First annual Healing Hearts Festival held

This year's recipient of the $1,560 raised by the event was U&I Enrichment Center of Forest City, a fairly new and a much needed resource in the area.

On March 1 the first annual Healing Hearts Festival was held at Flygirls in Rutherfordton. "The event was to bring awareness to mental health and addiction issues in our community and provide information about the resources available," said Morgan Bass, founder of Healing Hearts Festival. Several organizations participated and connected with each other discussing ways to reach more people in need, and ways to better help our community. Several people spoke about their own personal journeys to recovery. Their long time struggles and recovery success can bring hope to so many people still struggling and to their families. Aspire Youth and Family LLC has an amazing program called Kids at Work for at-risk youth. They teach kids culinary skills and food safety techniques while providing a safe and fun environment for kids to learn and socialize. Several local businesses donated items, services, and gift cards for fundraising activities such as the silent auction and the very popular and fun cake walk. Freedom Hills Farm and Rescue brought their adorable furry friends and turtles. Morgan added "It was a fun and inspiring time for the community and we are looking forward to making next year's Healing Hearts Festival an even bigger success!"