Frances Farthing's Legacy to WNC Teachers
CFWNC has the unique role of bringing people with resources together with those who need them. Frances Farthing, a woman who grew up in a family of teachers in Avery and Watauga counties, opened a Field of Interest Fund to honor her parents. Her mother and father taught school in the shadow of Beech Mountain before those hills were transformed into resort communities.
As an adult, Frances was troubled by the high number of children who lose their interest in education and drop out of school. “In my family, education was the most important thing,” she said. She created the Ben and Dixie Glenn Farthing Fund to have a positive impact on students in poor communities. “I know that a good teacher with ample resources can change a child’s life.” Farthing died in 2000 and left the residue of her estate to the Ben and Dixie Glenn Farthing Fund. Her vision of helping teachers lives on and will continue for generations through the Learning Links grant program. Learning Links grants were first awarded in 1995. In the years since, over $750,000 has been awarded in more than 1,000 grants to WNC schools.
