"Changing lives, by being a light for Christ our Lord."
WNC LIGHTHOUSE INC.
“They have provided us with very greatly needed food because we are both disable and can’t
leave our home right now and we greatly appreciate everyone who is helping us.” – T. C.
“Beyond helpful. We wouldn’t make it without this help.” – M. H.
“Camp Living Water is a ten acre Christian retreat center located in Bryson City, NC. Our
mission is to honor Christ and make Him known. We often do this by serving retreat groups
with our facilities and by running programs and outreach initiatives in our local community.
WNC Lighthouse has been an invaluable partner in our efforts within the community. Their
support was especially crucial during the response to Hurricane Helene when we opened our
lodge to temporarily house displaced individuals. WNC Lighthouse identified and
recommended people to stay at Camp Living Water, providing funding, coaching, and
assistance with grant applications. They have helped many of our residents apply for and
receive housing benefits, as well as connect with various community resources.”
– Kyle Palmer,
Camp Living Water
“I would like to speak about my family's experience concerning WNC Lighthouse and their
wonderful ministry. I live with my husband and my handicapped brother- in- law (who is in a
wheelchair) in an almost one hundred year old house that I inherited from my mother thirty
years ago. The front door/porch is the only way for my brother-in-law to be able to enter and/or
exit the home. Just to the right of the doorway the porch had a bad place where it sagged and
was weak. We were especially afraid that my brother- in-law might fall through at some point if
it wasn't repaired. We had intentions to have the porch fixed but had been under financial
hardship for quite some time and were unable to have the repair completed. I had spoken to
Melinda at WNC Lighthouse several times and because of funding changes help was at first
not available. Around December 2025 Melinda contacted me once again and the ability to
provide us help had been made available by a generous person's donation and so the repair
was made to our porch by two gentlemen who came out to our home and reinforced/repaired
our porch just before Christmas. I would like to thank WNC Lighthouse for their wonderful help
and kindness in helping our family. We now no longer have to worry especially that my brother-
in-law will potentially fall through the porch when coming in and out of the house. Thank you
Melinda for the calls and persistent thoughts - thank you to the wonderful people who gave
their time and money to help provide the way for us to receive this wonderful gift. Most of all I
want to thank GOD- our provider- HE definitely takes care of HIS own and makes a way when
there is no way.” – S. M.
“It has helped me eat good food.” – J. G.
“Patient has been under our care for quite some time and is need of help with appropriate
nutrition. Good nutrition is an integral part of the pt. care. Due to the rising cost of food the pt. is
unable to meet the specific needs she has for appropriate nutrition. Your consideration would
be a tremendous benefit in helping this pt. meet her specific nutritional needs. Thank you.” –
Oncologist, Messino Cancer Center
“More access to less processed foods for someone with medical issues, fixed income, elderly
and limited ability to go shop for these items.” – W. C.
“Limited social security with minimal food stamps.” – Program Beneficiary
“This program has provided when things were to tight. Also, kids love the fresh foods.” A. I.
“By providing healthy foods it allows us to save some money to hopefully end our
homelessness.” – S. M.
“Providing healthy food with easy access and always easy pickup locations.” – J. M.
“This has been really helpful with fresh food to eat healthier with the rising cost of groceries.” –
J. M.
Their support has strengthened my family during difficult seasons and reminded me that hope
and kindness still exist in our community. I am truly thankful for the impact they have had on my
life.” – C.L.
“Helped to provide supplemental food with good healthy recipes.” – K. P.
“Getting fresh food has helped not only in preparing healthier meals but also being able to can
stuff for later.” – D. P.
“It has been a blessing in our family under very difficult situations, and they have supported us
beyond measure. We are so thankful and grateful.” – N. P.
“Helping provide food that’s otherwise too expensive.” – M. S.
“It (healthy food) has made all the difference. No price on peace of mind.” – A. V.
“Produce and meat is SO expensive, and this helps our grocery bill tremendously. Thank yall
for being a blessing! Also, its nice to get actually FRESH produce, not just expired half rotten
stuff.” – L.W.
