A long-serving Owen District nonprofit is donating $100,000 to directly benefit Owen District students and provide new equipment for the Owen High School Marching Band.
The Swannanoa Valley Medical Center (SVMC) is declaring victory and winding down after decades of work to improve medical care in the community. At a ceremony in downtown Black Mountain, SVMC announced the distribution of nearly $1 million in one-time grants to local nonprofits. SVMC is donating $5,000 to each Owen District public school ($30,000 total) through eligible PTOs or through a partnership with the nonprofit Hand in Hand of the Swannanoa Valley. SVMC is giving a separate $20,000 grant to Hand in Hand, all of which will go to address student needs throughout the Owen District. Additionally, SVMC is donating $50,000 to the Owen High School Band Boosters.
“Music has been a great avenue for many of our kids to show their confidence, to grow relationships with other students, and become independent individuals,” said Owen High School Band Boosters Treasurer Jenalee Tipton. “We greatly appreciate this gift. It will be put to good use.”
She said the band boosters plan to purchase new marching band uniforms with part of the donation and invest the rest for future needs.
SVMC began in the late 1960s when a group of concerned citizens identified a lack of medical providers in the Swannanoa Valley. They raised money to build a medical office building on Old U.S. 70, then provided lower rental rates to attract medical providers. About a decade ago, SVMC began renovating the building and then sold it in 2022 to a local doctor, using $1.3 million in proceeds to fill their grant fund.
“With this round of granting, we are going to be giving away about two-thirds of that money,” said SVMC Board Chair Kevin West. “Our goal is, by this time next year, to identify what we want to do with the remainder."