Calendar of Events
Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.
Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Eliada works hard to make the holidays a special time for the children in our care. You can help bring a smile to their face by fulfilling their holiday wishes!Sponsor a Child:When you sign up to sponsor a child for the holidays, you’ll receive a Wish List that a young person created. Wish Lists include their favorite things, clothing sizes, and most needed and wanted items. The value of a Wish List is around $150. You can divide that cost with friends, or even sponsor several children.For most of Eliada’s children and youth, the gifts they receive from sponsors are the only gifts they will get during the holiday season.To sign up to sponsor, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at [email protected].Sponsor Multiple Children:We also have Wish Lists which include items that children will need here at Eliada depending on what program they are in.Cottage wish lists for youth living at Eliada, for example, include toiletries, bedding and towels, books, games, art supplies, suitcases and kitchen utensils. Many children come to Eliada with a few clothes in a garbage bag. Together we can provide them things that every home should have!Other wish lists are for our Child Development programs, Foster Care program, Farm program, Summer Camp program, and Recreation programs. Our Equine Therapy program also has some needs this holiday season! We never know when we’ll get a call for a child in Foster Care who needs a home immediately. Let’s help Foster Parents provide these children everything they deserve!Sponsor a last minute wish:Some youth living at Eliada won’t arrive until right before the holidays! We won’t receive their wish lists until mid-late November. Can you sign up to help one of these teens at the last minute?If you don’t have time to shop, Eliada will use your donation to purchase gifts for children who may arrive at Eliada very close to Christmas or right after Christmas. It shouldn’t matter when you arrive at Eliada–your wishes should be fulfilled! You can make a donation here. In the comment field, write “holiday wishes.”To sign up to sponsor multiple children or a teen at the last minute, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at rboline@eliada.org or by phone at (828) 254-5356, ext. 306.

| The fall season is a time when many of us gather with our friends, families and loved ones for a variety of holidays and seasonal festivities. Often, these celebrations center around food, making it out of reach for so many people struggling to afford groceries, especially this year, with rising food costs making even a holiday turkey a distant luxury. Right now, MANNA and our partner network are still serving 68% more people than before the pandemic – many who are needing a hand for the first time. |
Now more than ever, MANNA FoodBank is dedicated to filling as many holiday tables as possible, and you can help us give thousands of households the gift of a holiday, of one less struggle, and a helping of hope. Please join our Virtual Turkey Drive – where we can stretch your donation further to get turkeys, hams, and holiday foods of all kinds for our neighbors across 16 western North Carolina counties. Together, we can make the holidays happen for the people who live and work right here at home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. |

Expanding its commitment to saving lives in local communities and beyond, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now giving blood donors the chance to lower CO2 emissions, create jobs in Africa, and empower women, all while donating blood with their community blood center. In October, TBC will partner with Forestmatic to plant one tree in Northeastern Uganda for every blood donor. TBC is asking for the community’s help to reach the goal of planting 20,000 trees, as part of a national goal in conjunction with other blood centers to plant 160,000 trees total. Twenty-two other blood centers are taking part in this campaign.
The trees included in this initiative will be planted in the Kijani Forest in the northeast region of Uganda by local farmers: 60% of whom are women, which will help create jobs and income for Ugandans. In addition, these trees will provide local communities with long-term access to resources like fuelwood, fruit, and timber, while also preventing soil erosion, increasing water retention, and improving soil fertility in Ugandan communities. For just one year of work, it is projected that participating farmers will see a $3,500 increase in their household income over ten years: a 400% increase compared to existing employment. In addition, it’s estimated that 23,000 trees offsets around 1455.9 tonnes of CO2e.
The attached press release contains more details about the initiative and how donors can see their planted trees. A video demonstration can be found by going to thebloodconnection.org/treeoflife.
Did you know that monthly donations sustain the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse? Recurring, monthly donations ensure immediate support while sowing seeds for the future. Today, you can make an even greater impact through the Leiman Matching Gift Opportunity! Thanks to generous supporters, David & Sharon Leiman, your gift will be matched at $1.80 for every $1.00 contributed. To qualify, simply sign up for a monthly donation of $18.00 or more through the end of 2022. Today is your last chance to qualify for four months of support!
