The Enola Group: Morganton-based nonprofit aims to support children, families, and adults

Providing much-needed services to young children and their families, improving the quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and reaching out to the community in partnership and cooperation are the three primary goals of the Morganton-based Enola Group.

The Enola Group grew out of what was then Western Carolina Center and since 1980 has been an independent, nonprofit organization providing service to Burke, Alexander, and Caldwell counties.

Three Enola Group leaders — Board Chair Kathy Smith, Executive Director Linda Wilson, and Community Engagement Director Nancy Wood took time on a sweltering mid-June afternoon to talk about the organization, its programs, and its future.

And part of that future is the moving of the Community Engagement Division into the historic Burleson House in downtown Morganton.

Child and Family Services

“When we provide services to a child, we are not just helping that child,” said Wilson, “we are helping their family and indeed the entire community. We focus on school readiness and helping that child build a platform for success.”

Under one of those programs, Early Head Start, eligible families with young children and pregnant women receive early childhood education, training for school readiness, parenting education, and home support.

This program is fully funded by grants, Wilson explained, so there is no cost to eligible families.

In addition, the Enola Group operates four private early learning centers that provide high-quality child care and early learning classrooms. These centers, which are located in Morganton, Hildebran, Lenoir, and Taylorsville, are supported by parent fees.

The Enola Group also supports Family Resource Centers which offer children and their families a friendly space in which to learn, play, and meet others during family playgroups, parenting education activities, and special events.

Adult Services

Under the Enola Group’s Signature Day Program, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities explore their creative potential, develop their unique talents, and hopefully profit from the experience.

“The folks in our program can experiment with pottery, with painting, and with needlework,” said Wilson “They can then sell what they produce. Art is certainly a big part of what we do.”

Within the Enola Group’s Signature Living Program, adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are screened for eligibility to live in individual family homes in the community rather than be institutionalized.

These families are carefully recruited, screened, and credentialed before an adult is placed in their home.

Community Engagement

The Community Engagement Division aims to build partnerships and cooperation within the Enola Group and the surrounding communities.

Of particular importance to Community Engagement is its 3R’s Program, funded by the Dogwood Health Trust and designed to aid Early Childhood Education in the area through recruitment, retainment, and reinforcement. The program aims to:

• Recruit high school and college students to the field of early education and support them through unique paid work experiences that supplement academic instruction received in the Western Piedmont Community College Early Childhood Education (WPCC ECE) department. This will create a stream of qualified ECE candidates.

• Retain students and current ECEs by providing relationship-based support. WPCC's Recruitment and Retention Specialist will focus on retaining current students with an emphasis on those in the Career and College Promise Early Childhood Education Pathway. The Enola Group's Early Childhood Educator Coach will use Practice-Based Coaching to support currently employed ECEs, so they stay in the field of early childhood education. ECEs will receive a stipend for project participation.

• Reinforce effective teaching practices that result in positive outcomes for young children through Practice-Based Coaching.

The project will support center directors by coordinating and paying for students as teacher's aides, providing information about coaching targets, guiding discussions about equity with peers, and providing a financial incentive for materials.

“We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our services to children and to adults,” said Wood. “My role is to be in the community, listening, providing information, and working to build strong relationships and strong partnerships.

The Burleson House

Earlier this year, the Enola Group, which had been looking to expand its facilities, purchased the historic Burleson House.

The Burleson House was built in 1891 and is on .93 acres just a stone’s throw from Morganton City Hall. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains more than 4,000 square feet.

“We’re very excited about the move,” said Smith. “It is going to present us with so many opportunities to increase our visibility and our presence in the community.”

When fully operational, the house will not only house Wood’s office and other staff but also be the site of drop-in child care, have space for the display of art produced by those in Adult Services, and be available as a community meeting place.

A full-scale community open house will be held when updates and repairs to the historic structure are completed sometime late this year or in 2025.

Bill Poteat is editor emeritus of The Paper. He may be reached at 828-445-8595 or via email at bill@thepaper.media.