Story By Katie Hightower

On Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Highlands Foundation and Nourish One Child were presented checks from the 2025 Scottsboro Dragon Boat Races.  The large checks were presented and will be on display at Highlands Medical Center’s front lobby and at the Nourish One Child’s office.

Thousands of people attended this year’s dragon boat races and there was a large turnout of people who eagerly volunteered to help make the event a success.  Teams and volunteers showed up to the event ready for a fun day on the water.  Many teams dressed in costumes from halos to Viking helmets.  There was definitely a playful competitive vibe from those who participated throughout the day.

Each check was in the amount of $28,235.  The money will be used to purchase surgical beds for Highlands Medical Center and help fund the 450+ bags of food that Nourish One Child provided to students who faced food insecurity each week during the school year and Nourish One Child’s summer food program.

“We’re really thrilled at the level of community involvement with this event,” said Dawn Pettengill, chairman of the Highlands Medical Center Board. “There were 31 paid teams which was ten more than last year.  With over 25 members per team and others who helped, we had over 1,000 community members who volunteered their time for this event.  I’m honored to be a part of it and am thrilled to be able to offer to the Highlands Foundation this much money for surgical beds.”  

“The success of this year’s Dragon Boat Races is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our incredible volunteers and committee members,” said Kaylyn Murphy, Director of Highlands Foundation and Marketing Departments. “Their behind-the-scenes efforts made this exciting event possible and we’re deeply grateful for their support in bringing the community together. Every dollar raised by the Highlands Foundation goes directly back into our community, helping us purchase essential medical equipment to support high-quality healthcare close to home.”

“I know how hard everyone worked at this,” said Mary K Carlton, Co-Chair of Scottsboro Dragon Boat Races and founder of Nourish One Child.  “For the past 14 years, it’s been my special experience to raise funds for Nourish One Child.  We could not do this program alone.  This partnership with Highlands Foundation for the past two years is about health:  providing nutrition for children and providing resources for our local hospital.  The Scottsboro Dragon Boat Races brought the whole community together—it was something for families to do and we also received a lot of corporate sponsorship.  I’m so grateful for everyone who participated.”

For more information about Highlands Foundation or how to contribute, please visit, https://highlandsmedcenter.com/community/foundation.  For more information about Nourish One Child or how to contribute, please visit, https://www.nourishonechild.com.