From NCDHHS

If you are a renter in North Carolina facing eviction due to COVID-19 economic impacts, there may be resources available to you.

Rental and Utility Assistance

If you were unable to pay your rent and/or utilities due to COVID-19 or its economic impacts, you may qualify for assistance. Call NC 2-1-1 to learn of resources in your community for emergency needs, including rental and utility assistance.

What:  Local musicians, singers, callers, and technicians have given us joy as they shared their love of music and dance with us.  We now ask our community to return that joy as they struggle financially during this difficult time by donating to our “Spread the Joy” fundraiser.

Who:  All donations will be paid directly and equally to local talent.  Your contributions will support local callers, musicians, and technicians who participated, a minimum of 4 times, either in the past year (March 2019 – March 2020) or were scheduled in the near future (March – June 2020) for OFB events and who indicated a financial need to the OFB Board.

When:  The OFB will distribute donations on a regular basis while dances continue to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so please give early and often. Consider donating the price you would have paid for admission to the dances for you, maybe several friends, and remembering that the dances were cancelled back in early March.

How:  Click the link below to donate via Paypal and please add the note: “Spread the Joy fundraiser”. Donate conveniently via your credit card, debit card or your Paypal account.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PYS3WHNV76CWA&source=url

The State Board of Elections and N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles now offer certain online voter registration services for existing DMV customers

If you are a DMV customer with a N.C. driver’s license or DMV-issued ID, you may now register to vote or change certain parts of your registration online. 

Using this service existing DMV customers may register to vote, update their voter registration address, or update their party affiliation. They may not change their name.

This is a standalone service that does not require the user to complete a DMV transaction (such as duplicate or license renewal) at the same time.

There is no fee for voter registration services.

Voter registration applications submitted fewer than 25 days before an election will not be processed until after the election. You may still register to vote in person using same-day registration in your county during the early voting period.

We need your help to raise $20,000 to fully fund our Preservation Grant program for 2021.  Donate to this program before the end of August and have your gift matched by our Board of Directors up to $5850!  Over the last two years, this program has succeeded in expanding our reach in our underserved communities, but there is so much more to do.  With events like the Time Traveling Gala canceled and the impact of COVID-19 on giving, your support is more important than ever.  Now is your chance to double your impact and help us continue this work!

Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. The Legacy of Congressman Lewis and Voting Rights

http://participate.lwv.org/c/10065/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13972&utm_source=ActionAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=080620

On the 55th Anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act, we take this opportunity to think of the work of giants and those before us who have created the foundation on which we stand. As we commemorate this historic day for voting rights, we look back at the legacy of Congressman John Lewis, and his tireless fight and advocacy for voting rights and justice for Black people across the country. 

Congressman Lewis presided over the historic House vote in December 2019 for the Voting Rights Advancement Act. To fully honor his legacy would mean to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act in the Senate and restore protections for voters in a critical election year.

 The protections outlined in the Voting Rights Advancement Act will: 

• Re-establish preclearance coverage for states and localities with a history and pattern of discrimination in voting
• Provide preclearance nationwide for states and localities with substantial minority populations to enact voting changes that have historically contributed to voter suppression, such as changes in methods of election and cuts in polling locations
• Create greater transparency and public notice for last-minute voting information changes, such as polling location changes and ballot information

This form has been a signature piece in Sarah’s body of work for years. The award winning Dancing Pitcher celebrates gracefulness, soft lines, and movement. The process making this unique form is inspiring and challenging.

This workshop is designed to push our limits as potters and push the limits of clay. We will cover many techniques. The goal is to stretch our thinking when making and designing pots. Creating designs where the flow of line and space are key. The making of this sectional graceful pot is perfect for discussion about design and training our eye to see.

We will cover:

1. Throwing w/excellence
2. Throwing in Sections
3. Throwing with larger volumes of clay
4. Darting
5. Fluid Handles
6. Pulling a large handle off the pot
7. How to glaze this 24″ tall form and not ruin it
8. Art that functions and why it matters

I will have several Pitchers in the different stages so we can all see this pot made to completion in the set 2 hours.

Hang on to you potters stool because you are in for a beautiful ride!

The video workshop is available for 30 days after purchase.

“As we continue to press into Hope, we continue to hear from supporters, and the message is loud and clear – they also feel the Hope connected to our mission, and want to keep supporting us.” Discovering new ways to sustain The Village Potters Clay Center during this season is the primary job now for the resident potters at TVPCC. As Sarah continues to apply for loans and grants, other potters are choosing hope each day by taking the torch from her to carry on the mission with a second “chapter” of Vessels of Hope.

