Community benefits from ReStore Shoppers’ Generosity

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When you shop at the Asheville Habitat ReStores, you support more than Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and affordable housing. You also have the opportunity to contribute to the work of a wide range of non-profit organizations meeting myriad community needs. In 2022, thanks to the generosity of shoppers who chose to “round up” at the registers, $24,627 was raised and donated to 10 local non-profits and 2 Habitat for Humanity disaster response efforts. 2022 beneficiaries were:

  • BeLoved Asheville
  • MLK Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County
  • All Souls Counseling Center
  • Habitat for Humanity’s Ukraine Emergency Response
  • United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County
  • Blue Ridge Pride
  • Woodson Branch Nature School
  • Sistas Caring 4 Sistas
  • Asheville P.E.A.K. Academy
  • Eblen Charities
  • ABCCM Veterans Restoration Quarters
  • Habitat for Humanity of Florida: Disaster Relief (Hurricane Ian)

SistasCaring4Sistas co-founder Nikita Smart shared, “When we have unrestricted funding like the Register Roundup it allows us to go the extra mile with our families. This is important to us, but also the families we serve, especially when they feel they have nowhere else to go or local agencies are out of funding, or the need is something they don’t fund. Myself as well as the rest of the team at Sistas Caring 4 Sistas, thank you deeply for the donation, and dedication to the work we do.”

“The ReStore offers a unique opportunity for Habitat to use its platform to support others doing work that intersects with affordable housing- including healthcare, education, disaster relief and community development,” said Scott Bianchi, Manager of the Asheville Habitat ReStore. “Asheville Habitat provides the mechanism, but it’s the generosity of our shoppers who make this program successful. All those small incremental donations – 10, 30, 65 cents – they add up to big change.”

Implemented in 2019 to support other non-profits serving our community, the Round Up program raised $11,717 that first year. Since its inception, thousands and thousands of small sub-$1 donations have cumulatively raised nearly $80,000.

To see the breadth of the Round Up program’s 2022 impact across the community, click here.

Thank you to the 2020 ReStore Business Partners!

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The Asheville Habitat team is so grateful for all the community business partners who generously donate new and used merchandise to the ReStore each year. ReStore Business partners help build a strong foundation for helping families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homes. Thank you so much to each ReStore business partner – we appreciate your partnership!

The Impact of Rounding Up

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Apparently, in our community, greater need + greater challenge = greater generosity. Thanks to the generosity of ReStore shoppers rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar through the ReStore Register Round Up program, Asheville Habitat donated over $18,000 to local non-profits serving the needs of our community in 2020. Read more in this blog post about the exciting impacts of ReStore shopper donations to these local organizations.

ReUse: Spotlight on Fabric

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Did you know textiles make up almost 7% of our landfills? And about 95% of the textiles in our landfills are either reusable or recyclable. This means that even those pieces of clothing that are so worn out that Goodwill doesn’t want them, still have a significant post-consumer future ahead– if you’ll give it to them!

Reckoning with Race and Housing

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As an organization that condemns structural racism in our housing system, Asheville Habitat will not transfer this deed to another owner with this abhorrent language. We took the time to learn from the Register of Deeds and work with Pisgah Legal Services to draft new deed language that nullifies the racist restrictions. This is a small step in the right direction and we hope it inspires other property owners to do the same.

Local Muralist Paints Tribute to Front Line Health Care Workers

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By Maddy Alewine, Communications Specialist

Now as Mission Hospital staff and patients look down at Biltmore Avenue and as people drive by Mission’s Emergency Room they will be met with a colorful and vibrant mural of gratitude for the people on the front lines of the Covid-19 epidemic— healthcare workers. 

Local muralist Ian Brownlee knew he wanted to paint a mural to thank all the hospital workers, he said. After reaching out to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC), Brownlee was connected with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, the owner of a small building on Biltmore Avenue that is directly across from the entrance to Mission’s ER.  

“When people see it, I’m really hoping they feel appreciated,” Brownlee said. “As we have been painting it, we’ve had folks honk horns, give thumbs up and cheer as they drove by.” 

The property at 500 Biltmore Avenue was donated to Asheville Habitat and is currently being held for future sale or redevelopment consistent with the donor’s wishes. Brownlee came forward to ask about the building because the location is perfect for his message. 

“Habitat is so grateful to Ian for wanting to recognize all heath care workers, especially since a number of Habitat homeowners work in the health care field,” Sydney Monsaw, Habitat’s Sponsorship and
Stewardship Coordinator said. “It was great to partner in a different way and pay tribute to those
doing the hard, caring work for our community.”