"My disabled husband and I live in our car but do have limited access to cooking supplies. The food boxes are a real Godsend. They expand our diets and help us make sure we aren't going vitamin deficient. It is really nice that they include fruits and proteins along with the carbs. They also help my husband maintain a more stable blood sugar, which is super important since he is highly diabetic." - S.M.
“I am deeply grateful for WNC Lighthouse the support they have given me and my family. As a
single mother, there have been times when providing the basics felt overwhelming, and their
help made a real difference in our daily lives.
The healthy food boxes helped ensure my family had nutritious meals, and their assistance with
keeping my lights on relieved a tremendous financial burden. Having my porch repaired also
made my home safer and gave me peace of mind.
What meant just as much were the personal connections I made during those times — the
moments of prayer, encouragement, and genuine care. I was treated with dignity and
compassion, not just as someone in need, but as a person who matters.
“Provide a great variety of healthy not processed foods which is extremely helpful.” – S.P.
“We are Darnell Farms LLC, a family-owned working farm in Western North Carolina. Through
our partnership with WNC Lighthouse, we have proudly served as a procurement and
distribution partner for the Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) program — sourcing fresh
produce from local farmers and delivering it into the hands of families, elders, and children
across our region. We have witnessed firsthand how this program has strengthened not only
our local food system, but also the dignity and well-being of the people it serves. HOP created
a bridge — connecting the hard work of small farmers with the real and growing need in our
communities. We’ve served parents working multiple jobs, grandparents raising grandkids, and
elders who spent a lifetime contributing to their communities, now needing help to make ends
meet. These are not people looking for handouts; they are looking for a way to get through hard
seasons with their heads held high. For farms like ours, HOP has also been a stabilizing force.
It helped create consistent demand for local crops, expanded access to rural areas often left
out of larger supply chains, and supported good-paying local
jobs — all while reducing food insecurity. The loss of HOP is already being felt deeply across
our community. We respectfully ask for your continued consideration and support of this vital
work. Together, public and private partners can and have built something that works.”
With sincere thanks,
-Afton Darnell Roberts On behalf of Darnell Farms LLC and our farm partner
“Our company is a vendor that performs the work impacting the social determents of health for
the members of HOP through the WNC Lighthouse organization. I have personally witnessed
the impact the program has made for clients that we have had the privilege to serve. One client
began crying after we installed a water system in their home. The daughter was mentally
challenged, the elderly mother was on oxygen and partially bed ridden, she had lost her
husband several years earlier and had been without water in the home for the last five years. If
you can imagine not be able to take a bath, wash dishes, or go to the bathroom how that would
impact your physical and mental health. Recently we installed a handicap ramp for a client that
had been in a car accident and left him in a wheel chair. His elderly mother wanted to take care
of him but had no money to install a handicap ramp so her son could not come home from the
hospital because she had no way to get him into the house. Because her son was a participant
of the HOP program, it funded the project and the day we finished she brought her son home,
and when I left they were sitting on the front porch sipping tea! I could share many stories of
single mothers not being able to give their children a bath because the floor was rotted and it
was unsafe to walk on. We have replaced roofs where water was pouring in on the child’s bed
and black mold growing and rotting out the floor, or installing new doors and locks of single
parents so they and their children would feel safe from an abusive other. But I would like to
share a couple of stories of how it has provided jobs to people who otherwise would be
unemployed. We have 3 people who were homeless and we met them through different
programs associated with the HOP. One of the worker’s we hired is a single mother of three
children all under the age of nine. She is now steadily working and has rented a house for her
and her three children, we helped her get started but she paid her rent 6/1/25. The children no
longer ask were they are going to stay the night or if they will have a bed to sleep in! One of the
men we hired has had his leg amputated, no one would hire him and he was living in a
homeless shelter. He calls me every morning wanting to know what time I am going to pick him,
he goes to church with us and has saved over two thousand dollars to buy a vehicle! He is
living in a motel room and looking for a house to rent. As you can readily see the HOP program
is impacting the health of its recipient’s in a variety of ways.”
God Bless,
-Eddie Taylor, owner
TNT Construction Services, LLC
WNC Lighthouse Inc.
2280 Silvermine Rd, Bryson City, NC, USA
Copyright © 2026 WNC Lighthouse Inc. - All Rights Reserved.
