Community Celebration on May 9 Will Feature Updates on New Schools and Cultural Summer Camp

CHEROKEE, NC, April 15, 2009—Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) will host its seventh annual Community Celebration event on Friday, May 8, for grantees, partners and anyone else who is interested in the work CPFdn’s grantees are doing. The event will take place at the Cherokee Youth Center located at 1570 Acquoni Road in Cherokee, from noon to 1:30 p.m., with the doors opening at 11:30 a.m.  It will include a complimentary Indian dinner prepared by the North American Indian Women’s Association (NAIWA) and served at noon.

The event will feature short presentations from two grantees.  Speakers include:

• Carmaleta Monteith, who will talk about progress at the News Schools and activities taking place there.
• Laura Pennix, who will provide an update about the CSI (Cherokee Science Investigation) summer cultural camp.

Grantees involved in other projects and programs receiving financial support from Cherokee Preservation Foundation will be available at booths to discuss the work they are doing, including representatives from Qualla Arts & Crafts, the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program (KPEP), the Snowbird Summer Language Camp, Western Carolina University’s Cherokee Language program, the Cherokee Youth Council, the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, EBCI Marketing and Promotion, and Cherokee Chamber of Commerce.

Also represented will be the Andrews Valley Initiative, the Costa Rica Eco-Study Tour program, WNCteenspace.org, WCU’s Hunter Library, WNC Non-Profit Pathways, Cherokee Historical Association, Cherokee Day of Caring, and the Center for Cherokee Plants.
  
Come join us!!!

About Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Cherokee Preservation Foundation (www.cpfdn.org) was established in 2000 as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not part of or associated with any for-profit gaming entity. Since the Foundation’s inception, it has made 512 grants totaling nearly $43 million to EBCI and regional projects and programs that address cultural preservation, economic development and job creation, and environmental sustainability. Every dollar of CPFdn support has been matched by $1.83 in secured grants or other funding or in-kind resources, making CPFdn’s total contribution to the region more than $121 million.