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Rutherford Women's League's "Shoots for the Roots" event on April 29 was a huge success, raising $12,000 for Ruff'ton Roots Community Garden. Ruff'ton Roots donates all of their produce to local food relief organizations that address food and nutritional insecurities in the county.
Rutherford Women's League (RWL) has been serving the community for 40 years. The organization is dedicated to the betterment of Rutherford County through financial backing and community initiatives. "Throughout RWL season, members support charities monthly, in addition to our annual fundraiser selected in September," says President Jenna Bailey. "We rely on community partnerships to support an event that's both fun for everyone involved and philanthropic. Lindy Abrams, Garden and Volunteer Coordinator of Ruff'ton Roots, came and spoke to our group in early September, and we were blown away by the amount of impact they had made in such a short time. The decision to choose them as our annual charity was an easy one."
This year, RWL decided to try a new type of event. "We tried something new in the hopes to raise a lot of money and we shot it out of the park," says Chrissy Croteau, fundraising chair. "I was personally impressed with the level of shooters, the extremely positive response from all participants, the enthusiasm for this first time event, and that we had around 20% women compete!"
The clay shooting event, held at Cleghorn Gun Club in Rutherfordton, included 56 individuals. The competition was a 15 station clay shoot with a shotgun start. Sporting clays simulates the unpredictability of hunting field game birds and even rabbits, by using a variety of different trajectories, angles, speeds, elevations, distance and clay target sizes. The cost of each round for each participant was absorbed through both single and team contributions. Steve McBrayer, general manager of Cleghorn Gun Club, offered extensive input which made the event most successful.
After the competition, participants enjoyed a cowboy dinner, music by DJ Michael Sprouse and an awards ceremony. Winners received handmade awards by potter and RWL member Leslie Dinga. First place went to Ray Bridges, second place to Dawson Ridenhour, and third place to Travis Campbell. First-time shooter Nichole Dubs enthusiastically accepted the Birdhouse Award, given to the competitor with the lowest score.
Ruff'ton Roots community garden began in 2021, with a mission to "grow healthy food, healthy people, and healthy communities in Rutherfordton and beyond." All harvests are donated to local food pantries and soup kitchens in Rutherford County. Ruff'ton Roots has become one of the largest providers in the county of locally-grown produce to food pantries in just three years.
Abrams was grateful for the support of RWL. "Ruff'ton Roots has been growing into a destination that we would like to always be available for visitors," she says. "We want the space to be more inclusive for volunteers with physical limitations. Our initiative to provide accessible parking, pathways, raised garden beds, and address safety issues around unlevel ground will ensure that we can always be open for visitors of all abilities. The RWL really came through for us, understanding the need, reach, and impact that their support and attention could provide. This fundraising effort fast tracks a big project, allowing us to hire professionals to help us do it quickly and properly."
Local organizations and businesses helped sponsor Shoots for Roots. Sponsors included: Gold level- Friendship Dealership, and Associated Printing & Services; Silver level- Appling Boring Co., and Tracy Faucette | Brad Thorne Edward Jones Financial.
Team Sponsors included Adair's Rod & Gun, Duncan Plumbing, Ed's Pallet World, Epic Life Group, Fly Boy Pizza, Invigorate Skincare Solutions, Crossair LLC, and Mi Pueblito Mexican Restaurant.
Station sponsors included Anderson's Cleaning Services, Amy P. Torvinen, CPA, Artifacturing, BlueRidge Design, Forest City Owls, Fountain Electric, King Law, McMahan's Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Main Street Coffee & Ice Cream, Thompson Contractors, Odom Engineering PLLC, and Ziomek & Shroyer.
Rutherford Women's League was grateful for the support, said Jenna Bailey, Rutherford Women's League President. "Everyone really stepped it up; especially our fundraising chairs Chrissy Croteau and Cindy Adair."
Food and drink for the event was donated by Anderson's Cleaning Services, Copper Penny Grill, Cracker Barrel, Food Lion, The Hoot Nannie, Ingles, and Main Street Market.
"We appreciate all the support we received from our local Restaurants and Grocery Stores," said Cindy Adair, fundraising chair. "Their generosity made our event more successful and increased the amount we could give back to Ruff'ton Roots."
Additional Donations/Donors included DJ Michael Sprouse, The Erin Hooper Mortgage Lending Team, Main Street Insurance Group, Tim Edwards Farm and Landscaping Supplies.
For more info about Rutherford Women's League, visit their facebook page @rwlcharityevents or contact jenna@artifacturing.com
Ruff'ton Roots Community Garden is located in the field next to St. Luke's Chapel (128 Hospital Drive) and the intersection of Hospital Drive and Edwards Street near the hospital. To learn more about Ruff'ton Roots Community Garden and how you can get involved, visit https://rufftonroots.org/, Ruff'ton Roots Community Garden Facebook page, or contact rufftonroots@gmail.com, 828-287-3520
