During Event, Governor Cooper Awards Campaign Co-Chair, Carol Bilbro, with North Carolina’s Highest Honor for Public Service
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 20, 2022) — Healing Transitions celebrated the end of its historic $23 million capital campaign this evening at a gala event for campaign supporters held in the Greg Poole, Jr. All Faiths Chapel in Dix Park. Governor Cooper and Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin shared video remarks and Vice Chair of the Wake County Commissioners, Shinica Thomas, offered additional words of inspiration.
In December, the Wake County based addiction recovery program marked a major milestone in its 21-year history when it successfully completed its multi-year capital campaign, “Recovery Can’t Wait.” The non-profit organization far exceeded its original fundraising goal of $11.75 million, raising over $23 million. Funds will be used to expand living and program spaces at both the men’s and women’s campuses, creating the infrastructure to serve 500 individuals and allowing Healing Transitions to continue to serve the community on demand.
“December 31, 2021 marked the formal end of our ‘Recovery Can’t Wait’ capital campaign, and like many aspects of this endeavor, it ended in extraordinary fashion,” said Chris Budnick, Executive Director at Healing Transitions. “Our community responded in incredible ways to this campaign, and the impact of what we will be able to accomplish as a result will be experienced by thousands who we will support in their recovery journey. Tonight, we take a moment to pause and say thank you to everyone who has supported us. We are deeply grateful.”
Significantly exceeding the campaign fundraising goal was a community effort thanks to so many, including the campaign’s Honorary, Steering, and Community Gifts Committees; Healing Transitions Boards of Directors and Trustees; hundreds of dedicated volunteers and generous donors; and significant commitments from Wake County, the City of Raleigh, the A.J. Fletcher Foundation, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolina, SECU Foundation, and many other foundations and businesses. Dr. Bob and Carol Bilbro, long-time supporters and community leaders, served as co-chairs of the campaign.
The Bilbros played such an instrumental role in the growth of Healing Transitions over the past 20 years that Governor Cooper awarded campaign co-chair Carol Bilbro with the state’s highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, at this evening’s festivities. The award is given to people who have made “significant contributions to the state of North Carolina and to their community through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.” Bilbro’s husband, Dr. Robert Bilbro, received the honor in 2007.
Healing Transitions is the only long-term, peer-based recovery program in Wake County that provides on-demand services to homeless, uninsured and underserved individuals with alcohol and other drug problems. The program is free to all participants, and services are provided on demand, as many times as it takes. Healing Transitions’ peer to peer approach is designed to rekindle a person’s desire and ability to return to a meaningful and productive life, and 85 percent of the program’s graduates remain drug- and alcohol-free one year after graduation.
When Healing Transitions began the “Recovery Can’t Wait” campaign in June 2018, the organization was struggling to provide services well beyond its designed capacity. Between its men’s and women’s campuses, Healing Transitions was built to serve an average of 253 participants per night. At the heart of Healing Transitions’ mission is a philosophy of offering on-demand services for anyone in need – and never turning anyone away. Since opening in 2001, the organization experienced a 142 percent increase in the number of individuals served annually.
According to North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, emergency department visits for opioid overdoses increased 23 percent from 2019 to 2020, and in 2019-20, the United States reached a grim statistic, becoming the first year recorded with 100,000 drug overdose deaths. The needs were, and continue to be, immense.
Healing Transitions is excitedly looking forward to ribbon cuttings at both campuses in early 2023.
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Editor’s Note: Please find Healing Transitions’ digital media kit here.
About Healing Transitions
Healing Transitions is a non-profit organization that provides peer-to-peer recovery services to homeless, uninsured and underserved individuals with alcohol and other drug problems. The program is designed to rekindle a person’s desire and ability to return to a meaningful and productive life. The organization serves several hundred men and women each day. 85 percent of the program’s graduates remain drug- and alcohol-free after one year.