Sunset Bay Website

Sunset Bay residents participate in various community activities ranging from volunteer opportunities, charitable donation opportunities and scholarships for Union County High School seniors. Below are some of the various opportunities available to us as residents. If you have an additional opportunity you would like to share, please contact us.

Charitable Donations

Last updated 2/10/2023

Party Planners usually collect Halloween candy for Sharps Chapel Elementary Trunk or Treat, held each year at Halloween. Donated wrapped candy can be dropped off at the clubhouse to donate to this event. Check the Sunset Bay Calendar for details on this event.
SHARPS CHAPEL GIVING TREE: Each November, needy families are identified by Sharps Chapel Elementary School staff. The Sunset Bay Party Planners start the Christmas "adoption" process to provide the families with Christmas gifts and gift certificates from Food City for groceries and gas. Gift tags are created and are placed on the clubhouse Christmas tree. Sunset Bay property owners quickly pull the tags from the tree and return with gifts to fill the wish list from each family.
Union County Food Pantry - Volunteers are always welcome. To volunteer call Kitty Lewis at 865-992-4335. To donate send checks to Food Pantry c/o Tracy Maples, 926 Beard Valley Rd, Maynardville, TN 37807. Donations are tax deductible.
Union County Humane Society collects 13 and 39 gallon garbage bags, paper towels, bleach/detergent, Dawn dish soap, and bleach for the Union County Humane Society. See Union County Humane link for drop off location.
Projects and Collections and 2021 Community Service Projects and Collections can be viewed here (updated 9/29/2020).
Martha Warwick, Union County Public Schools has a program where she collects items for students/families in need. She collects clothes, shoes, home goods, etc. She is in need of household items, bedding and mattresses. Said she has several students sleeping on floors. I spoke to Martha and she said if I would collect the household items and bedding here, she would come get it- and if someone has a mattress she would arrange to get it. If you have a mattress/bed and would like to donate it, please contact the office and I will put you in touch with Martha. Office Manager, Sunset Bay Owners Association, 865-278-3806.
Sharps Chapel Elementary School appreciates it when we link our Food City and Ingles shopping cards to their school. Our contact person at Sharps Chapel Elementary is Martha Keller; contact her if you have any questions 865-278-3294.
Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child; for more information call 865-278-3806.

Lake Cleanups

Updated 4/19/2023

Please save March 25, 2023, and May 6, 2023, as Lake Cleanup Days on your calendars. Check out the links below for more information and where/how to register.

March 25, 2023: Norris Lake Project Lake Cleanup

The next Norris Lake Cleanup will be on March 25, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be three launch locations:

· Anderson County Park

· Powell Valley Marina

· Union County-Beach Island Marina

https://www.norrislakeproject.com/upcoming-cleanups/

May 6, 2023: Norris Lake Project Lake Cleanup

There will be a Norris Lake Cleanup on May 6, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Flat Hollow Marina.

https://www.norrislakeproject.com/upcoming-cleanups/

Scholarships

Updated 6/7/2023

The Scholarship Committee prepares documents, reviews applications, interviews applicants, and recommends awardees to the Board of Directors.

Scholarship applicants will be given a copy of the guidelines and they will complete the Sunset Bay Scholarship Application and Teacher Recommendation forms.

Previous Sunset Bay scholarship winners:

Senior Centers

1) Sharps Chapel Senior Center - 1542 Sharps Chapel Road, Sharps Chapel, TN 37866

2) Union County Senior Center, Union County Senior Center on FaceBook

Veteran Opportunties

Volunteer Opportunities

FCE is a nationwide organization. The Union County clubs, organized under the direction of the University of Tennessee, are dedicated to the purpose of helping people become better homemakers and community members. Home economics activities are carried out through monthly FCE meetings, special interest activities, workshops, mass media, and individual contacts. All clubs, activities and events are open to everyone regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. For more information, call the UT Extension Office in Maynardville, TN at 865-992-8038.

Keep Union County Beautiful
Nursing Home - Maynardville
The Norris Lake Project (updated 02/18/2023)

The Norris Lake Project Team is a 501c3 Charitable Organization organized to preserve the natural beauty and conserve the natural resources of the Norris Lake Watershed area for the benefit of the residents and visitors to the area while assisting the local governments combat the deterioration of natural resources in the surrounding communities. Norris Lake is spread across 34,000 surface acres and surrounded by over 800 miles of shoreline nestled in the mountains of East Tennessee making it the perfect year round vacation destination. It is described as the cleanest lake in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s system but if you look closer, you will see some misplaced garbage. That is why the Norris Lake Project team has been conducting bi-annual Norris Lake Cleanups in all five counties that contain Norris Lake since 2009.
Sharps Chapel Elementary School
Sharps Chapel Volunteer Fire Department
Threads of Grace Donations: (added 10/24/21) As a special projects volunteer for Caris Healthcare I’m currently making lap quilts for individuals who are receiving hospice care and family members who have lost a loved one. My hope is that these quilts will provide comfort and bless those who receive them. If anyone living in Sunset Bay has clean unused sewing fabric that you would like to donate, I can come retrieve these (no clothing, no bed linens and no smaller than 12x12 inches please). In addition, I’ve set up a gift list on Amazon making it easy for anyone to support this effort. Your donations will purchase the polar fleece fabric that is used on the quilt's backside (so they are soft as possible) and other sewing materials that are currently needed. I’d be happy to provide you with a picture like the one shown when your donation is used and I can be reached by text at the number below to coordinate your donation. Thank you for any contribution and know that your support is directly comforting someone who greatly appreciates your kindness! God bless, Joan Noble (207-703-6575)
TN Achieves (added 10/13/2020)
Union County Food Pantry:

Donation can be mailed to The Pantry's bookkeeper at: Union County Food Pantry, c/o Tracy Maples, 926 Beard Valley Road, Maynardville, TN 37807. For information, please contact Kitty Lewis (865-992-4335).

Union County Food Pantry serves 300 people every other week. By participating in a buying program with Second Harvest, they have the opportunity to purchase food items at .19 cents a pound. While this is a major savings over local grocery stores, there are items that weigh too much to purchase regularly on the program budget. These items include flour, sugar and evaporated milk, things we all buy each time we shop.

The Union County Food Pantry also welcomes volunteers! Food Distribution Days are the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month from 2-5 p.m. Please contact Pat Blackburn at 865-278-3289 if you would be interested in volunteering or have any questions regarding their program.

Union County Humane Society

Upper Room Ministries (updated 3/10/2023)

On the second Saturday of each month, the Upper Room Ministries in New Tazewell, Tennessee, provides 200 boxes of food to Tennessee families in need. The food is provided by resources from the Second Harvest of East Tennessee and Upper Room Ministries. On the Wednesday before, the boxes of food are prepared. The links provided will tell you how you can donate and contains the 2023 dates to volunteer.

Community Involvement