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Muralist Ian Brownlee draws the outline of a section of his mural July 7, 2020.

Recently boards were put up and primed by a Habitat staff member to make the front building façade flatproviding Brownlee with a blank canvas. CFWNC covered the cost of painting supplies and helped supply volunteers. Bright hues of pink, blue, red, and yellow form the figures of nurses, caregivers, a janitor, and doctors with the message “thank you healthcare workers.” 

Habitat is happy to be a small part of this tribute to health care workers that mean so much right now,” Asheville Habitat’s Executive Director Andy Barnett said. “In our affordable housing work, we partner with a number of folks who are in health care professions and we want all of them to know they are appreciated.” 

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Mural 7.9.20 004

When Quarantine Comes, Things Go

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When asked if they had fun reminiscing as they went through all their things, Charlie laughed and suggested I halt my inquiry unless I wanted Tricia back in the garage removing things from the donation pile! She confirmed they had lots of fun traveling down memory lane, and that some items were easier to let go than others.

Updates from Our Business Partners

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Asheville Habitat for Humanity is successful in part because our local business community steps up to be part of the solution to the affordable housing problem. We want to support the businesses who support us, so we’re sharing some of the ways they are continuing to operate in these challenging times. Please consider patronizing them!  

Overcoming the Distance

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Happy National Volunteer Appreciation Week!! We recognize all our volunteers who have served and continue to serve remotely. Distance can’t stop our volunteers!!

AmeriCorps Reflection: Importance of Listening

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A reflection by AmeriCorps VISTA member Krysta Osweiler, who works in Homeowner Services.

“The more I’ve had the opportunity to speak with different members of the community (over 200 individuals in just one quarter!), the more I’ve seen the ways that the entire issue of affordable housing affects far more people than I ever thought it would. I came into my VISTA role knowing that there was a huge need, but as I’ve spent time talking with different community members, and really listening to their stories, I’ve seen many of the ways that housing can, and often does, divide people. Almost into the “haves” and “have not’s”.  For some, renting is a way of life. For others, it’s all they can afford. For even more, they haven’t once considered that there may be another option.

Each of my grandparents owned their homes, and my parents have owned a home since I was baby. I have never once considered that homeownership might be out of reach for me. But that’s not how it is for everyone, and depending on where you live, monthly mortgage payments could cost far more than rent would. Up until now, I’ve really seen the question of homeownership as being purely a matter of finances, without fully appreciating that there can often be a whole lot more at play in the decision than just money.

One of my most meaningful experiences was completely unexpected. I reached out to our local community college, wondering how I could best connect with their ESL students. Imagine my surprise when the response was an invitation to speak with their English conversation class! There were 9 class members on the day of my visit, each with varying levels of English proficiency. The facilitator had prepared a list of questions to discuss, specifically focused on housing, and it was pretty eye-opening to hear their responses. Some were interested in a house, but only after having children, once they’d really “need” the extra space. Others lived with extended family, and desperately wanted to be in a place of their own; but their cultures were the kind where multiple generations lived together, and not having other family members in the home would never be an option for them. One came from a city where literally no one could afford to buy a home of their own, so until this conversation, it had never once crossed his mind that people might do that.

Housing and “home” is something we all see very differently, depending on where we came from and what our point of reference is. I knew that if you always rented, and your parents always rented, and your grandparents always rented, that you probably wouldn’t recognize homeownership as an option for you. But I didn’t fully appreciate the ways that your culture could play into that, or how it can even go so far as to dictate your housing choices for you. Many of these international students had always lived with extended family, and really wanted to enjoy their apartments here, and the space to themselves. One even said that as long as they were in a small apartment, no one else would come live with them, but if they had a house, other family members would definitely be living there, too. That completely took away any motivation for them to purchase a house down the road. When my husband and I first bought a house, that wasn’t even part of what we considered. We wanted to have space for our family members to be able to visit. But for these students, having that space would mean something completely different. It wouldn’t have been space for visitors, it would have been space for long-term guests that wouldn’t necessarily leave.

These conversations have been an important part of sharing information about Habitat with our community. They’ve also been important as a way to educate people on both sides of the table. Not only did these students need to hear that homeownership is a possibility, I needed to hear what shaped their thoughts on the process. We each have a unique perspective, and every single one of those perspectives is valid. Until we really listen to the people on the “other” side of the table, we won’t be able to recognize how different our thoughts might be. Much of my time has been spent educating the community at-large about Habitat and the services we provide. In doing so, I’ve learned from community members themselves, and for that, I am grateful.”