Tag Archive for: Asheville Habitat

Music Builds Homes and Communities

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On Friday December 9th at 3pm, Habitat’s New Heights neighborhood will be bustling with even more activity than usual. Following a short speaking program, Warren Haynes will join volunteers, supporters, and future homeowner Melissa Mitchell and her daughters to raise the first wall of their new home, the 2023 Christmas Jam House. This house is special for another reason too; it is 20-year Habitat staffer and Senior Construction Supervisor Kenny Busch’s 100th Asheville Habitat house!

To date, the annual Warren Haynes Presents: The Christmas Jam has raised more than $2.7 million for Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, constructing 40+ Habitat homes and helping to pay infrastructure and development costs of entire Habitat neighborhoods.

Future homeowner and Asheville native Melissa Mitchell is thrilled to be able to purchase a new and affordable Green Built Habitat home. Despite steady full-time employment in the healthcare field, Melissa has struggled to find decent housing for her family in the Asheville area, one of the state’s highest cost housing markets. With few options for affordable housing, the Mitchell family has had to sacrifice quality to make ends meet. Melissa has described her current subsidized rental as “shelter,” and looks forward to finally having a place she can call “home.”

With the return of the annual benefit concert, comes the return of Asheville Habitat’s signature volunteer experience, Before the Jam, Lend a Hand. Volunteers from near and far will help build new homes, work on a home repair project, and serve in the Asheville ReStore. Local restaurants including Luella’s BBQ and Mellow Mushroom and will feed the helpers, and Merrell will again sponsor the signature volunteer event.

Asheville Habitat’s Executive Director Andy Barnett noted, “Habitat has been uniquely blessed this year. We are proud to share proceeds of the Christmas Jam with BeLoved Asheville. Working with those facing chronic housing instability, their work is a perfect fit with our vision of a world where everyone has a place to call home.”

Interested in helping the causes that Warren Haynes and The Christmas Jam support? Here are a few suggestions:

  • There are a few Before the Jam volunteer slots available. Click here to see options and register.
  • Donate to Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity online. Select Christmas Jam 23 as Purpose.
  • Attend and participate in a variety of Jam by Day events, including a Toy Drive for BeLoved.
  • Stop by the Habitat tables at The Christmas Jam to say hello, learn about programs, donate $1 to sign a stud wall which will be used in the construction of a Habitat house, and enter a raffle to win a VIP package for the 2023 Christmas Jam!

 

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Local Chefs Prepare Plates Reflective of Home at 10/13 Blueprint Breakfast

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Join AAHH and some of Asheville’s culinary best on Thursday 10/13/22 for a fun and delicious evening of creative cuisine and craft beverages in support of one of our region’s most pressing issues– housing.

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Celebrating National Volunteer Week

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Hundreds of Asheville Habitat volunteers were celebrated and thanked at Highland Brewing on April 20th during a National Volunteer Appreciation Week event.

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Habitat receives transformational gift from MacKenzie Scott

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Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, Habitat for Humanity International and 83 Habitat affiliates receive transformational $436M gift from MacKenzie Scott

Asheville Habitat will use gift to address affordable housing shortage in Buncombe and Madison Counties

ASHEVILLE, NC (March 22, 2022) — Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, along with Habitat for Humanity International and 83 U.S. Habitat affiliate organizations, recently received $436 million in unrestricted giving from American author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. [Of that, Asheville Habitat received $5M.] This transformational donation will substantially help further Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has equitable access to a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.

“We are incredibly grateful and honored to receive this gift. It comes at an opportune time as we are finalizing our ambitious five-year strategic plan that will keep us on track to realize our current 10-year vision of serving another 1,000 families by 2028,” shared Andy Barnett, Executive Director of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity.

Over the next 3-5 years, Asheville Habitat will use the $5 million donation to ramp up its home repair program, accelerate its new home construction program in Buncombe County, expand services to Madison County, and secure land to build future Habitat neighborhoods.

Affordable housing is needed more than ever before. Housing costs far outweigh local salaries and nearly half of all households in Buncombe County (48.5 percent) are “cost-burdened,” meaning that they pay more than 30 percent of income toward housing. Nearly two in five households in Buncombe are “severely” cost-burdened, paying half of more of all income to meet housing costs. “Receiving these generous and unrestricted funds allows us to scale up our work and meet more of the growing needs of our region,” added Barnett.

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About Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity
Founded in 1983, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity was the first Habitat affiliate in North Carolina. Through Habitat homeownership and home repair programs, 2,000 adults and children in Buncombe County have achieved the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build a better future. A decent place to call home and an affordable mortgage enables Habitat homeowners to save more, invest in education, pursue opportunities and have greater financial stability. Learn more about Asheville Area Habitat, a Charity Navigator 4-star non-profit, and how you can get involved at ashevillehabitat.org.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

 

 

 

 

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13 Non-Profits Helped by Generosity of ReStore Shoppers in 2021

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When you shop at the Asheville Habitat ReStores and round up your purchase to the nearest dollar, you don’t just support one non-profit, Asheville Habitat– you contribute to the work of a wide range of NPOs meeting myriad community needs. In 2021, thanks to the generosity of shoppers, $25,411 was raised through the Asheville Habitat Register Round Up program and donated to these thirteen non-profits:

  • ABCCM Veteran’s Quarters
  • American Red Cross of WNC
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC
  • Community Action Opportunities
  • Eagle Market Streets Development Corp.
  • Habitat for Humanity Guatemala
  • Haywood County Schools Foundation
  • Homeward Bound
  • MLK Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness – Western Carolina
  • Our Voice
  • Western Carolina Rescue Ministries
  • Working Wheels

“The ReStore offers a unique opportunity for Habitat to use its platform to support the community in a larger way. Our work is focused on housing, but there are so many agencies doing work that intersects – from transportation and healthcare to disaster relief and community development,” said Scott Bianchi, Manager of the Asheville Habitat ReStore and chair of the ReStore’s Societal Impact Committee. “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. In 2020, thousands of small, sub-$1 donations from made an even bigger impact with $18,000 raised– even with the Asheville and Weaverville ReStores being closed in April and May due to Covid. Add in the $25,411 from 2021 and the cumulative 3-year total is more than $55,000 raised for area non-profits.