The Village Potters are Sarah Wells Rolland, George Rolland, Judi Harwood, Lori Theriault, Julia Mann, Christine Henry, and Tori Motyl. They comprise an intentional Collective of potters who share a commitment to nurture creative exploration through education, experience, and community. The Village Potters includes a fine craft gallery, a Teaching Center offering ongoing classes in wheel and hand building for adults, an Advanced Ceramic Studies Program, and online demonstration and workshops. The Village Potters Clay Center is an educational member of The Craft Guild of the Southern Highlands, and is an official distributor for Laguna Clays.

MANNA’s mission is to involve, educate, and unite people in the work of ending hunger, and an important part of this mission is advocating for those living in and experiencing the effects of poverty. As a non-partisan organization, dedicated to sharing information about the issues affecting the people we serve together, MANNA does not endorse political parties or candidates. We simply ask people to work with our elected officials to make legislation that works for us all, and makes our region, our state, and our country stronger from the ground up. If you are interested in receiving advocacy-related emails from MANNA FoodBank, please follow link. By clicking here, you are signing up to receive information from MANNA about ways you can use your voice, and actions you can take, to help work towards our vision of a hunger-free Western North Carolina.

The “SAY THEIR NAMES” display at The Oak Street Gallery lists the names of more than 60 Black Americans killed by police officers and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Music.

It brings us all together. 

Today, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the bipartisan Save Our Stages Act. We need you to contact your elected representatives through SaveOurStages.com asking them to support this bill.

The Save Our Stages Act provides Small Business Administration grants for independent venues, promoters, and festivals affected by COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. These grants offer at least six months of financial support to keep us afloat, pay employees, and preserve a critical economic sector and our ecosystem for communities across America.

Through SaveOurStages.com, more than 1 million emails have been sent letting all 538 members of Congress know that constituents want to keep independent venues, promoters, and festivals alive.

Please help us and continue to push. 

Call, Email, Write, Shout!  

Help us to get the Save Our Stages and RESTART Acts passed.

PLEASE CLICK BELOW NOW 

to contact your legislators and help #SaveOurStages

www.SaveOurStages.com

This link will automatically populate with your Senators and Congressional Representative based on your zipcode.

Thank you so very much for your continued support!

FIND INFO AT:  https://www.lwv.org/blog/100-days-and-100-ways-get-ready-election-day?utm_source=MonthlyHighlights&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=July2020

Calling all families! If you visit the Museum with children and/or participate in the Museum’s family programs (or might in the future!), we want to hear from you. As we transition family programs to virtual or small-group in-person formats, we need your feedback to create a model that will work for you this fall. We’re giving away a FREE guest pass to one of the first 50 people to fill out the survey.

Find locations around Buncombe County working hard to feed our community.

FOR STUDENTS: text FOODNC to 877-877 to locate nearby free meal sites. The texting service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877.

View meal sites by geographical area, day of the week, and/or service type offered.

Compassion Camp is a four day event for adults and children where we create a community of people who learn, play and celebrate together, empowered to then send each other back into the world to spread these seeds of justice and love. Our time together is designed to foster community among the growing number of people in Western North Carolina and beyond who are passionate about living and promoting compassionate consciousness. Located at Earthaven Ecovillage, it is an opportunity to have fun, enjoy ourselves, learn together, and connect deeply in a beautiful natural setting.

Compassion Camp is inspired by the life and work of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, the creator of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). We believe that the theory and practice of NVC is a life-changing tool for cultivating compassion in our hearts, communities, and the world. In addition to NVC, other topics may include: social justice, ecology, circling, restorative circles, healthy relationships, feminism, families and children, eco-sexuality, community, economics, and authentic movement.

https://masks.com/pages/the-great-american-mask-drive-by-masks-com?fbclid=IwAR0AR-vhz0_JXmFMEKFZS-3sNE1PldWPahS7LK-uPP4QtvyIXAvJzuEvOB8

Buncombe County Public Libraries have free wifi hotspots available outside any library building. To use the wifi, look for the LibraryGuest network and use the password readmore. The wifi is available all day every day, whether the library is open or not. Please observe all Buncombe County social distancing and gathering requirements while using the wifi. Questions? Call (828) 250-4700 or email [email protected].