The McGuire Estate in downtown Sylva came to life for the Circles Music Fest on Thursday night, Sept. 21. This unique fundraising event featured a silent auction, local musicians, food, and community fellowship.
The event featured a laid back atmosphere. Guests ordered food and drinks. They socialized throughout the venue, enjoying live music and conversation. There were around 40 people in attendance throughout the evening.
Guests paid a $20 cover fee to enter the venue and all proceeds went towards the Circles of Jackson County program. Circles is a community-based organization with a mission to remove barriers for those in poverty. It enables them to break the cycles of poverty and better their own lives.
The organization is funded solely by public donations and grants. Between costs at the gate, the silent auction and other donations the organization raised around $2800. This exceeded the fundraising goal of $1500. Circles will also receive a percentage of the money made from the McGuire Estate’s food and drink sales.
According to DataUSA, 18% of Jackson County’s population was living below the poverty line in 2020. This number is higher than the national average of 12.8%. There are many families in Jackson County living paycheck to paycheck. This leads to housing and food insecurities.
The USDA defines food insecurity as uncertain availability of nutritional or safe food. According to Feeding America, 14.1% of people in Jackson County were food insecure in 2021.
“We assist the working poor to move from living paycheck to paycheck to being able to be self-sufficient,” said Dawn Neatherly, the executive director of Circles.
The Circles model focuses on communities coming together to support one another. It is a system of those motivated to lead themselves out of poverty, called Circles Leaders. Leaders are connected with middle and high-income volunteers known as Allies. Allies work with Leaders to make connections and provide resources and support. Relationships are the most important part of Circles poverty alleviation system.
“The beautiful thing about the Circles model is that it’s not a throwing money at people model, it is a building relationship and providing education and outreach and creating connections,” Neatherly said. She believes in this model because it emphasizes self-sufficiency and focuses on breaking down stigmas surrounding poverty.
The cliff effect is an issue faced by many trying to overcome poverty. The cliff effect occurs when a wage increase negates a person from government benefits such as free childcare, Medicaid and food stamps. This creates an incredible obstacle to escaping poverty as large expenses come with even just a small pay raise. It is a cycle that keeps people stuck in poverty. As people better their careers and earn more money they are faced with the issue of losing their government benefits.
Rachel Byrd interned at Circles of Jackson County before being hired full-time as their client services coordinator. Byrd identified with the mission of Circles, and wanted to continue working with the organization.
“The approach of yeah, people do need to work hard to help themselves, but it doesn’t just come down to that it also takes community. It takes a village, there’s a reason that’s a saying. I mean, people need people,” Byrd said.
Byrd was a big part of organizing the music fest fundraiser. The event aimed to not only raise money for Circles but to get the community involved. Byrd recognized the community’s interest in live music and felt it was a great way to bring together local artists and community members to have a good time for a good cause.
“Any opportunity nonprofits in our community can have an opportunity to interact directly, especially downtown, music events, which everyone in Sylva always loves – it’s great, it’s positive for the community, its positive for circles obviously,” said Rachel Granning, an attendee to the Circles Music Fest.
Bryd aimed for the event to be an enjoyable experience for those in attendance.
“A lot of fundraisers can be drab and boring, and not enjoyable. And I think we wanted to switch that up and you know have an exciting event,” said Byrd.
The event featured several local artists on three separate stages. The McGuire Estate provided a charming backdrop for an evening of giving back.
Mitchell Russotti was one of the artists performing. He was approached by Circles through social media to be a part of the music fest. It was an opportunity for him to get exposure as an artist but also support a good cause.
“Sometimes people need a leg up in life and if nobody is there to put out their hand a lot of people will just fall,” said Russotti about the Circles mission.
Circles will be at Western Carolina’s career fair on Sept.26 and they are currently looking for new interns. Students can also learn more about Circles of Jackson County by visiting their website.
