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Class of 2019 presents William C. Friday Award to Noran Sanford

North Carolina State University’s Park Scholarships Class of 2019

North Carolina State University’s Park Scholarships Class of 2019 presented the 20th annual William C. Friday Award to Noran Sanford on Monday, November 5 at 5:30 p.m. in NC State’s Duke Energy Hall at Hunt Library. Sanford is the founder of GrowingChange, which converts decommissioned rural prisons into sustainable farms and education centers.    Read More...

SOURCE: https://park.ncsu.edu/noran-sanford/

Growing Change named a Lowe’s Hometown Hero

We are grateful to our local Lowes store for their support in putting up our first perimeter pasture—over 1,600 feet of fencing! Read more in this article by the Laurinburg Exchange.

 

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What Professionals Are Saying About GrowingChange

“We cannot properly underscore the significance of this site being a reclaimed prison. Its history, its symbolic repurposing, and its central locality in an area of need make this a unique location at which to serve the youth of District 16.”    [Lance Britt, Chief Court Counselor, District 16]

“We are going to ‘flip’ the prison.”    [Keith Baldwin, PhD, NC A&T University, Regional Coordinator, Western N.C. Cooperative Extension, ret.]

“Brownfields redevelopment policies are vehicles of environmental justice meant to be applied to both urban and rural settings. This exciting proposal aims to right the balance so that rural communities may be better served.”    [Deb Gallagher, PhD, Associate Professor of the Practice of Environmental Policy and Executive Director of Duke's Environmental Leadership Program]

“I am inspired by the notion that a reclaimed prison facility will provide a chance for court-involved youth to create economic opportunities and also promote the health of the community.”    [Alice Ammerman, PhD, Gillings School of Public Health, UNC Chapel Hill]

“GrowingChange is a perfect example of the community initiatives that we want to support at NCSU’s School of Design.”    [Celen Pasalar, PhD, Associate Dean, NCSU’s College of Design]

“We are saying put down the cell phones, controllers, remotes and get off the couch!”    [Terrence Smith, age 19, Lead Advisor of GrowingChange Youth Leadership Team]

“To help change a lifestyle you need a holistic lifestyle program like this.”    [Sherry Edwards, PhD, LCSW Chair-Social Work Dept. - UNCP]

"Sustainable agriculture is farming for the future. It is about using what we know about agriculture and ecology to develop food production systems that produce healthy food while minimizing environmental impacts. The growingchange.org site will be a perfect place for students and faculty to develop and test new production systems.”    [Debby Hanmer, Ph.D., Coordinator UNCP’s Sustainable Agriculture Track]

“The conversion of this site to deliver services to one of the poorest counties with the highest unemployment in the state is an innovative first-time approach for our state. What this project would bring to the community, the region, and our state is extraordinary.”    [Senator William R. Purcell, District 25, North Carolina - ret.]

“We need a real plan for handling the problem of what to do with the abandoned Wagram prison site.”    [Kevin Patterson, Scotland County Manager]

“This is the most qualified proposal to cross my desk in a long time….a fantastic idea.”    [Bob Rosen, Region 4 EPA-Brownfields Project Manager]

GrowingChange Featured Videos





Dimensions of the GrowingChange Mission

Youth Services

Entrepreneurship

Farming

Museum

The Arts

Outdoor Activities

Veteran Services

Health & Wellness