The donation amount of $18.00 truly gives life and vitality to the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse. In Judaism, it is common to give and receive gifts in multiples of $18 or “Chai”, which signifies a good omen for life. As we near the end of our first full season in two years, we’ll hope you’ll join us in giving life to the theater!
Food Makes a House a Home
Every October, Asheville-area REALTORS® join together on a month-long campaign to help feed thousands of families that face hunger everyday across Western North Carolina. With each house closing in October, a participating REALTOR® will make a $100 donation to MANNA FoodBank in honor of their client, in lieu of a traditional closing gift, providing 400 meals to our WNC Community. Participation in this campaign elevates the REALTOR® within industry by demonstrating the appreciation for their client in a way that has a tangible impact in their community. Realty firms may match their REALTORS® donation, stretching the impact of the gift even further. Every dollar raised in this campaign helps provide food for 4 meals to our WNC community.

Eliada works hard to make the holidays a special time for the children in our care. You can help bring a smile to their face by fulfilling their holiday wishes!Sponsor a Child:When you sign up to sponsor a child for the holidays, you’ll receive a Wish List that a young person created. Wish Lists include their favorite things, clothing sizes, and most needed and wanted items. The value of a Wish List is around $150. You can divide that cost with friends, or even sponsor several children.For most of Eliada’s children and youth, the gifts they receive from sponsors are the only gifts they will get during the holiday season.To sign up to sponsor, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at [email protected].Sponsor Multiple Children:We also have Wish Lists which include items that children will need here at Eliada depending on what program they are in.Cottage wish lists for youth living at Eliada, for example, include toiletries, bedding and towels, books, games, art supplies, suitcases and kitchen utensils. Many children come to Eliada with a few clothes in a garbage bag. Together we can provide them things that every home should have!Other wish lists are for our Child Development programs, Foster Care program, Farm program, Summer Camp program, and Recreation programs. Our Equine Therapy program also has some needs this holiday season! We never know when we’ll get a call for a child in Foster Care who needs a home immediately. Let’s help Foster Parents provide these children everything they deserve!Sponsor a last minute wish:Some youth living at Eliada won’t arrive until right before the holidays! We won’t receive their wish lists until mid-late November. Can you sign up to help one of these teens at the last minute?If you don’t have time to shop, Eliada will use your donation to purchase gifts for children who may arrive at Eliada very close to Christmas or right after Christmas. It shouldn’t matter when you arrive at Eliada–your wishes should be fulfilled! You can make a donation here. In the comment field, write “holiday wishes.”To sign up to sponsor multiple children or a teen at the last minute, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at rboline@eliada.org or by phone at (828) 254-5356, ext. 306.

| The fall season is a time when many of us gather with our friends, families and loved ones for a variety of holidays and seasonal festivities. Often, these celebrations center around food, making it out of reach for so many people struggling to afford groceries, especially this year, with rising food costs making even a holiday turkey a distant luxury. Right now, MANNA and our partner network are still serving 68% more people than before the pandemic – many who are needing a hand for the first time. |
Now more than ever, MANNA FoodBank is dedicated to filling as many holiday tables as possible, and you can help us give thousands of households the gift of a holiday, of one less struggle, and a helping of hope. Please join our Virtual Turkey Drive – where we can stretch your donation further to get turkeys, hams, and holiday foods of all kinds for our neighbors across 16 western North Carolina counties. Together, we can make the holidays happen for the people who live and work right here at home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. |

Expanding its commitment to saving lives in local communities and beyond, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now giving blood donors the chance to lower CO2 emissions, create jobs in Africa, and empower women, all while donating blood with their community blood center. In October, TBC will partner with Forestmatic to plant one tree in Northeastern Uganda for every blood donor. TBC is asking for the community’s help to reach the goal of planting 20,000 trees, as part of a national goal in conjunction with other blood centers to plant 160,000 trees total. Twenty-two other blood centers are taking part in this campaign.
