Grab your colleagues, your friends, even your family, and celebrate workplace wellness in this fun 5k. You might walk every step or sprint to the finish – either way we know you’re up to the challenge! Register by April 2 for early registration rates, and by April 16 to get your race shirt. Join us for free trainings starting March 21st Hosted by the YMCA of Western North Carolina Tuesdays starting March 21st • 5:30-6:30 p.m. Meet in the Asheville Chamber parking lot top level (36 Montford Ave.) • Open to everyone: share this info with co-workers or another business and encourage them to join a training. • All fitness levels welcome: from first-time 5k walkers to active runners who want to improve.

The Chamber Challenge is designed to promote community wellness through friendly competition between businesses in the Asheville area. Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to participate. Whether you walk every step or sprint to the finish, we know you’re up to the challenge!

Register for the 2023 Chamber Challenge

Register by April 16th for your free race shirt. After April 16th, limited quantities of shirts may be available for $10.

Registration fee:

$35 – Early Registration until April 2rd

$40 – April 3-30

$45 – Late Registration May 1-5

The City of Asheville is seeking feedback from businesses and residents on how we can curb the use of single-use plastics, particularly plastic bags and styrofoam foodware containers, in our community.

This short survey should take less than ten minutes to complete and will ask residents and businesses to share their experiences with these products, what actions they would like to see the City take and what kind of support would be necessary to reduce the consumption of these single-use plastic products.

The survey will remain open through April 30 and results will inform City Staff’s recommendation on next steps to City Council in October, 2023. Staff will also share results and any additional engagement opportunities with the community on the project page.

Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteers will be staffing the Helpline as indicated in the schedule below. You may send an email or leave a voicemail at any time and an Extension Master Gardener volunteer will respond during Garden Helpline hours. When emailing, please include a photo if it helps describe your garden question. Soil test kits can be picked up at the Extension office, 24/7. The kits are located in a box outside the front door.

Three ways to contact the Garden Helpline

Call 828-255-5522
Email questions and photos to [email protected]
Visit the Extension Office at 49 Mt. Carmel Road during Helpline hours, listed below.

Garden Helpline Hours

March – (starts March 6)
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

April through September:
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Wednesday 12:00 Noon – 2:00 p.m.
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

October – (ends October 26th) 
Monday 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon
Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

We are here to help and support you! Please contact us. We look forward to answering your gardening questions.

The popular on-demand film streaming service Kanopy is now available for free with a Buncombe County Library card.  Films can be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device, or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, or Roku.

With the motto of “thoughtful entertainment,” Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie films, classics, and world cinema. Explore a world of movies with no wait, no fines, and no borrowing limits.

“Streaming video—and the Kanopy service in particular—is something our patrons have been asking for,” adds Library Director Jason Hyatt. “We’re excited to provide this service as part of our ever-growing digital library.”

To access Kanopy, visit the library website, or download the app to your phone, TV, or digital device. If you have any questions, contact your local library.

If you’re behind on your water bill or afraid your water might get cut off, a new resource might be able to help you. On Jan. 4, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved more than $450,000 in federal funding for the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). The initiative is aimed at preventing water disconnections and helping reconnect drinking and wastewater services.

The LIHWAP will be administered by Buncombe County-based Eblen Charities. The nonprofit will make payments directly to utilities on behalf of qualifying households. The program is slated to run through Sept. 30, 2023 or until funds are exhausted.

Eligibility requirements

Households that currently receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Work First services, or those that received Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) services from Oct. 1, 2020-Sept. 30, 2021, are automatically eligible to receive this benefit if their water services have been cut off or are in danger of being cut off.

For additional eligibility information or to apply, please contact Eblen Charities at (828) 255-3066.

Want help to do a little some spring cleaning in your neighborhood?   From April 15-29, 2023, the City of Asheville, North Carolina Department of Transportation, and Asheville GreenWorks are holding the Spring Litter Sweep.   To honor these mountains we call home, we’re encouraging residents to gather family, friends, and neighbors for a litter cleanup of their neighborhoods during these dates.   Volunteers can borrow cleanup supplies from GreenWorks, including safety vests, gloves, trash grabbers, bags, and SHARPs containers. Full bags will be collected by the City of Asheville and NCDOT. Register to let us know where we can find them!   Supplies will be available for pickup beginning April 11, 2023 from Asheville GreenWorks at 2 Sulphur Springs Road, Asheville, NC 28806.   Volunteers can also reserve supplies from NCDOT, 11 Old Charlotte Hwy, Asheville, NC 28803, by calling 828-250-3250.

We build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

Welcome to our online volunteer calendar!

Whether sorting donations in the ReStore, hammering on the construction site, or assisting families with critical home repair, we hope you’ll find the volunteer opportunity that is right for you!

