Despite the cancellation of the Flat Rock Playhouse’s 2020 season due to COVID-19, folks are being encouraged to take time to enjoy the lush gardens on the grounds of the historic campus.

With a QR code reader on any smartphone, garden visitors can tap into information about the individual plants wherever they’re standing. The codes direct the phone to webpages on a Muddy Sneakers site that the garden volunteers control.

The Master Gardners have been hard at work adding some tech to our gardens! QR codes can now be found on the 62 garden beds that make up the Playhouse gardens. Visitors can use their smartphones to learn more about the plants they are seeing. Congratulations and thank you to Tamsin Allpress and all of our gardening volunteers who work to keep our gardens beautiful! Photo by volunteer Mary Smit

https://www.dogwoodalliance.org/2020/07/woods-wilds-the-podcast-episode-one/?fbclid=IwAR1i8UtIuKNXhpfQPJbkQB4jw5XW4tWGLyXBTqpSz3hWejTTWROWIeYOAa8

For the safety and well-being of our supporters, Dogwood Alliance will not hold our annual Woods & Wilds live storytelling event this year. It’s an event we look forward to every year because it’s an opportunity to celebrate the magic of forests with our community. We still wanted to find a way to bring that same kind of magic to people wherever they are, so we teamed up with SlayTheMic to launch Woods & Wilds: The Podcast! We will be releasing an episode every other Monday.

The podcast will sometimes offer tales of the forest and other times will be an interview with our guests about their unique connection to nature – often touching on the connection between hip hop and nature.

We were overjoyed to welcome our very first guest, Dr. Thomas RaShad Easley aka RaShad Eas, also known as the Hip Hop Forester and the Assistant Dean of Community and Inclusion at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, where he helps strengthen community diversity and develops programming around workplace equity. He’s also the author of the incredible article How Hip Hop Can Bring Green Issues To Communities of Color.

Are you looking for ways to support teachers and students of
Henderson County Public Schools as they return to learn in a virtual setting? The Henderson County
Education Foundation (HCEF) is responding to the current climate and offering mini-grants ($500) to
support innovative and remote learning. This grant program will provide an opportunity for teachers to
enhance their virtual classrooms.
The community can support the grant initiative through sponsorships and/or donations. With a goal to
raise $20,000, HCEF will be able to offer at least 40 grants to Henderson County Public School teachers,
grade levels, and departments. Sponsorship levels include a Super Spring Sponsor ($3,000) that provides
at least six mini-grants for teachers or a Spring Sponsor ($1,000) that provides two mini-grants. Each
sponsorship will also include recognition benefits. General donations of any amount are always
welcome. Visit the HCEF website for a complete list of sponsorship details and how to give –
www.hcefnc.org/ourwork/springfund.
Henderson County Public School individual teachers, grade levels, teaching teams, and departments can
apply for grants up to $500. Innovative remote learning includes technology (hardware and software
applications), e-books, educational licenses or subscriptions, and manipulatives/kits for students. The
grants application is due by 11:59 PM August 19, 2020, and all recipients will be notified by August 31,
2020.

As families are looking to start the 2020/2021 school year with remote learning, Henderson County Public Schools is addressing the need of families without access to internet in their homes. Families without internet access can request hotspots from HCPS. Spanish form available.

Child Care Hotline Available to Help Families with School-Age Children Find Care Families have experienced an interruption in child care plans due to the COVID19 pandemic and North Carolina has responded with a hotline that can help connect families with child care options. Families and caregivers in need of child care for children up to age 12 can call the child care hotline at 1-888-600-1685 to be connected directly to care options in their community that meet their families’ needs. As of Aug. 10, there are about 30,000 slots available for school-age children in licensed child care programs across the state.

We invite you to join us for the fourteenth annual Come to Leicester studio tour. We are excited to celebrate this annual event. The Come to Leicester studio tour is held every year on the third weekend in August; for 2019, that is 17-18 August. Our community of artists create in a variety of mediums, including painting, iron work, wood work, textiles, pottery, jewelry, and brooms.  They welcome you to their open studios so that you can enjoy their talented work. Come to Leicester to see for yourself!

Due to these extraordinary times, the Tour will look a little different this year. For this Tour,
we have 21 artists exhibiting along 11 stops. Most of them have chosen to participate both days, as usual, but a number of them are only going to be open on Saturday. This *Saturday Only* distinction will be noted on each artist’s info page on our website at www.cometoleicester.org. In our brochures and on our map, this will be denoted by color. Purple for Saturday only, orange for both.