The trees included in this initiative will be planted in the Kijani Forest in the northeast region of Uganda by local farmers: 60% of whom are women, which will help create jobs and income for Ugandans. In addition, these trees will provide local communities with long-term access to resources like fuelwood, fruit, and timber, while also preventing soil erosion, increasing water retention, and improving soil fertility in Ugandan communities. For just one year of work, it is projected that participating farmers will see a $3,500 increase in their household income over ten years: a 400% increase compared to existing employment. In addition, it’s estimated that 23,000 trees offsets around 1455.9 tonnes of CO2e.
The attached press release contains more details about the initiative and how donors can see their planted trees. A video demonstration can be found by going to thebloodconnection.org/treeoflife.
Sixty years ago, a doctor from Greenville, South Carolina saw a need: a need for a community blood center that supported the people who lived, worked, and sought care in the Upstate of South Carolina. Sixty years later, his vision for that community blood center is the bedrock of The Blood Connection (TBC) – a non-profit community blood center serving hospitals across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. While many things have changed in the past sixty years, TBC’s dedication to its hospital partners and to saving local lives has not.
Despite the current difficulty to collect blood and blood products, The Blood Connection remains steadfast in continuing its mission for the next sixty years to come. Without volunteer blood donors and community blood centers like TBC, shelves will be empty when neighbors, family, or friends are in need. Neighbors like Kristen Odom, a mother from Taylors, South Carolina, who received more than twenty units of blood after the birth of her first daughter. It is because of community blood donors that blood products were available that day, and she has a full life with her husband and two daughters.
“I often think about it in the little things like we celebrate her birthday, it’s a pretty day outside, or we’re at the beach,” said Odom. “This day I get to enjoy because somebody donated blood. I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude…it just still shocks me to this day…here we are, living a completely normal life…because blood was available and they did what they needed to do right away.”
It is estimated roughly 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3% does. While the demand for blood products is constantly increasing, unfortunately, the number of volunteer blood donors is decreasing. As the core donor base gets older, and the younger generation is not donating blood at the same rate, TBC is noticing emptier blood mobiles, and fewer people signing up to donate blood.
“We all play a part in supporting the community’s blood supply,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection. “We hope people think about what their part will be, whether that is donating blood for the first time, donating blood more often, or hosting a blood drive. We all have a responsibility to our community to ensure that blood products are available when our friends, family, and neighbors need it most.”
Founded in 1962, The Blood Connection spent the first 16 years of its existence under another name: The Greenville Blood Assurance program. In 2001, the Board of Trustees adopted the name ‘The Blood Connection’ – designed to better reflect the mission of connecting healthy donors to patients in need. With just a handful of hospital partners when the organization was created in the 1960s, TBC now serves more than 100 hospitals and has expanded from the Upstate of South Carolina to three other states.
The world around us looks vastly different now than it did in 1962, but one thing remains the same: blood still cannot be replicated or made in a lab. Blood must be donated and is a true gift to those who need blood products to maintain their quality of life.
The Blood Connection is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary by thanking the donors who make its mission possible. All blood donors between October 31 and November 6 will receive a commemorative ‘60th Anniversary’ pin. To find a center or mobile location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate.
Did you know that monthly donations sustain the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse? Recurring, monthly donations ensure immediate support while sowing seeds for the future. Today, you can make an even greater impact through the Leiman Matching Gift Opportunity! Thanks to generous supporters, David & Sharon Leiman, your gift will be matched at $1.80 for every $1.00 contributed. To qualify, simply sign up for a monthly donation of $18.00 or more through the end of 2022. Today is your last chance to qualify for four months of support!
The donation amount of $18.00 truly gives life and vitality to the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse. In Judaism, it is common to give and receive gifts in multiples of $18 or “Chai”, which signifies a good omen for life. As we near the end of our first full season in two years, we’ll hope you’ll join us in giving life to the theater!
Food Makes a House a Home
Every October, Asheville-area REALTORS® join together on a month-long campaign to help feed thousands of families that face hunger everyday across Western North Carolina. With each house closing in October, a participating REALTOR® will make a $100 donation to MANNA FoodBank in honor of their client, in lieu of a traditional closing gift, providing 400 meals to our WNC Community. Participation in this campaign elevates the REALTOR® within industry by demonstrating the appreciation for their client in a way that has a tangible impact in their community. Realty firms may match their REALTORS® donation, stretching the impact of the gift even further. Every dollar raised in this campaign helps provide food for 4 meals to our WNC community.

