By Holly Scott, Marketing Director
Who are Friends of the Smokies?
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park a.k.a. Friends of the Smokies is more than a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization with a staff of 8 and 15 wonderful board members. Every person who becomes a member (starting at $35 and including great Smoky Mountain discounts) is an official card-carrying Friend of the Smokies.
We have many Friends in North Carolina and Tennessee who purchase our specialty license plates for their vehicles, but sometimes we don’t know who they are. The states of Tennessee and North Carolina keep our plate buyers’ information confidential. We invite our license plate owners to self-identify through this simple form and start enjoying the benefits of membership today.
Then there are many generous corporate sponsors of our special events; foundations who make significant grants to support specific, important Park needs; and many, many people who join us on hikes or participate in other fun events; and also folks who contribute to our donation boxes in places like Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley.
All of our Friends of the Smokies had a hand in writing a $309,282 check to Great Smoky Mountains National Park last month, bringing the total funding from Friends of the Smokies for FY2014 needs to $2,400,000 so far
Each year before the calendar rolls over to January 1st, we get a jump start on giving to the Park during their fiscal year which starts on October 1st.
Here are just a few of the projects and programs Friends of the Smokies has helped fund for Great Smoky Mountains National Park this year-
$700,000 for the Joint Collections Preservation Center that will house the Park’s vast collection of cultural history artifacts including archaeological specimens dating back 8,000 years as well as tools, clothing, and household items from the cabins of pre-park settlers, and thousands of photographs, documents, and other archival records that are currently housed both at Sugarlands Visitors Center and in rental space at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In addition to the Smokies’ collection, the facility will house the archival collections from the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Big South Fork River and Recreation Area, and Obed Wild and Scenic River.
Supporting Friends of the Smokies means preserving crucial pieces of America’s history.
$20,000 to help eastern hemlock trees fight the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid
These funds also help the Park’s vegetation management team monitor the effectiveness of the treatments applied by-hand to more than 220,000 trees in over 10,000 acres and trails that make up the 104 established hemlock conservation sites across the Smokies. The crew also measures the success of the 560,000 hungry microscopic predator beetles that have been released to eat the adelgids throughout the national park.
$1.2 million to give a helping hand to the Great Smoky Mountains Association by investing in the Oconaluftee Visitors Center
When added to Friends of the Smokies original investment of $500,000 for the center’s interpretive museum exhibits, this brings our total contribution to $1.7 million to help bring Park visitors the first true visitors center on the North Carolina side of the Smokies with hands-on, interactive displays that tell the rich human history of our national park
More than $100,000 so far this year to enrich the learning opportunities for more than 18,000 schoolchildren through the Parks as Classrooms program
$98,000 to continue the transformation of the Chimney Tops Trail by the Trails Forever crew
Volunteers are needed to work with the Trails Forever crew on designated project work dates this year. All volunteers must apply to work with the crew. The Park has prepared a handy document that outlines activities for Trail Forever volunteers, as well as a downloadable PDF of the application form. To donate or volunteer, please visit the Trails Forever website
$21,350 to mow the viewsheds in Cades Cove and Cataloochee and to repair and maintain barbless wired fencing in Cades Cove
$34,000 to fund 26 Seasonal Conservation Associates (SCAs) who provide staffing in the Park for education, interpretation, and seasonal support for wildlife conservation, vegetation management, trail maintenance, and more.
These young people gain valuable career experience while living and working in our national park, and they may very well be out future rangers and park superintendents.
Your gifts provide a lasting benefit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in so many ways. To see a complete list of projects and programs we are funding in 2014, please visit our website
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization has been helping to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and awareness and recruiting volunteers for needed projects. Over the last 21 years, support from Friends of the Smokies members, sponsors, donors, and Tennessee and North Carolina specialty license plate owners has totaled more than $44 million. To see this year’s list of Park Support Projects visit our website at FriendsOfTheSmokies.org