salary information for 129 nonprofit positions
- Compensation analysis by title, nonprofit type, budget, and staff size
- Changes in nonprofit pay levels from one year to the next
- Enhanced benefits sections like paid leave, health insurance, and retirement plan allowances.
The more NC nonprofits that participate, the more comprehensive the data will be – helping all of our organizations set fair and competitive compensation to attract and keep talented employees. Participating organizations that complete the survey receive a discount on both the North Carolina and national compensation reports, (HandsOn also purchases a copy and makes it available for review by members of our network,) so please
take the survey today!
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Learn More About Joining the 2020-2021 Class of Leadership Winston-Salem!
Just like all of us, our friends at
LWS
, a HandsOn
Supporting Partner,
are in the process of re-imagining their program delivery. But that doesn't mean that r
ecruitment for the Class of 2021 isn't still in high gear!
Applications
are currently available on their website. If you or someone you know would be an excellent candidate, please encourage them to attend two upcoming virtual information sessions on
April 16 at 5:45 pm and April 22 at 5:30 pm
. Sign up by emailing
Katherin
e Perry
and she'll send you the link.
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Consider Hosting an AmeriCorps NCCC Team in the Fall!
Back in 2017, HandsOn was honored to host an
AmeriCorps NCCC
team that helped us with a variety of 10th Anniversary projects across our community. Based on this positive experience, our friends at Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County have been hosting teams since then. Now it could be your chance to host a team! If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a NCCC team for their
Round 1
projects (these are projects between
Aug. 17
th
to
Oct. 13th,
) please
let Amy know
and she can provide more details. The submission date for the Project Concept Form (PCF) is due by
Friday, May 1
st!
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Smart Start of Davie County, TWO Full-Time Positions!
Smart Start of Davie County
is looking to hire two full-time positions. The first is an
Office Administrator and Early Childhood Resource Specialist
that will
oversee administrative duties for the office, serve as a resource for the Board of Directors, and support all of the administrative functions for their early education programs, with special focus on literacy programs for children age birth to five. The ideal candidate will have experience as an administrative assistant, the ability to work independently and collaboratively, have professional interpersonal skills, strong organizational skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to prepare and analyze data, efficiently manage multiple tasks daily, be proficient in Microsoft Office software, and have a strong work ethic paired with discretion when dealing with confidential information. Bachelor’s degree recommended.
The second position will work full-time with families and children as a
Parent Educator.
A bachelor’s degree in birth-kindergarten, early childhood, human services or a related field required. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience working with diverse populations, families and/or children birth to age five, demonstrated knowledge of early childhood development, and early childhood education. Computer competency required. A willingness to work some evenings and/or weekends, and have access to their own, reliable transportation are both necessities. Strong interpersonal skills crucial to success.
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World Relief Triad, TWO Positions Open
The
Program Services Director
provides senior-level leadership and oversight of all client services at
World Relief Triad.
Ultimately, the Program Services Director helps assure quality, mission-aligned services while also working with the leadership team to define and implement strategic direction and goals. More info
here.
Meanwhile, the
Immigration Legal Services Manager
provides management and oversight of World Relief’s Immigration Legal Service in the Triad. This includes staff and intern supervision, grant and budget management, program implementation, interdepartmental collaboration, and coordination of services to foreign nationals. More info
here.
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Apply for the Forsyth County COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund TODAY!
The
COVID-19 Response Fund for Forsyth County
was established by a partnership between United Way of Forsyth County, The Winston-Salem Foundation, the City of Winston-Salem, Forsyth County and Community Organizations Active in Disaster (in which HandsOn is a lead organization,) to support local community members impacted by the novel coronavirus. The fund is designed to complement the work of government and public health officials to address all aspects of the outbreak in Forsyth County. The first phase of proactive and responsive grants will fund nonprofit organizations with
one-time general operating support in order to assist with the immediate needs of economically vulnerable populations impacted by COVID-19.
Grants will not be made to individuals or small businesses.Initial funding will benefit disproportionately impacted individuals and families including:
- Residents without health insurance and/or access to paid sick leave
- Individuals experiencing homelessness
- Healthcare workers
- Hospitality and service industry workers
- Unauthorized immigrant populations
- Communities of color, and in particular, residents with limited English language proficiency
Organizations will receive a grant decision within two weeks after application, but ideally sooner. Grants will be publicized and released on a rolling basis as fundraising continues throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of the crisis, making it possible to move resources quickly and adapt to evolving needs in subsequent funding phases. To date, the fund has distributed more than $1 million to 15 local nonprofits.
FAQs and the application are on their website.