Eliada works hard to make the holidays a special time for the children in our care. You can help bring a smile to their face by fulfilling their holiday wishes!Sponsor a Child:When you sign up to sponsor a child for the holidays, you’ll receive a Wish List that a young person created. Wish Lists include their favorite things, clothing sizes, and most needed and wanted items. The value of a Wish List is around $150. You can divide that cost with friends, or even sponsor several children.For most of Eliada’s children and youth, the gifts they receive from sponsors are the only gifts they will get during the holiday season.To sign up to sponsor, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at [email protected].Sponsor Multiple Children:We also have Wish Lists which include items that children will need here at Eliada depending on what program they are in.Cottage wish lists for youth living at Eliada, for example, include toiletries, bedding and towels, books, games, art supplies, suitcases and kitchen utensils. Many children come to Eliada with a few clothes in a garbage bag. Together we can provide them things that every home should have!Other wish lists are for our Child Development programs, Foster Care program, Farm program, Summer Camp program, and Recreation programs. Our Equine Therapy program also has some needs this holiday season! We never know when we’ll get a call for a child in Foster Care who needs a home immediately. Let’s help Foster Parents provide these children everything they deserve!Sponsor a last minute wish:Some youth living at Eliada won’t arrive until right before the holidays! We won’t receive their wish lists until mid-late November. Can you sign up to help one of these teens at the last minute?If you don’t have time to shop, Eliada will use your donation to purchase gifts for children who may arrive at Eliada very close to Christmas or right after Christmas. It shouldn’t matter when you arrive at Eliada–your wishes should be fulfilled! You can make a donation here. In the comment field, write “holiday wishes.”To sign up to sponsor multiple children or a teen at the last minute, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at rboline@eliada.org or by phone at (828) 254-5356, ext. 306.

| The fall season is a time when many of us gather with our friends, families and loved ones for a variety of holidays and seasonal festivities. Often, these celebrations center around food, making it out of reach for so many people struggling to afford groceries, especially this year, with rising food costs making even a holiday turkey a distant luxury. Right now, MANNA and our partner network are still serving 68% more people than before the pandemic – many who are needing a hand for the first time. |
Now more than ever, MANNA FoodBank is dedicated to filling as many holiday tables as possible, and you can help us give thousands of households the gift of a holiday, of one less struggle, and a helping of hope. Please join our Virtual Turkey Drive – where we can stretch your donation further to get turkeys, hams, and holiday foods of all kinds for our neighbors across 16 western North Carolina counties. Together, we can make the holidays happen for the people who live and work right here at home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. |
MSC is an empirically-supported 9-session program that helps participants develop and deepen the skills of self-compassion. Activities include meditation, talks, discussion, and experiential exercises. This class will be held rain or shine outdoors in a beautiful setting over nine Saturdays, 9/17-11/19, skipping 10/15.
We will meet from 10:30AM-2PM with a 30-minute break for lunch midway through each session. Each class participant will receive a copy of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook.
Register at mindfulselfcompassionasheville.com by 8/30 for early-bird pricing.

Expanding its commitment to saving lives in local communities and beyond, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now giving blood donors the chance to lower CO2 emissions, create jobs in Africa, and empower women, all while donating blood with their community blood center. In October, TBC will partner with Forestmatic to plant one tree in Northeastern Uganda for every blood donor. TBC is asking for the community’s help to reach the goal of planting 20,000 trees, as part of a national goal in conjunction with other blood centers to plant 160,000 trees total. Twenty-two other blood centers are taking part in this campaign.
The trees included in this initiative will be planted in the Kijani Forest in the northeast region of Uganda by local farmers: 60% of whom are women, which will help create jobs and income for Ugandans. In addition, these trees will provide local communities with long-term access to resources like fuelwood, fruit, and timber, while also preventing soil erosion, increasing water retention, and improving soil fertility in Ugandan communities. For just one year of work, it is projected that participating farmers will see a $3,500 increase in their household income over ten years: a 400% increase compared to existing employment. In addition, it’s estimated that 23,000 trees offsets around 1455.9 tonnes of CO2e.
