10 percent of Mast General Store sales in Waynesville on Sept. 15 will go to the Friends of the Smokies to help protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in significant, tangible ways.

“Friends Day” will help support the organization that has raised more than $37 million to help preserve and protect the park. Friends of the Smokies contributed more than $1 million last year to fund Park needs, including the ongoing battle to suppress the hemlock woolly adelgid across the Smokies, conservation of black bears in the backcountry, and management of the elk herd in Cataloochee. Friends also provided more than $275,000 for curriculum enhancement for the Parks as Classrooms environmental education program that serves more than 12,000 students in schools bordering the park.

Representatives from Friends of the Smokies will be on hand at the Mast Stores in Waynesville on Sept. 15. They’ll share information about projects the Friends are currently undertaking to preserve the character of the most visited national park in the United States.