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Apply for a Nonprofit Adaptation Grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation
Based on a recent, statewide survey of nearly 800 different nonprofits over the last two weeks of March, only 2% indicated that COVID-19 would have no impact on their operations or their finances. Because of the sweeping impact the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders have had on all of our missions, the Foundation is providing additional support for the nonprofit community to assist organizations in adapting their business or service delivery models to mitigate the impacts of the outbreak. Organizations that serve Forsyth County may apply for up to
$5,000 for adaptation ideas on a rolling basis through April 30 by submitting a simple
online form
.
For organizations that have received a grant through the Foundation’s Community Grants, Black Philanthropy Initiative, or Women's Fund processes in the past five years, funding decisions will come within one week of application submission. Organizations that are not recent grantees will receive a decision within 2-3 weeks. Following this first phase of funding, the Foundation will re-evaluate and determine future support for this purpose. HandsOn was honored to receive one of these adaptation grants to fund many of the programmatic changes you see reflected in this newsletter; the timeline from application completion, submission, and notification was only 4 business days! Thanks so much to the Foundation for supporting us and our local network in this way!
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Apply For A Truliant Federal Credit Union Mini-Grant--Now Easier Than Ever!
Truliant
, a HandsOn
Supporting Partner,
continues to invest in communities where their member-owners work, live and play because they know that nonprofit organizations help to improve and strengthen our communities. As in prior years, one way they support nonprofits is through their
Community Mini Grant program
. They are now
accepting applications
, with some significant changes to reflect our new reality:
·
They
WILL
consider grants for
capacity-building
and
operations
during this cycle.
·
The deadline for their streamlined, concise application is now
April 15th
, so they can get the funds into the hands of nonprofits sooner rather than later
·
Nonprofits CAN apply for operating funds this year
·
They will
not be crowdsourcing
this year; instead, decisions on the grants will be made internally by a committee
·
You must be a 501c3 and have been operational for at least three years to apply.
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Our Very Own Julia Ough is Highlighted by
Wake Forest University!
We were excited to see that HandsOn's VISTA Member from
Wake Forest University's Community Action Coalition
, Julia Ough, was highlighted in WFU's
Office of Civic and Community Engagement's March newsletter!
Recognized alongside her fellow co-planners for their work to organize our MLK Day of Service back in January, Julia has since taken the lead on making sure that our partners' needs are reflected and amplified in real time on our both our COVID-19 resource page as well as the agencies' own GetConnected accounts. She's also been reaching out to other Points of Light Global Affiliates to learn how to best sharpen and apply our equity lens when looking at volunteer engagement programs and strategies. We'll also take this moment to congratulate her as she looks towards her next milestone--when Julia leaves us in August, she'll be attending her first-choice graduate program in school counseling at Vanderbilt University! We hope we can celebrate with you in person over the summer! :)
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Do You Still Need to Learn More About the CARES Act and the
Paycheck Protection Program? Check Out These Resources!
Since the
CARES Act
passed last week (was it only last week?!?), the provisions that apply to nonprofits and their employees have pretty much dominated the conversation. This includes figuring out what might work for each nonprofit's individual situation, determining whether or not their current banker is participating (or whether or not they're already finished accepting applications,) and trying to guide their employees and their clients--whether still on payroll, furloughed, or laid off--on the next, best steps forward.
Please know that you are *not* in this alone
; everyone is in this same lifeboat, trying to build it and steer it at the same time. In terms of resources, we encourage you to
bring questions to Happy Hour
, and we'll provide guidance as best we can. In addition,
Independent Sector
has put together
expert guidance
, and they are regularly holding free webinars, with recordings available. In addition, the
National Council of Nonprofits
has also pulled together a variety of resources, including their own free, recorded webinars. Links to many of these resources can also be found on our own website for easy reference. Please know this--we are *always* here for you, and want to support our network in whatever ways we can!
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Celebrate Global Volunteer Month!
National Volunteer Week is
April 19-25th!
Join us and the rest of the
Points of Light Global Affiliate Network
during the month of April to celebrate the impact of volunteer service in communities across the globe, and the extraordinary power of volunteers to be a force that transforms the world--even in the face of a global pandemic!
- Global Volunteer Month: This is the first year that there will be a global celebration of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to tackle society’s greatest challenges, to build stronger, more vibrant communities, and take action that changes the world. Now, when the world faces a common challenge, we're seeing volunteers rise up across the globe to meet that challenge--together. You can learn more and access a handy toolkit online.
- National Volunteer Week: April 19-25 is this year's annual celebration of service in the United States. Each year, the week provides an opportunity to shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent and voice to make a difference in their communities. We know that many of you use this week to recognize your own nonprofits' volunteers; we'd love to hear your creative ideas about how you're planning to honor them during this unusual time. You can download logos for your own use and another handy toolkit here.
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HandsOnNWNC.org
| phone: 336.724.2866 | fax: 336.724.4467 |
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