The attached press release contains more details about the initiative and how donors can see their planted trees. A video demonstration can be found by going to thebloodconnection.org/treeoflife.
Sixty years ago, a doctor from Greenville, South Carolina saw a need: a need for a community blood center that supported the people who lived, worked, and sought care in the Upstate of South Carolina. Sixty years later, his vision for that community blood center is the bedrock of The Blood Connection (TBC) – a non-profit community blood center serving hospitals across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. While many things have changed in the past sixty years, TBC’s dedication to its hospital partners and to saving local lives has not.
Despite the current difficulty to collect blood and blood products, The Blood Connection remains steadfast in continuing its mission for the next sixty years to come. Without volunteer blood donors and community blood centers like TBC, shelves will be empty when neighbors, family, or friends are in need. Neighbors like Kristen Odom, a mother from Taylors, South Carolina, who received more than twenty units of blood after the birth of her first daughter. It is because of community blood donors that blood products were available that day, and she has a full life with her husband and two daughters.
“I often think about it in the little things like we celebrate her birthday, it’s a pretty day outside, or we’re at the beach,” said Odom. “This day I get to enjoy because somebody donated blood. I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude…it just still shocks me to this day…here we are, living a completely normal life…because blood was available and they did what they needed to do right away.”
It is estimated roughly 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3% does. While the demand for blood products is constantly increasing, unfortunately, the number of volunteer blood donors is decreasing. As the core donor base gets older, and the younger generation is not donating blood at the same rate, TBC is noticing emptier blood mobiles, and fewer people signing up to donate blood.
“We all play a part in supporting the community’s blood supply,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection. “We hope people think about what their part will be, whether that is donating blood for the first time, donating blood more often, or hosting a blood drive. We all have a responsibility to our community to ensure that blood products are available when our friends, family, and neighbors need it most.”
Founded in 1962, The Blood Connection spent the first 16 years of its existence under another name: The Greenville Blood Assurance program. In 2001, the Board of Trustees adopted the name ‘The Blood Connection’ – designed to better reflect the mission of connecting healthy donors to patients in need. With just a handful of hospital partners when the organization was created in the 1960s, TBC now serves more than 100 hospitals and has expanded from the Upstate of South Carolina to three other states.
The world around us looks vastly different now than it did in 1962, but one thing remains the same: blood still cannot be replicated or made in a lab. Blood must be donated and is a true gift to those who need blood products to maintain their quality of life.
The Blood Connection is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary by thanking the donors who make its mission possible. All blood donors between October 31 and November 6 will receive a commemorative ‘60th Anniversary’ pin. To find a center or mobile location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate.
Here at Mission Health, we are committed to improving more lives in more ways. We are partnering with local law enforcement agencies on Saturday, October 29, to host Crush the Crisis, a prescription drug take-back event.
HCA Healthcare is committed to bringing frontline solutions to curb the tide of opioid misuse and addiction in the communities that we proud to serve. On Saturday, anyone in the community can safely and anonymously drop off unused and expired medication for proper disposal. HCA Healthcares Crush the Crisis events across the country will align with National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, sponsored by The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
During last year’s event, Mission Heath collected 110 pounds of unused and expired
medication as part of Crush the Crisis.
Here are our participating collection sites:
Mission Hospital
1 Hospital Drive. Asheville, NC 28801
Across from the main campus on the north side
10 am – 2 pm EST
Angel Medical Center, front entrance of Angel Medical Center at 124 One Center Court
in Franklin
10 a.m. – noon
Blue Ridge Regional Hospital, 78 Broad Street in Spruce Pine, near the campus of Blue
Ridge Regional Hospital
10 a.m. – noon
Highlands-Cashiers Hospital, front entrance of Highlands-Cashiers Hospital at 190
Hospital Drive in Highlands
10 a.m. – noon
Mission Hospital McDowell, 500 Rankin Drive in Marion, at the rear of the Mission
Hospital McDowell campus
10 a.m. – noon
Transylvania Regional Hospital, front entrance of Transylvania Regional Hospital at
260 Hospital Drive in Brevard
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Come out in a family friendly costume with your well behaved dog (costumes highly encouraged) and help raise funds for Eblen Charities work! All dogs will receive a treat, and all humans will be entered into raffles for prizes. All funds raised go to our work to keep people housed, with working utilities and other essential needs. Register by October 7th to be guaranteed a tshirt.
