FOR EVERYBODY ON THE JOURNEY OF HEALING

Compassionate, low-cost, trauma-informed healing arts programs and support services for people navigating stress and illness, trauma, caregiving fatigue, grief, mental health challenges, and anyone seeking more balance, connection, and well-being. Our programs are open to everyone across Haywood County—no one is turned away due to financial hardship.

“We exist because our world is hurting, but we can do something about it. We can bear gifts of care, kindness, and joy to nourish and heal our world’s beating heart.”

— Marga Fripp, co-Founder & CEO

The Healing Hive at Folkmoot

Our studio space, The Healing Hive, is a healing arts sanctuary—a place where compassion meets mindful movement Qigong, therapeutic art, dance, and nature-based healing in community.

In a time when many feel lonely and disconnected, we, The Pollinators, stand united with a clear intention: to amplify the good and take "baby giant steps" toward collective healing, well-being, and belonging. Together, we create nurturing communities that help us navigate personal and shared struggles, humanize the mental health conversation, and foster meaningful connections.

heARTfelt Testimonials

  • “The heART Healing Circle has given me a place to start healing after going through the flood, and having to rebuild life afterwards. I didn't realize how much I was still struggling until I allowed myself to stop and create.”

    — Beth B.

  • After the Qigong class, I felt a rippling through my heart space, like something tender had finally been given permission to breathe. My body and heart had been longing for release. The emotion is still present, but now there’s space around it—space for healing, for energy to move, for grace."

    — Katharine M.

  • "I arrived feeling deeply sad and hopeless—and left light and hopeful. From my very first heART Healing Circle, I knew this was a salve for the soul. It’s like a two-hour vacation for the heart and mind, offering rest, creative expression, and emotional release."

    — Joan D.

  • "I came in feeling a bit energetically off—some mental fog and GI discomfort. After Qigong, I felt smooth and calm, with a clearer mind and a quieted belly! So grateful for this gentle, healing space."

    — Starr H.

  • “Through the expressive arts session, I was able to integrate deep feelings of grief and loss. What began as an idea transformed into something embodied and real: a tangible experience of healing. I felt myself releasing self-blame and opening my heart to love and acceptance. It was a beautiful, unexpected shift that I’m so grateful for.”

    — Sarah T.

  • "The Healing Hive has become the focus of my activity in Haywood County. In fact after living here for nearly 18 years, I was seriously considering moving away. The Healing Hive and the Pollinator's Foundation is the main reason I have decided to stay. I have found it to be a refreshing, supportive, and healing balm for my mind and soul. "

    — Mary C.

Bee a Pollinator of Hope and Healing!

Your tax-deductible gift—one-time or monthly—sustains our sanctuary of care, making compassionate connection and healing arts accessible and free for those who need it most.

Manifesting a Flourishing World, Art by Marga Fripp

The Pollinators Declaration for a Flourishing World

The Pollinators Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization fostering healing and well-being through the transformative power of art, movement, nature, and mind-body practices.

We are committed to ending the stigma around mental health and creating nurturing, inclusive communities that support health, healing, and resilience.

Through trauma-informed healing arts practices—blending compassionate community care with mindful movement Qigong, therapeutic art, dance, and nature-based healing—we cultivate a future free from mental health stigma, where differences are celebrated, and every individual is valued for who they are.

Healing happens in community. Like bees in a hive, we each contribute to the well-being of the whole. No bee alone can sustain the colony, just as no person thrives in isolation. To truly flourish, we need each other—working in unity, serving the highest good of all. Our vision is to end the epidemic of loneliness and the stigma surrounding mental health, and to empower people to restore dignity, self-worth, and purpose.

The healing arts are scientifically proven and time-tested practices that help reduce stress and loneliness; support emotional, physical, and mental well-being; amplify joy and gratitude; and strengthen community and belonging.

Our Story

Marga Fripp, a lifelong social entrepreneur, activist, artist, and trauma-informed expressive art therapist, and her daughter, Geanina Fripp Emerson, founded The Pollinators Foundation in 2022 to empower individuals on the journey of healing and end the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Both Marga and Geanina are caregivers to family members struggling with mental illness. Their daily experience supporting loved ones through these complex challenges fuels their passion to uplift caregivers and trauma survivors, and cultivate a more compassionate, stigma-free society.

Join our Team!

Are you creative, empathic, and self-driven with strong communication and interpersonal skills? Does our work on mental wellness, creativity, and social healing resonate with you? If so, please apply for an internship with us.

Program Associate Internship