The story of Celebrate Albemarle began 23 years ago in the foothills of NC where Scott & Sherry Whaley founded Operation Celebration (Op Cel), which was established for the purpose of promoting the health & well-being of inner-city children & youth who lived in Hickory, NC. Highlights: 1) Op Cel was best known for its "Saturday Celebrations," which took place in distressed communities where 100's of school-age children & youth gathered on a weekly basis for an afternoon of food, fun, & mentoring fellowship. 2) Another exciting highlight was Op Cel's inner-city summer youth camp program. 3) Op Cel received a distinguished award from the city of Hickory for its work with inner-city children & youth.

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Scott's work would later take him & Sherry to the foothills of Kentucky where they founded Celebrate Appalachia (CApp): Celebrating HOPE For The Children & Youth of Appalachia. CApp was established for the purpose of promoting the health & well-being of Appalachian children & youth ... specifically those who lived in the tri-state region of Kentucky, Ohio, & West Virginia. Highlights: 1) CApp was best known for CHAMP (Community, Honor, & Academics Mentoring Program), which was CApp's school-based component that focused on youth leadership & development with a strong emphasis on community involvement. 2) Another important component of CApp was its summer youth camp program. 3) CApp was recognized as a "Community Hero" by Morehead State University Corp.

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A few years ago, Sherry's work took them to the Albemarle region of North Carolina where they founded Celebrate Albemarle ... People & Places (CAPP).