North Carolina Community Action Association receives $774,000 grant from The Duke Endowment

RALEIGH–North Carolina Community Action Association (NCCAA) has received a $774,000 grant from The Duke Endowment to fund HEAL NC, a pilot program in eastern North Carolina providing intervention support for young children and their families who have multiple risk factors and where children are at-risk for displacement from the family home.

The NCCAA is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of services and programs designed to help low-income people reach and maintain self-sufficiency. It serves North Carolina through support and implementation of projects in partnership with 31 Community Action agencies across the state.

The Endowment grant will be used to test HEAL NC, a pilot of a three-year community-based, multi-faceted initiative utilizing evidence-based approach to build resilient and economically sound families and to prevent child displacement. The program is centered in Wayne County, and is in collaboration with WAGES Community Action. WAGES will provide wraparound support and resiliency programming for 50 high-risk Head Start families.

Executive Director Sharon Goodson says, “The Duke Endowment is making an enormous investment in NCCAA’s pilot program HEAL NC. This program will take a trauma-informed approach to building resilient families in Wayne County. We are certain that this work will have a positive generational impact and as a result, we are increasing the economic mobility of this community and North Carolina will be a safer place for children to grow up.”

“The Duke Endowment is proud to partner with NCCAA to test evidence-based and evidence-informed models to better meet the needs of children and families in Eastern NC,” said Phil Redmond, director of the Endowment’s Child & Family Well-Being program area. “Our hope is that through these localized programs and services, we will see a reduction in cases of child maltreatment and an increase in parental support.”

Based in Charlotte and established in 1924 by industrialist and philanthropist James B. Duke, The Duke Endowment is a private foundation that strengthens communities in North Carolina and South Carolina by nurturing children, promoting health, educating minds and enriching spirits. Since its founding, it has distributed $4.5 billion in grants. The Endowment shares a name with Duke University and Duke Energy, but all are separate organizations.

For more information on the North Carolina Community Action Association or to learn how you can support this effort, please call Krystina Dillard at 919-790-5757, or visit our website at www.nccaa.net.