BYNUM — The Bynum General Store was awarded a $7,765 Community Challenge grant from the American Association of Retired Persons to expand its ability to do storytelling and performances virtually.
The Community Challenge grant program is part of the AARP’s national Livable Communities initiative that “helps communities make immediate improvements and jump-start long-term progress in support of residents of all ages.”
“AARP’s teams on the ground across the country hear from mayors, local leaders and residents about the value of getting quick wins to create long-term change,” Lisa Riegel, AARP’s NC manager of Advocacy and Livable Communities said. “We developed the Community Challenge grant program to answer that call and help build momentum for more livable communities nationwide.”
The Community Challenge Grant program started in 2017 and since then, it has awarded 376 communities across the country with funds to help make improvements. This year, Bynum was one of three North Carolina community grants AARP awarded.
“Here in North Carolina, there is a great desire from cities, towns and rural areas to make the changes needed to help not only their growing number of older residents, but people of all ages who want to live in more vibrant, healthy and engaging areas,” Riegel said.
The Bynum General Store, located just north of Pittsboro, applied for the grant in order to purchase technology to enhance virtual offerings. The grant request noted that this connectivity is especially important during COVID, but also expands reach long-term.
Bynum was built around a cotton mill in the late 1800s, with mill worker homes popping up to support the operation. The Bynum General Store was the former country store and post office for the area. As the mill was in operation until 1983, many people grew up in the area, but have moved away.
“A live event from their retired country store/post office is a gift,” Cynthia Raxter wrote in the grant application. “We wish to add live streaming to increase the reach of all our existing music and storytelling programs.”
Since COVID, the Bynum General Store has been doing weekly shows with an iPhone and two desk lamps for lighting. The hope is to make those virtual events more entertaining visually and improve sound. The grant notes that the current online audiences include the elderly, former residents no longer close, military families posted in foreign lands, those with ill health, those with very young children, and those just too tired to come out.
In the AARP release announcing the grant, Annette Rodriquez, of Chatham County, talked about her aunt who enjoys the livestreams from 1,800 miles away.
“With this programming, we hear stories of home and growing up, and share memories we somehow had never shared over the last four decades,” Rodriquez said. “We laughed at the stories of my neighbors, we learned new songs. We found new ways to make old friends.”
The Bynum General Store grant will also go to support students and older people who have challenges connecting to the internet.
“Bynum has already created a sense of place and is working to provide wifi hotspots, critical in rural area for young students and seniors alike,” the grant read.
With the county’s lack of comprehensive broadband access and libraries closed, the Bynum General Store is making its outdoor seating area available to residents with wi-fi to which they can connect. But the real goal is to do online story telling and live-streaming music on the weekends.
The AARP grant is a matching grant, which means the Bynum General Store and its performers, who only receive tips, must come up with the matching funds to complete the expansion.
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.