Watch The Asheville Community Video

We live in a wonderful community. Asheville North Carolina is known for many things including food, beer, mountains, and fun; but the community aspect pretty much encompasses them all. Sometimes when visiting you get a little taste of what it means, but you really have to be here for awhile to completely see and understand how strong it really is. It is not something that we drum up, or force to happen. First it comes naturally, and then people live, work and play together. From that, the synergy of community comes to fruition.

DonorsChoose Project Benefits Local Students In Asheville NC

Asheville Teacher Runda Alamour

Dear Asheville Locals and Visitors,

My name is Runda Alamour and I am reaching out to you about a DonorsChoose Project I have created to benefit my students. DonorsChoose is a crowdfunding charity which allows public school teachers to post projects for their classrooms. I am a first year teacher and alumna of both Asheville High School and UNC Asheville. My project is raising money for general classroom supplies, scholarship resources (I teach 12th grade English), and contemporary reading materials. Thanks to many generous donors, I am already past the half point in my goal and only need $189 to complete the project. Until August 16, DonorsChoose will match all donations up to $100 when the code LIFTOFF is used at checkout. You can find current and future projects at www.donorschoose.org/Mrs.Alamour.

I moved to Asheville in 2009 and entered Asheville High School as an 11th grade student. I had moved all over North Carolina and attended many schools in all three regions of our state. I can tell you from personal experience that the culture of learning and community at AHS is above and beyond anything I saw at my previous schools. I am so proud to be returning as a teacher and to give back to future generations of AHS students. Thank you for your support!

Runda Alamour

Donating Furniture To Save Lives In Asheville North Carolina

Asheville Furniture Drive

When we first heard about Homeward Bound of Asheville & Western North Carolina, we knew that they helped some people that were homeless in the community, but we did not realize what a big difference they were making in so many lives. I guess you can say that we knew of the organization, but we did not really know about it. After talking to them recently, we learned a lot more.

Here are some things that you should know about Homeward Bound:

  1. They house 5-7 people on average per week.
  2. They have an 89% success ratio. With their support and rehabilitation program, it is hard not to succeed.
  3. Their overhead is only 8%. That means 92% or 92 cents out of every dollar goes to the program.

The line between having someplace to live and being homeless is many times very thin. Folks can become homeless for several reasons including job loss, divorce or separation, health issues; and sometimes it is because they do not have a support system of family and friends that they can lean on.

Homeward Bound of WNC is doing a wonderful work in our community, rescuing people from homelessness, but they have several needs that folks like us can fulfill. When someone is housed, many times they barely have anything left to their name, so furniture is one of the greatest needs to get them established in their home and to help with rebuilding their lives. This is where you can help.

Divine Living Furniture in south Asheville has just launched the Asheville Furniture Drive to benefit Homeward Bound and furnish these residences. From August 16, 2016 to September 30, 2016; you can either drop gently used furniture off at Divine Living, or contact them to arrange pick-up. They also have a program where local businesses can become an Ambassador of this campaign by gathering several pieces of furniture from their employees and staff.

For more information:

See the Event Page on AskAsheville

Read the Divine Living Event Blog Post

Learn more about the August 16th Launch Party at Divine Living

See the Facebook Event Page for the Asheville Furniture Drive 2016

 

Meet 3 People In Asheville That Could Use Your Help

Meet 3 Asheville People That Need Your Help

There are many folks all around the world that are hurting right now. Some are facing treatable sicknesses, and for others it is a life and death situation. Social media has brought a lot of this to light and has enabled many miracles to happen by bringing awareness to communities, and then raising the necessary funds and support to help.

Today we have a few folks in Asheville North Carolina that I would like to introduce you to. They are suffering tremendously with the medical issues they are facing and could use our help. Please read and help if you can.

  1. Rocky Cunningham – for those of you who know this man, he has been an active person in the community, and in the Asheville City Schools as the physical education & health teacher. In early April, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is now raising funds to assist in his medical journey. Please check out Rocky’s GoFundMe Page for more information.
  2. Katie Janette – we first met her while hanging out with the buskers in downtown Asheville, and have bumped into her on several occasions. In February, she had severe abdominal pain and was told that she had a fibroid (generally non-cancerous tumor) in her uterus. It has since gotten worse and she needs to have it removed. The good news is that she has almost reached her goal for the upcoming surgery. Please see Katie’s GoFundMe Page for more information.
  3. Kat Williams – last but not least, is Kat Williams, who has been a part of the Asheville community for many years, has blessed many of us with the sound of music in our ears, and has given a piece of herself toward so many causes and non-profit to help others. Now she is reaching out for our help. Kat needs a kidney transplant and has a long journey ahead of her.  Please take a look at Kat’s YouCaring Page for more info.

Asheville Drum Circle Video Goes Viral On Facebook

Asheville Drum Circle Video on Facebook

While walking around downtown Asheville this past Friday night, Ask Asheville made a quick stop at the Drum Circle. We immediately started taking video on one of our GoPro video cameras, but then we were stopped because the memory card was full. So we pulled out the old Samsung Galaxy 6, went to Facebook, and started recording Live! Turns out the video has reached over 100,000 folks in less than 48 hours, has 1000+ likes, 250 comments, and 900 shares. WOW, kinda great for a quick video we did on the fly, without any major production, and no boost at all.

Click HERE To See The Asheville Drum Circle Video On Facebook!

Also LIKE The Ask Asheville Facebook Page To See Lots More