Wilkes County 2024

Communities everywhere are facing challenges – the economy is shifting, many people feel isolated and lonely, drug use and mental illness have risen, old ties are fraying, people of different backgrounds are moving in, and politics has gotten more nasty. Yet, in most places, people are not giving up. They’re not waiting for someone else to make things better. They are showing up, again and again, to make their communities better.

You likely know these weavers. They seem to know everyone. They inspire us to support each other. They see a need and fill it. They don’t usually receive grants for their work. We count on them and yet we rarely celebrate how important they are to us.

The Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project in Washington, DC created the Weaver Awards to honor those neighbors serving their communities and weaving a new, inclusive social fabric. Thanks to a partnership between Wilkes and the Weave project, we are having these Awards for the second year in a row. Why? Because these weavers are showing us how to heal the divides in our communities, and in our country. They are leaders in helping us restore trust in each other… from the ground up