Did you know that monthly donations sustain the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse? Recurring, monthly donations ensure immediate support while sowing seeds for the future. Today, you can make an even greater impact through the Leiman Matching Gift Opportunity! Thanks to generous supporters, David & Sharon Leiman, your gift will be matched at $1.80 for every $1.00 contributed. To qualify, simply sign up for a monthly donation of $18.00 or more through the end of 2022. Today is your last chance to qualify for four months of support!
The donation amount of $18.00 truly gives life and vitality to the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse. In Judaism, it is common to give and receive gifts in multiples of $18 or “Chai”, which signifies a good omen for life. As we near the end of our first full season in two years, we’ll hope you’ll join us in giving life to the theater!

What makes a place idyllic?
Start with an emerald river that flows from ancient mountains. Add an abundance of living creatures that co-evolved over millennia. Bring in humans who honor their place in the interconnected web. And rebuild a vital stream that supports us all.
Your support and engagement helps ensure the health of this watershed for the ages! We can’t do it without you.
Food Makes a House a Home
Every October, Asheville-area REALTORS® join together on a month-long campaign to help feed thousands of families that face hunger everyday across Western North Carolina. With each house closing in October, a participating REALTOR® will make a $100 donation to MANNA FoodBank in honor of their client, in lieu of a traditional closing gift, providing 400 meals to our WNC Community. Participation in this campaign elevates the REALTOR® within industry by demonstrating the appreciation for their client in a way that has a tangible impact in their community. Realty firms may match their REALTORS® donation, stretching the impact of the gift even further. Every dollar raised in this campaign helps provide food for 4 meals to our WNC community.

Eliada works hard to make the holidays a special time for the children in our care. You can help bring a smile to their face by fulfilling their holiday wishes!Sponsor a Child:When you sign up to sponsor a child for the holidays, you’ll receive a Wish List that a young person created. Wish Lists include their favorite things, clothing sizes, and most needed and wanted items. The value of a Wish List is around $150. You can divide that cost with friends, or even sponsor several children.For most of Eliada’s children and youth, the gifts they receive from sponsors are the only gifts they will get during the holiday season.To sign up to sponsor, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at [email protected].Sponsor Multiple Children:We also have Wish Lists which include items that children will need here at Eliada depending on what program they are in.Cottage wish lists for youth living at Eliada, for example, include toiletries, bedding and towels, books, games, art supplies, suitcases and kitchen utensils. Many children come to Eliada with a few clothes in a garbage bag. Together we can provide them things that every home should have!Other wish lists are for our Child Development programs, Foster Care program, Farm program, Summer Camp program, and Recreation programs. Our Equine Therapy program also has some needs this holiday season! We never know when we’ll get a call for a child in Foster Care who needs a home immediately. Let’s help Foster Parents provide these children everything they deserve!Sponsor a last minute wish:Some youth living at Eliada won’t arrive until right before the holidays! We won’t receive their wish lists until mid-late November. Can you sign up to help one of these teens at the last minute?If you don’t have time to shop, Eliada will use your donation to purchase gifts for children who may arrive at Eliada very close to Christmas or right after Christmas. It shouldn’t matter when you arrive at Eliada–your wishes should be fulfilled! You can make a donation here. In the comment field, write “holiday wishes.”To sign up to sponsor multiple children or a teen at the last minute, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at rboline@eliada.org or by phone at (828) 254-5356, ext. 306.