Pam Jaillet, Executive Director of National Alliance on Mental Illness-Western Carolina shared, “Your contribution helps us host local support groups, offer educational presentations, and maintain an office run by volunteers who are in recovery from mental health challenges or who have loved ones with mental health issues. We appreciate your support!”

See below for the Round Up program’s impact across the community in 2021.

2021 Register Round Up Recap

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First Two Aging in Place Homebuyers Move HOME

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Thanks to a partnership with Deerfield, 8 single-level Aging in Place (AiP) townhomes specifically designed for low-income aging adults are being built in Asheville Habitat’s New Heights neighborhood– and the first two buyers recently moved in.  

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Hike for Habitat to Raise Funds for Women Build

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Following a successful virtual Spring Hike Series, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity and Blue Ridge Hiking Company are excited to announce the fall version of Hike for Habitat: presented by Jennifer Pharr Davis– in-person guided hikes September 15-18 that will raise funds for Women Build. Habitat International’s Women Build program empowers women to build – and advocate for – affordable housing in their communities. To date, fifteen Women Build houses have been built in Buncombe County by Asheville Area Habitat, and another is now underway in Habitat’s New Heights neighborhood in West Asheville.

Register Now Button

Hand-picked routes by Jennifer Pharr Davis, internationally recognized hiker, author, speaker, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and new appointee to the President’s Council of Sports, Fitness and Nutrition offer opportunities of various length, location, and ability. Hikes are available on September 15-18. All genders are welcome and the minimum suggested donation to participate is $250– 100% of which will go towards Asheville Habitat’s Women Build program. Participants can opt to make the donation via credit card or check, or crowd-fund to raise the funds. All participants will also be invited to a kick-off event on September 15th at Smokey Park Supper Club. To see hike options, what is included and how to register, visit: https://blueridgehikingco.com/overnights/hikeforhabitat.

Hiking helps improve mental and physical health. So  does a healthy home. Asheville Habitat homes are Healthy Built, providing homeowners with ongoing comfort and safety. Adults and children who previously experienced respiratory disease due to mold and mildew, illness from lead exposure or toxic heat sources, and psychological disorders due to financial pressures, experience improved mental, physical and emotional health once the conditions of unhealthy, unsafe homes are eliminated. So, join Hike for Habitat to help yourself and a local family in need of a healthy, stable and affordable home.

Not interested in hiking, but want to support Women Build? Visit ashevillehabitat.org or click here to make a secure online donation now.

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Volunteers needed to build largest-ever neighborhood

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We are currently building New Heights, our most ambitious neighborhood to-date, and community volunteers are invited to help build. Take an active role in ensuring everyone has an affordable place to call home by learning new skills or honing existing ones while working alongside community-minded people and future Habitat homeowners.

Asheville Habitat has been bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope for nearly four decades. The reasons people donate their time and talent to Asheville Habitat are as varied as the volunteer themselves. Those who so enjoyed volunteering once on the Women Build House that they keep coming back every week. Those that spent decades in a corporate boardroom and simply want to do something totally different in retirement. Those that work for a company that sponsors Asheville Habitat and therefore have the opportunity to participate in an employee build day. Those that are in high school and learning about our region’s affordable housing crisis. Those putting faith into action by working on a house their church sponsors. How people come to volunteer with Asheville Habitat is wide-ranging. Why they continue to volunteer is the same: Comradery. Meeting the families. Fulfillment. Fun. Making a difference. Feeling part of something bigger.

If you are ready to be the change you want to see in the world, learn more and sign up now or call 828.251.5702. “Volunteers are truly an extension of our staff,” shares Construction Services Volunteer Manager Stephanie Wallace. “We offer year-round opportunities for those age 16+. It’s hard work, but very rewarding. Stepping back at the end of the day, you can SEE the difference you’ve made and feel proud about it.”

If construction isn’t your cup of tea, contact Carrie at 828.210.9381 or cburgin@ashevillehabitat.org to learn about volunteer opportunities in the Asheville and Weaverville ReStores. Proceeds from ReStore sales support Habitat’s building programs, so your volunteer efforts there directly support affordable housing, too. Volunteer positions include customer service, such as running the cash register and providing sales support on the floor; intake and receiving; sorting and processing donations; testing and repairing appliances; and other fun opportunities. Learn more and sign up today!

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Unjust Deeds

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It recently came to the attention of Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity that a parcel of land they purchased possesses a deed which contains a racially restrictive covenant. The language in this deed states that the property cannot be sold to “any person of the colored race.” 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.

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Building on the foundation of a stable home

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For Tikisha and Terrell, their Habitat house has served as a foundation for a better future, a refuge in challenging times, and a place to always and forever call HOME.

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