Welcoming The Outside In

Written By: - NONE - | Issue: 2018/06 - June

Whether you’re a resident or a visitor to the Highlands/Cashiers Plateau, you have certainly noticed a shift in the cultural diversity of the area over the last 20 years or so.

The hospitality, building, and construction industries that sustain and grow our economy are experiencing a boom, and in response to the need for a skilled, reliable, hardworking workforce, the international contingent of our community has been expanding at an exponential rate.

In 2002, some forward-thinking residents of Highlands, through the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, recognized a need in response to the influx of our international families, and the mission-based, 501(c) 3, International Friendship Center was founded.

The mission of the International Friendship Center is to reach out to the underserved international population and provide them with a variety of services to help them assimilate into the community.

Some of the services that the IFC provides, and in collaboration with others are, medical and dental assistance, English as a second language classes, interpretation and translation services, school and childcare services, employment services, legal and immigration services, education and support group services, the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), art classes for children, and the very successful and ever-growing Highlands Food Pantry, which currently serves 1027 families comprised of 4106 individuals in our area.

Marty Rosenfield, former owner of Lakeside Restaurant, is the Executive Director of the Highlands Food Pantry and utilizes his many years of food service experience to keep our local food bank stocked for the numerous clients depending on what it can provide. While the Highlands Food Pantry purchases the food that comes to Highlands via the MANNA Food Bank, August Produce, Bryson’s, and other vendors, it is always happy to receive financial donations and goods gathered at local churches, the US Postal Service, local businesses, as well as from kind-hearted individuals.

Take a moment to look around town at the faces of Highlands. We Highlanders are welcoming record numbers of visitors each year. As a community we provide our seasonal residents and visitors with a level of products and services usually reserved for much larger and more cosmopolitan areas. Our ability to provide exemplary experiences in all that Highlands has to offer is in part due to our ever-growing and diverse workforce.

These families come here with a commitment to service and hard work, and they give us their best. It is the mission of the IFC to give something back – to provide our international families with the tools they need to feel welcome and successful in their endeavors as they assimilate into our community. And, while the International Friendship Center is not a high-profile non-profit organization on the Plateau, it’s one deserving of our community support, through both volunteerism a nd fi nancial d onations. A s y ou’re weighing your options on which charitable organizations to make a priority this year, please consider giving to the International Friendship Center – which is an investment in the diverse faces of Highlands.

Visit us at The Peggy Crosby Center, or call (828) 526-0890 for more information on how you can give.

The International Friendship Center is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit and all donations are totally tax-deductible.