• Our construction sites are open! Sign-up to build with us with just your email and first name. No password is required. If you need additional assistance please email Stephanie Wallace.
• Looking to schedule a team build day? We welcome corporate and faith groups year-round. To inquire about sponsorship opportunities please email Zoe Trout.
• Looking for ReStore opportunities? Please email Carrie Burgin.

• Building together for 40 years
  Homes

  Safe, stable housing is linked to improved health, better educational outcomes, financial stability, and much more. See data below.

  Hope

  With thousands already served, those seeking stable housing can see what safe, decent housing has done for others and what it can do for them.

  Communities

  Communities are built when neighbors connect. Through our homebuyer education program, neighbors get to know each other long before move-in day.

  Since incorporating on February 11, 1983, thousands of local adults and children have benefitted from AAHH’s affordable Homeownership and Home Repair Programs. Each home build and home repair project has been an exercise in partnership. Volunteers, donors, advocates, homeowners, and ReStore supporters – folks of various religions, ethnicities, socio-economic classes, and political beliefs – unite around a shared vision and build homes, communities, and hope.

  We are grateful to all who have been part of the journey thus far. And we invite new partners to our work. There is still much work to be done, and it will take all of us

Buncombe County currently contracts its curbside trash pickup service with Waste Pro for non-municipal county residents. The contract is set to expire on December 31, 2024. The Board of Commissioners, Solid Waste, and County administration are currently looking for input from residents to help guide the decision to either extend the contract for two years, renegotiate with new or different services, or look for bids from other companies. Please take just a couple of minutes to answer a few questions to provide your input.

Take the survey here.

If you’ll remember last year, we had our Let’s Talk Trash survey. The goal of that survey was to determine whether or not Buncombe County should utilize convenience sites apart from the Transfer Station for more options for trash disposal services for residents. While that survey did take in a lot of input concerning Waste Pro, Buncombe County wanted to dedicate this outreach solely to the Waste Pro contract. The Board of Commissioners is set to decide on the contract with the help of the input from this survey in June 2023.

Stay tuned to buncombecounty.org and Engage Buncombe for more opportunities to provide input and to stay engaged with Buncombe County services.

Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) recently renovated fitness centers at Linwood Crump Shiloh and Stephens-Lee community centers – and community members can enjoy use of cardio equipment, exercise machines, free weights, open gym time, and more through June 30, 2023. During this time, APR will waive membership and daily pass fees so more people can access the necessities for a regular fitness routine. Locals can sign up online or at either community center to receive a fitness center key fob that can be scanned at either location.

“Our team is committed to creating spaces in which everyone feels welcome,” according to D. Tyrell McGirt, APR Director. “We are in the community building business. The gyms and fitness rooms at these two locations are filled with everything you’d expect from other top-notch fitness facilities and dedicated to body positivity and accessible wellness. By waiving the cost to use them for the first six months of the year, we hope more friends and neighbors will be able to connect with each other and maintain healthy lifestyles.”

Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) recently renovated fitness centers at Linwood Crump Shiloh and Stephens-Lee community centers – and community members can enjoy use of cardio equipment, exercise machines, free weights, open gym time, and more through June 30, 2023. During this time, APR will waive membership and daily pass fees so more people can access the necessities for a regular fitness routine. Locals can sign up online or at either community center to receive a fitness center key fob that can be scanned at either location.

“Our team is committed to creating spaces in which everyone feels welcome,” according to D. Tyrell McGirt, APR Director. “We are in the community building business. The gyms and fitness rooms at these two locations are filled with everything you’d expect from other top-notch fitness facilities and dedicated to body positivity and accessible wellness. By waiving the cost to use them for the first six months of the year, we hope more friends and neighbors will be able to connect with each other and maintain healthy lifestyles.”

Grab your colleagues, your friends, even your family, and celebrate workplace wellness in this fun 5k. You might walk every step or sprint to the finish – either way we know you’re up to the challenge! Register by April 2 for early registration rates, and by April 16 to get your race shirt. Join us for free trainings starting March 21st Hosted by the YMCA of Western North Carolina Tuesdays starting March 21st • 5:30-6:30 p.m. Meet in the Asheville Chamber parking lot top level (36 Montford Ave.) • Open to everyone: share this info with co-workers or another business and encourage them to join a training. • All fitness levels welcome: from first-time 5k walkers to active runners who want to improve.

The Chamber Challenge is designed to promote community wellness through friendly competition between businesses in the Asheville area. Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to participate. Whether you walk every step or sprint to the finish, we know you’re up to the challenge!

Register for the 2023 Chamber Challenge

Register by April 16th for your free race shirt. After April 16th, limited quantities of shirts may be available for $10.

Registration fee:

$35 – Early Registration until April 2rd

$40 – April 3-30

$45 – Late Registration May 1-5