| The fall season is a time when many of us gather with our friends, families and loved ones for a variety of holidays and seasonal festivities. Often, these celebrations center around food, making it out of reach for so many people struggling to afford groceries, especially this year, with rising food costs making even a holiday turkey a distant luxury. Right now, MANNA and our partner network are still serving 68% more people than before the pandemic – many who are needing a hand for the first time. |
Now more than ever, MANNA FoodBank is dedicated to filling as many holiday tables as possible, and you can help us give thousands of households the gift of a holiday, of one less struggle, and a helping of hope. Please join our Virtual Turkey Drive – where we can stretch your donation further to get turkeys, hams, and holiday foods of all kinds for our neighbors across 16 western North Carolina counties. Together, we can make the holidays happen for the people who live and work right here at home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. |

Expanding its commitment to saving lives in local communities and beyond, The Blood Connection (TBC) is now giving blood donors the chance to lower CO2 emissions, create jobs in Africa, and empower women, all while donating blood with their community blood center. In October, TBC will partner with Forestmatic to plant one tree in Northeastern Uganda for every blood donor. TBC is asking for the community’s help to reach the goal of planting 20,000 trees, as part of a national goal in conjunction with other blood centers to plant 160,000 trees total. Twenty-two other blood centers are taking part in this campaign.
The trees included in this initiative will be planted in the Kijani Forest in the northeast region of Uganda by local farmers: 60% of whom are women, which will help create jobs and income for Ugandans. In addition, these trees will provide local communities with long-term access to resources like fuelwood, fruit, and timber, while also preventing soil erosion, increasing water retention, and improving soil fertility in Ugandan communities. For just one year of work, it is projected that participating farmers will see a $3,500 increase in their household income over ten years: a 400% increase compared to existing employment. In addition, it’s estimated that 23,000 trees offsets around 1455.9 tonnes of CO2e.
The attached press release contains more details about the initiative and how donors can see their planted trees. A video demonstration can be found by going to thebloodconnection.org/treeoflife.
Sixty years ago, a doctor from Greenville, South Carolina saw a need: a need for a community blood center that supported the people who lived, worked, and sought care in the Upstate of South Carolina. Sixty years later, his vision for that community blood center is the bedrock of The Blood Connection (TBC) – a non-profit community blood center serving hospitals across the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia. While many things have changed in the past sixty years, TBC’s dedication to its hospital partners and to saving local lives has not.
Despite the current difficulty to collect blood and blood products, The Blood Connection remains steadfast in continuing its mission for the next sixty years to come. Without volunteer blood donors and community blood centers like TBC, shelves will be empty when neighbors, family, or friends are in need. Neighbors like Kristen Odom, a mother from Taylors, South Carolina, who received more than twenty units of blood after the birth of her first daughter. It is because of community blood donors that blood products were available that day, and she has a full life with her husband and two daughters.
“I often think about it in the little things like we celebrate her birthday, it’s a pretty day outside, or we’re at the beach,” said Odom. “This day I get to enjoy because somebody donated blood. I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude…it just still shocks me to this day…here we are, living a completely normal life…because blood was available and they did what they needed to do right away.”
It is estimated roughly 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood, but only 3% does. While the demand for blood products is constantly increasing, unfortunately, the number of volunteer blood donors is decreasing. As the core donor base gets older, and the younger generation is not donating blood at the same rate, TBC is noticing emptier blood mobiles, and fewer people signing up to donate blood.
“We all play a part in supporting the community’s blood supply,” said Delisa English, President and CEO of The Blood Connection. “We hope people think about what their part will be, whether that is donating blood for the first time, donating blood more often, or hosting a blood drive. We all have a responsibility to our community to ensure that blood products are available when our friends, family, and neighbors need it most.”
Founded in 1962, The Blood Connection spent the first 16 years of its existence under another name: The Greenville Blood Assurance program. In 2001, the Board of Trustees adopted the name ‘The Blood Connection’ – designed to better reflect the mission of connecting healthy donors to patients in need. With just a handful of hospital partners when the organization was created in the 1960s, TBC now serves more than 100 hospitals and has expanded from the Upstate of South Carolina to three other states.
The world around us looks vastly different now than it did in 1962, but one thing remains the same: blood still cannot be replicated or made in a lab. Blood must be donated and is a true gift to those who need blood products to maintain their quality of life.
The Blood Connection is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary by thanking the donors who make its mission possible. All blood donors between October 31 and November 6 will receive a commemorative ‘60th Anniversary’ pin. To find a center or mobile location to donate, go to thebloodconnection.org/donate.