Our artists will be showing outdoors or in areas where they can distance themselves and provide good ventilation. We ask that you please stay home if you feel sick and remember the three “W’s,” as we will all be following the recommended NCDHHS and Buncombe County public health guidelines of “Wear, Wait, and Wash.” Wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and wash your hands. Hand sanitizer will be available at every stop, and we encourage you to bring your own mask. We want this to be the same wonderful experience as always, but we also want it to be a safe event for all our customers and artists.

The thing that hasn’t changed is that visitors will still be able to view unique, hand-crafted
work, see how it’s made first hand, and even purchase a piece that can be taken home and treasured for years to come. Leicester Tour artists are comprised of both local and visiting artists from nearby communities, and make work in a variety of medium including clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, painting, and wood.
Participating artists this year include Wesley Angel, Valerie Berlage, John Cummings, Raquel Egosi, Michael Forehand, Andy Gordon, Barbara Hebert, Cat Jarosz, Beth Hampton Jones, Matt Jones, Sandra Mason, Patrick McDermott, Nirado, Cindy Parks, Janet Renfro, Suzanne Saunders, Anita Walling, Doc Welty, Brad Worden, and Noel Yovovich.

Are you looking for ways to support teachers and students of
Henderson County Public Schools as they return to learn in a virtual setting? The Henderson County
Education Foundation (HCEF) is responding to the current climate and offering mini-grants ($500) to
support innovative and remote learning. This grant program will provide an opportunity for teachers to
enhance their virtual classrooms.
The community can support the grant initiative through sponsorships and/or donations. With a goal to
raise $20,000, HCEF will be able to offer at least 40 grants to Henderson County Public School teachers,
grade levels, and departments. Sponsorship levels include a Super Spring Sponsor ($3,000) that provides
at least six mini-grants for teachers or a Spring Sponsor ($1,000) that provides two mini-grants. Each
sponsorship will also include recognition benefits. General donations of any amount are always
welcome. Visit the HCEF website for a complete list of sponsorship details and how to give –
www.hcefnc.org/ourwork/springfund.
Henderson County Public School individual teachers, grade levels, teaching teams, and departments can
apply for grants up to $500. Innovative remote learning includes technology (hardware and software
applications), e-books, educational licenses or subscriptions, and manipulatives/kits for students. The
grants application is due by 11:59 PM August 19, 2020, and all recipients will be notified by August 31,
2020.

As families are looking to start the 2020/2021 school year with remote learning, Henderson County Public Schools is addressing the need of families without access to internet in their homes. Families without internet access can request hotspots from HCPS. Spanish form available.

Child Care Hotline Available to Help Families with School-Age Children Find Care Families have experienced an interruption in child care plans due to the COVID19 pandemic and North Carolina has responded with a hotline that can help connect families with child care options. Families and caregivers in need of child care for children up to age 12 can call the child care hotline at 1-888-600-1685 to be connected directly to care options in their community that meet their families’ needs. As of Aug. 10, there are about 30,000 slots available for school-age children in licensed child care programs across the state.

Equity underlies everything we do. We serve immigrants, low-wealth, and disadvantaged individuals of every age. We know that literacy is the primary determinant of health, employment, income levels, and constructive self-expression. In 2017, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that sixty percent of children nationwide are not reading proficiently. Without intervention children who do not read proficiently become adults with low literacy and the cycle continues. Our one-on-one and small group tutoring is free and based on students’ schedules, making it accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to afford or attend traditional classroom settings.

Our Ideal Volunteer Tutor

The ideal volunteer tutor is someone seeking to make a one-year commitment of two hours per week to help someone else make the change of a lifetime. For our volunteer tutors, an education background is helpful, but not necessary. The most important qualities are patience, an open mind, and resourcefulness. Tutors also need to be non-judgmental and sensitive to cultural differences. A GED or high school diploma is required. Ideal tutors enjoy seeing concrete outcomes from their efforts and sharing in the life-changing successes of others. See our full tutor position description here.

Voices in the Laurel is currently registering young musicians in grades 1 – 12 into one of the
three ensembles, with rehearsals starting on Monday, August 31.

