Please note: Nature Connects^®: Art with LEGO^® Bricks has been postponed until July; however, the exhibit will have an extended schedule and will be open until November 1. We look forward to seeing you!

The Arboretum is excited to welcome back the widely popular traveling exhibit, Nature Connects^®: Art with LEGO^® Bricks by Sean Kenney. Featuring 14 larger-than-life-size sculptures place created with nearly 500,000 LEGO Bricks, this family-friendly exhibit draws inspiration from the living world and combines art, play and science to create an inspiring intersection of education, entertainment and the environment. New sculptures include a 5-foot tall colorful peacock, giant dragonfly, bonsai tree and more!

Pisgah Legal Services Launches Campaign to Help Those Recently Unemployed Due to COVID-19 Find Health Insurance through Special Enrollment Process

Pisgah Legal Services (PLS), a nonprofit that provides free, civil legal aid in Western North Carolina, recently launched a targeted campaign to reach people recently unemployed due to COVID-19 who may have also lost their health insurance. Anyone who has experienced a qualifying life event in the past 60 days, including job loss, may qualify for Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance. Pisgah Legal Services offers free assistance and free information to help understand options for affordable health insurance. To find out more or to make an appointment, visit pisgahlegal.org/aca  or call 828-210-3404.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people without jobs and with that, health insurance,” said Jim Barrett, Executive Director for Pisgah Legal Services. “Many of these people may qualify to file for health insurance through Special Enrollment and it’s our goal to help them understand their options.”

As recently as early May, NC had surpassed the one million mark for individual unemployment insurance benefit claims, as noted on the N.C. Division of Employment website. Almost one-quarter, or 20.3 percent of the 4.97 million North Carolinians listed in the state’s workforce as of mid-March have filed an unemployment insurance claim. “The need is great and will likely grow,” notes Barrett. “Pisgah Legal wants to make sure that no one misses health care coverage as a result of recent job loss.”

When qualifying for a special enrollment period, people do not have to wait until November for Open Enrollment; they can take advantage of options now. One Asheville resident, Christina, lost her job in March and with it, her insurance. She suffers from heart disease and without insurance, was unsure how she would afford her medicines. By working with Pisgah Legal Services, she was able to get a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan for less than $17/month.  “Pisgah Legal took care of everything for me,” said Christina. She hopes others take advantage of this valuable, free service.

Pisgah Legal Services works with organizations in WNC to provide these services across the region. These organizations include: Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Legal Aid or North Carolina, Mountain Projects, Inc., and, Western Carolina Medical Society.

Chris Cavanaugh of Magellan Strategy Group will share the latest data and his insights on the recovery of the tourism and hospitality sectors, and his thoughts on what business will look like as the economy comes back.

This session will be a webinar format conducted through Zoom. Registration is required in order to obtain the link for joining the webinar.

About the Speaker:

Since founding Magellan Strategy Group in Asheville 16 years ago, Chris Cavanaugh has provided strategic planning and marketing consulting services to a diverse range of clients across the U.S. and even Europe.  Prior to founding Magellan, Cavanaugh was vice president of marketing for The Biltmore Company and helped guide the company’s marketing planning, strategy, and execution for almost ten years. Cavanaugh holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Emory University. A 25-year resident of Asheville, he had a career in consumer packaged goods marketing in the apparel and food products categories prior to joining Biltmore.

Learn how to reverse the very real and devastating impact of stress through the SIMPLE practice of instinctive meditation that will profoundly shift your life.

Instinctive meditation means it’s natural and our bodies are wired to do it easily and efficiently. All we need to do is to set up the right conditions and our bodies will eagerly cooperate. Learn the skill set needed to meditate on your own even if you have a racing mind and little spare time.

Dropping into deep relaxation on a regular basis helps you to be calm in the face of overwhelm and urgency, can improve your health, and help you be more responsive and less reactive to challenges.

This will be a live webinar on Zoom. You can attend from anywhere that is comfortable to you. Once you register, you will get instructions on how to log in to the event. You will have the option of having your video on or off. You can also call in using a phone number. Link to zoom class:
https://mailchi.mp/9e1057b0227e/meditation-asheville-salt-cave

We’ll start with the basic principles of this approach. Then you will learn and practice some basic skills. This will be followed by a longer guided meditation where you can incorporate the basic skills. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the class.

A weekly Zoom drop-in class in instinctive meditation will run on Wednesdays from 10:00-11:00 am EST starting April 29 and running for 12 weeks.
Drop in as you can. Each class will cover a different technique.

FREE LUNCHES for anyone 18 years of age and under at the Ferguson Family YMCA. Simply drive up to our front door and let us know how many lunches you need, no questions asked.

For additional food for your family, pick up a FREE box of fresh produce at our Mobile Markets. Calendars are online at ymcawnc.org/nutritionprograms.

We are going online! Mark your calendars for every second Wednesday at 6:30PM.

The Healing Oasis Practitioner’s have special healing practices and long distance healing for you every month! We hope you can join us on Zoom (just like Skype).

Feel free to message us with any questions about this next event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2865393340212695/?event_time_id=2865393350212694