Take a 90-plus minute walk along Historic Main Street to learn about Hendersonville’s history and architecture and hear fascinating stories of the past. Be charmed and informed by Hendersonville’s history, architecture, and colorful stories. Learn how the town got its name, who donated the land, bordellos, the oldest block of buildings, amazing fires, trolley lines … and more. All walks begin at 10am and begin at Hendersonville City Hall, front steps (corner of 5th Ave. East and King Street).
Did you know that monthly donations sustain the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse? Recurring, monthly donations ensure immediate support while sowing seeds for the future. Today, you can make an even greater impact through the Leiman Matching Gift Opportunity! Thanks to generous supporters, David & Sharon Leiman, your gift will be matched at $1.80 for every $1.00 contributed. To qualify, simply sign up for a monthly donation of $18.00 or more through the end of 2022. Today is your last chance to qualify for four months of support!
The donation amount of $18.00 truly gives life and vitality to the arts at Flat Rock Playhouse. In Judaism, it is common to give and receive gifts in multiples of $18 or “Chai”, which signifies a good omen for life. As we near the end of our first full season in two years, we’ll hope you’ll join us in giving life to the theater!
Food Makes a House a Home
Every October, Asheville-area REALTORS® join together on a month-long campaign to help feed thousands of families that face hunger everyday across Western North Carolina. With each house closing in October, a participating REALTOR® will make a $100 donation to MANNA FoodBank in honor of their client, in lieu of a traditional closing gift, providing 400 meals to our WNC Community. Participation in this campaign elevates the REALTOR® within industry by demonstrating the appreciation for their client in a way that has a tangible impact in their community. Realty firms may match their REALTORS® donation, stretching the impact of the gift even further. Every dollar raised in this campaign helps provide food for 4 meals to our WNC community.

Eliada works hard to make the holidays a special time for the children in our care. You can help bring a smile to their face by fulfilling their holiday wishes!Sponsor a Child:When you sign up to sponsor a child for the holidays, you’ll receive a Wish List that a young person created. Wish Lists include their favorite things, clothing sizes, and most needed and wanted items. The value of a Wish List is around $150. You can divide that cost with friends, or even sponsor several children.For most of Eliada’s children and youth, the gifts they receive from sponsors are the only gifts they will get during the holiday season.To sign up to sponsor, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at [email protected].Sponsor Multiple Children:We also have Wish Lists which include items that children will need here at Eliada depending on what program they are in.Cottage wish lists for youth living at Eliada, for example, include toiletries, bedding and towels, books, games, art supplies, suitcases and kitchen utensils. Many children come to Eliada with a few clothes in a garbage bag. Together we can provide them things that every home should have!Other wish lists are for our Child Development programs, Foster Care program, Farm program, Summer Camp program, and Recreation programs. Our Equine Therapy program also has some needs this holiday season! We never know when we’ll get a call for a child in Foster Care who needs a home immediately. Let’s help Foster Parents provide these children everything they deserve!Sponsor a last minute wish:Some youth living at Eliada won’t arrive until right before the holidays! We won’t receive their wish lists until mid-late November. Can you sign up to help one of these teens at the last minute?If you don’t have time to shop, Eliada will use your donation to purchase gifts for children who may arrive at Eliada very close to Christmas or right after Christmas. It shouldn’t matter when you arrive at Eliada–your wishes should be fulfilled! You can make a donation here. In the comment field, write “holiday wishes.”To sign up to sponsor multiple children or a teen at the last minute, please contact Rebecca Boline by email at rboline@eliada.org or by phone at (828) 254-5356, ext. 306.

| The fall season is a time when many of us gather with our friends, families and loved ones for a variety of holidays and seasonal festivities. Often, these celebrations center around food, making it out of reach for so many people struggling to afford groceries, especially this year, with rising food costs making even a holiday turkey a distant luxury. Right now, MANNA and our partner network are still serving 68% more people than before the pandemic – many who are needing a hand for the first time. |
Now more than ever, MANNA FoodBank is dedicated to filling as many holiday tables as possible, and you can help us give thousands of households the gift of a holiday, of one less struggle, and a helping of hope. Please join our Virtual Turkey Drive – where we can stretch your donation further to get turkeys, hams, and holiday foods of all kinds for our neighbors across 16 western North Carolina counties. Together, we can make the holidays happen for the people who live and work right here at home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. |



