Highlands Donates: $7,600.00

Helping victims become CHILDREN again. Our vision is a community where children are safe, families are strong, and victims become children again. The Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center has served over 7,000 child victims since opening our doors in 2004. We received our National Children’s Alliance Accreditation in August 2010. We have provided approximately 340 forensic interviews yearly for children who have been victims of abuse. Approximately 100 medical exams have been provided each year for children who have been victims of sexual assault. The UCCAC has provided approximately 350 counseling sessions each year and gave case management on over 300 cases each year. The UCCAC provides services to child victims of abuse and their non-offending caregivers. We serve the seven counties of the 13th Judicial District: Clay County, Cumberland County, DeKalb County, Overton County, Pickett County, Putnam County, and White County. The UCCAC serves the LARGEST district in the entire state of Tennessee.

Mustard Seed Ranch is an interdenominational Christian ministry serving children who have been neglected, abused, orphaned or in need of a healthy family environment. In 2006, Rex and Julianne Buckner began pursuing a calling to establish a safe haven for children in the Middle Tennessee area. After a time of soul searching and prayer, they took a leap of faith and walked away from their professional careers to pursue the dream of creating Mustard Seed Ranch. At first, there was no land, no homes, no house parents, and no program design. However, it was a dream that captured the imaginations and hearts of an entire community, and after 115 acres of rural farmland was contributed by an anonymous donor, support began to pour in from every corner of the community. Across the region, materials and thousands of hours of volunteer labor were donated to help build the first two homes, and in April 2009, the first children were welcomed into their new homes. Today, MSR is not only surviving its 6th year of operation, we’re thriving. Like the African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child,” we have embraced the challenge, and couldn’t do what we do without help from our community

The Cookeville Regional Charitable Foundation operates dozens of charitable healthcare programs and restricted patient assistance funds which benefit residents of the Upper Cumberland (and Highlands) region of Tennessee. The Foundation assists roughly 2,000 local patients each year. One hundred percent of gifts donated to the Foundation are restricted to charitable services and programs. No donated funds are used for administration or overhead expense. The Foundation partners with dozens of local healthcare providers, non-profits, county health departments, school systems and first responders in order to reach patients struggling throughout our community. We operate a variety of programs and funds which assist patients struggling with disease, sickness and injury. Established patient-group specific funds include: Cancer, Heart, Pediatrics, Hospice, and a general fund called Caring Hands. Programs include: RAM Clinic, Pink Ribbon (free mammograms), Lung Screening, Community Health, Carmen’s Fund (Free CPR), Art for Healing, Pet Therapy and many others. We assist low-income, under-insured local patients with things (not covered by their insurance) like: transportation, medication, medical services, dental work, groceries and nutrition supplements, specialized equipment, emergency housing, home-needs and other critical items for patients and their families. Often, the Foundation is their last resort for help.