Are you looking for ways to support teachers and students of
Henderson County Public Schools as they return to learn in a virtual setting? The Henderson County
Education Foundation (HCEF) is responding to the current climate and offering mini-grants ($500) to
support innovative and remote learning. This grant program will provide an opportunity for teachers to
enhance their virtual classrooms.
The community can support the grant initiative through sponsorships and/or donations. With a goal to
raise $20,000, HCEF will be able to offer at least 40 grants to Henderson County Public School teachers,
grade levels, and departments. Sponsorship levels include a Super Spring Sponsor ($3,000) that provides
at least six mini-grants for teachers or a Spring Sponsor ($1,000) that provides two mini-grants. Each
sponsorship will also include recognition benefits. General donations of any amount are always
welcome. Visit the HCEF website for a complete list of sponsorship details and how to give –
www.hcefnc.org/ourwork/springfund.
Henderson County Public School individual teachers, grade levels, teaching teams, and departments can
apply for grants up to $500. Innovative remote learning includes technology (hardware and software
applications), e-books, educational licenses or subscriptions, and manipulatives/kits for students. The
grants application is due by 11:59 PM August 19, 2020, and all recipients will be notified by August 31,
2020.

As families are looking to start the 2020/2021 school year with remote learning, Henderson County Public Schools is addressing the need of families without access to internet in their homes. Families without internet access can request hotspots from HCPS. Spanish form available.

Child Care Hotline Available to Help Families with School-Age Children Find Care Families have experienced an interruption in child care plans due to the COVID19 pandemic and North Carolina has responded with a hotline that can help connect families with child care options. Families and caregivers in need of child care for children up to age 12 can call the child care hotline at 1-888-600-1685 to be connected directly to care options in their community that meet their families’ needs. As of Aug. 10, there are about 30,000 slots available for school-age children in licensed child care programs across the state.

Equity underlies everything we do. We serve immigrants, low-wealth, and disadvantaged individuals of every age. We know that literacy is the primary determinant of health, employment, income levels, and constructive self-expression. In 2017, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that sixty percent of children nationwide are not reading proficiently. Without intervention children who do not read proficiently become adults with low literacy and the cycle continues. Our one-on-one and small group tutoring is free and based on students’ schedules, making it accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to afford or attend traditional classroom settings.

Our Ideal Volunteer Tutor

The ideal volunteer tutor is someone seeking to make a one-year commitment of two hours per week to help someone else make the change of a lifetime. For our volunteer tutors, an education background is helpful, but not necessary. The most important qualities are patience, an open mind, and resourcefulness. Tutors also need to be non-judgmental and sensitive to cultural differences. A GED or high school diploma is required. Ideal tutors enjoy seeing concrete outcomes from their efforts and sharing in the life-changing successes of others. See our full tutor position description here.

Voices in the Laurel is currently registering young musicians in grades 1 – 12 into one of the
three ensembles, with rehearsals starting on Monday, August 31.

As families are looking to start the 2020/2021 school year with remote learning, Henderson County Public Schools is addressing the need of families without access to internet in their homes. Families without internet access can request hotspots from HCPS. Spanish form available.

Child Care Hotline Available to Help Families with School-Age Children Find Care Families have experienced an interruption in child care plans due to the COVID19 pandemic and North Carolina has responded with a hotline that can help connect families with child care options. Families and caregivers in need of child care for children up to age 12 can call the child care hotline at 1-888-600-1685 to be connected directly to care options in their community that meet their families’ needs. As of Aug. 10, there are about 30,000 slots available for school-age children in licensed child care programs across the state.

Equity underlies everything we do. We serve immigrants, low-wealth, and disadvantaged individuals of every age. We know that literacy is the primary determinant of health, employment, income levels, and constructive self-expression. In 2017, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that sixty percent of children nationwide are not reading proficiently. Without intervention children who do not read proficiently become adults with low literacy and the cycle continues. Our one-on-one and small group tutoring is free and based on students’ schedules, making it accessible to those who would otherwise be unable to afford or attend traditional classroom settings.

Our Ideal Volunteer Tutor

The ideal volunteer tutor is someone seeking to make a one-year commitment of two hours per week to help someone else make the change of a lifetime. For our volunteer tutors, an education background is helpful, but not necessary. The most important qualities are patience, an open mind, and resourcefulness. Tutors also need to be non-judgmental and sensitive to cultural differences. A GED or high school diploma is required. Ideal tutors enjoy seeing concrete outcomes from their efforts and sharing in the life-changing successes of others. See our full tutor position description here.

Voices in the Laurel is currently registering young musicians in grades 1 – 12 into one of the
three ensembles, with rehearsals starting on Monday, August 31.