Current Projects
Our Cabin Cares...
A bit of backstory as to why we are compelled to share our profits with worthy organizations. On November 28th 2016 the Chimney Tops Fire swept through Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains area. We had only owned the cabin for a little over a month when this occurred. The night the fire swept through the mountains like many other people we prayed our little cabin would be spared. We believe you should pray for people and guidance but not for things, that night we broke that rule. The fire was headed straight for our community when the rains came and the winds shifted. We were spared but 14 people lost their lives and over 2,500 homes and structures were lost.
The next day I had a cross made for the cabin to commemorate that night and how lucky we were. The cross hangs in the dining room of the cabin. Since we were spared we feel the cabin needs to be more than a place for people to build memories, it will be a place to help others in need so we started the Our Cabin Cares Project. In our case, we decided to help people in need through St Vincent de Paul Society, the wildlife in need through Appalachian Bear Rescue and the National Park itself through Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association. All of these organizations do great work and we're proud to be associated with each.
In 2018 we were honored to be one of only six properties in the United States to have our works noticed by the prestigious Star Throwers organization and in 2019 our efforts were part of the closing keynote speech on social responsibility at the the Vacation Rental World Summit in Como Italy.
When you stay with us not only are you having a great vacation but you're also helping the needy, the wildlife and the National Park.
Learn More
See below for information on the great organizations we're happy to support.
- Appalachian Bear Rescue
- St Vincent de Paul Society
- Friends of the Smokies
- The Great Smoky Mountain Association
- The Star Throwers
Appalachian bear rescue
We donate a portion from every guest stay to help black bears be returned to the wild.
Every year injured, or orphaned black bear cubs are brought to Appalachian Bear Rescue not only from the Smokies Mountains National Park are but also from surrounding states. These bears are provided the necessary medical attention and nursed back to health and then assimilated with other bears in a manner where they can grow and learn from their natural instincts. Large habitats are built on the ABR property so that as the bears grow they can learn to climb, play, forage for food and become healthy bears. With very limited human interaction this method allows the bears to be released back into the wild.
Every year injured, or orphaned black bear cubs are brought to Appalachian Bear Rescue not only from the Smokies Mountains National Park are but also from surrounding states. These bears are provided the necessary medical attention and nursed back to health and then assimilated with other bears in a manner where they can grow and learn from their natural instincts. Large habitats are built on the ABR property so that as the bears grow they can learn to climb, play, forage for food and become healthy bears. With very limited human interaction this method allows the bears to be released back into the wild.
Appalachian Bear Rescue was born from necessity, the fall of 1989 was hard on the black bears of the Smokies. A severe hard mast (nut and seed) shortage had driven them into lower elevations to look for food. The resulting bear/human conflicts left an unusually large number of orphaned cubs. In those days it was thought to be more humane to euthanize the young cubs instead of letting them starve or be killed by older bears.
A group of dedicated volunteers decided to form Appalachian Black Bear Rehabilitation & Release Center, Inc. to help the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park care for the orphaned cubs of the Smokies. The very first bear, “Zero”, arrived on July 8, 1996 and was released on September 20, 1996. So far over 260 black bear cubs and yearlings have been assisted by the facility.
Beyond just caring for the bears ABR also has a visitor center designed to increase education and public awareness about coexisting with black bears.
We love our bears and to help support them Dancing Bearfoot® is the only rental cabin in the Smokies that donates a portion from every guest stay to Appalachian Bear Rescue.
ST. Vincent de Paul Society
A history of helping the most needy.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides financial assistance to those in need, without regard to race, creed, ethnic or social background, health, gender, or political opinion. Requests and assistance provided is kept strictly confidential.
St. Vincent de Paul Society serves the poor in our community in many ways, including but not limited to personal home visits, gifts of food, clothing, gas cards and assistance with rent, mortgage, moving, medical and utility bills.
Dancing Bearfoot® has pledged a portion from every guest stay to support this important program.
We support: Friends of the Smokies
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park assists the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness, and providing volunteers for needed projects.
We support: Great Smoky Mountains Association
Great Smoky Mountains Association is a nonprofit cooperating association, and as such is one of the National Park Service’s oldest and most enduring partnerships. The primary purpose of GSMA is to support the scientific, historical and interpretive activities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Star throwers
Additional Information
Dancing Bearfoot® is proud to have earned certification as a Star Thrower and we are the only rental company in Tennessee to achieve this great honor. The Star Throwers are a group of vacation rental professionals who want to change the status quo by directly solving our community problems (aka. Throwing Stars). Unwilling to let others’ actions (or lack thereof) determine how we live our lives or run our businesses and refusing to let others mine our goodwill, We, the Star Throwers invite you to help us in throwing back as many stars as we can.
Our Rationale
As progressive vacation rental business owners, we made four realizations:
1. Every great destination has its share of local challenges; The dunes that need cleaning; the wildlife that need saving; the aspiring professionals that need training; the marginalized youth that need attending. And also that…
2. Our financial livelihoods are tied to our community’s problems (for better or worse). The healthier our communities are, the more profitable our businesses become (and vice versa). But increasingly…
3. The institutions traditionally responsible for solving our community’s problems are breaking. In some cases, they’re downright broke. And the big corporations that should, fundamentally, be more involved are (both literally and figuratively) headquartered elsewhere. And so…
4. We, the Star Throwers, the true ambassadors of our industry and our destinations, ask ourselves the question, “If we don’t solve these problems, who will?” This question becomes our personal and professional identity; the pillar of our ethos; and the fabric of a better society in which we live.
The Story of the Star Thrower
The Star Throwers program was inspired by The Starthrower by Loren Eiseley. In reading it, we remind ourselves that every vacation rental professional has the capacity to change his or her corner of the world.
While walking along a beach after a storm, an elderly gentleman saw a boy in the distance leaning down, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one back into the sea.
He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.”
The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
To this, the boy replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the man commented, “But do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The boy listened politely as he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean past the breaking waves. “It made a difference for that one,” he said.
