Donor Turnout Hits Historic Low

The Blood Connection extends collection hours in response to urgent need

The Blood Connection, the community blood center, is seeing historically low blood donor turnout and has extended its center hours in response to this urgent need. According to the latest TBC data, local hospitals have consumed twice as much blood as the community has donated. If this trend continues, it could cause a blood rationing event or blood shortage for hospitals in this community. Donation centers are now open earlier and later to accommodate more blood donors.

Donor Turnout Hits Historic Low

The Blood Connection extends collection hours in response to urgent need

The Blood Connection, the community blood center, is seeing historically low blood donor turnout and has extended its center hours in response to this urgent need. According to the latest TBC data, local hospitals have consumed twice as much blood as the community has donated. If this trend continues, it could cause a blood rationing event or blood shortage for hospitals in this community. Donation centers are now open earlier and later to accommodate more blood donors.

Convenient hourly childcare. No babysitter needed.

Our trained Empowerment Childcare staff are here to take care of children so busy moms and dads can take care of errands, doctor’s appointments, meetings – or take care of themselves with an afternoon or night out!

Pay-by-the-Hour Childcare

• Short-term care for children ages 6 weeks – 6 years
• Ask about availability for older children
• Up to 4 hours per visit
• All fees help support providing free or reduced-cost childcare for women and families in transition, working towards stability and economic security. Learn more about YWCA’s Empowerment Childcare.

Hours

• Monday – Friday: 8 am – 8 pm
  • Session 1: 8 am-Noon
  • Session 2: 1 pm-5 pm
  • Session 3: 4 pm – 8 pm

Make a Reservation

• Call: (828) 254-7206 x113
• Email:  [email protected]

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

With the convenience of being open year-round, 7 days a week, the WNC Farmers Market offers a selection of farm-fresh produce at the lowest prices in Western N.C. Our popular retail buildings, providing a selection of non-perishables, fruits, vegetables, crafts and more, are open daily.

Make a Free Appointment Today

Appointments can be made online at www.pisgahlegal.org/aca or by calling (828) 210-3404. For the safety of consumers, staff and volunteers, all appointments are currently being conducted by phone. Depending on where you live in WNC, some of Pisgah Legal’s ACA Partners may be offering in-person appointments.

Last year, more than 90 percent of North Carolinians who enrolled for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace (www.healthcare.gov) received financial assistance to make their plans more affordable. Subsidies are based on household taxable income and may be difficult for consumers to calculate themselves. Pisgah Legal can help with this process and can factor in unemployment benefits if needed. Pisgah Legal can also answer questions about other coverage, such as COBRA, and help people apply for Medicaid and CHIP.

Pisgah Legal and other Enrollment Partners of WNC participating organizations give local residents free, unbiased health insurance information and enrollment assistance in the NC Health Insurance Marketplace. These organizations include: Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Blue Ridge Community Health Services, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Mountain Projects, Inc., Western Carolina Medical Society, and Pisgah Legal Services.

The ACA – also known as “Obamacare” – is the law that ensures access to quality, affordable health insurance on the Health Insurance Marketplace. With these plans, consumers are protected and:

• Can’t be denied coverage for a pre-existing health condition and can’t be dropped for getting sick;
• Insurers can’t charge higher premiums to women; and
• Insurers can’t sell substandard plans that don’t pay for essential health care benefits.

Asheville Art in Action is a curated collection of local artists who donate 50% of their sales to local nonprofits. From April 11 through April 25th, they will split proceeds 50/50 between the artist and Pisgah Legal.

Below are the artworks available for sale. If there is a piece that you would like to purchase, please contact the artist directly to find out if the piece is still available and to purchase the piece. Each piece has the artist’s name, dimension and description. Click on the artist’s name under each individual artwork to send an email or from their their contact information listed above their artworks.

RiverLink is partnering with the City of Asheville and local volunteers to protect water quality through an Adopt-A-Storm Drain Program. Pollution from stormwater runoff is the biggest threat to clean water in our urban streams. Stormwater is rain that flows across the landscape—rather than soaking into the ground—where it picks up pollutants before flowing into a storm drain and emptying into the nearest stream.

With funding from the Pigeon River Fund, a grant administered by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, this pilot program will pair volunteers with a storm drain in the Central Asheville Watershed.

The goal is to get 100 storm drains adopted in 2021. Volunteers will be awarded with fun prizes for their commitment and enthusiasm, and  if successful, the Adopt A Storm Drain program will expand to include other areas in the City of Asheville.

How does it work?

Select a storm drain in a convenient location of the Central Asheville Watershed. It could be in front of your home, business, or where you exercise regularly. By adopting a storm drain, you commit to checking the drain in between rain events and keeping it clear of litter and debris. All it takes are gloves and a trash bag. Then with a smartphone or computer, you can report debris cleaned/cleared, and conditions such as illegal dumping or flooding. In a matter of minutes, you help protect water quality and prevent street flooding from clogged drains!

Income-qualifying households in Buncombe County are eligible for free energy-saving weatherization upgrades to their homes through the Energy Saver’s Network (ESN). The ESN sends volunteers to local homes to install many types of upgrades depending on the needs of the home. The work can take anywhere between one and three hours, and includes:

• weather stripping
• air register and duct sealant
• water pipe insulation
• low-flow water fixtures
• light bulb replacement
• custom interior storm windows
• repairing minor air leaks
• smoke alarm installation, and more.

In 2019, the ESN completed 200 projects, clocked 1,879 volunteer hours, and installed upgrades to homes resulting in 2,341 less tons of CO2 and over 108,000 total kWh savings per year for all of its clients. ESN’s goal is to provide upgrades to 200 homes per year.

ESN is a nonprofit organization founded on a dual mission: to help people and combat climate change. The organization envisions a sustainable future where communities are free from the worst impacts of fossil fuel history. If you want to know if you qualify, are looking to volunteer, or want more information, you can visit energysaversnetwork.org, send them a message on their Facebook/Instagram page, or call Hannah Egan at 828-585-4492.

The Energy Saver’s Network is made up from a partnership with Asheville’s Green Built Alliance, Sierra Club, Buncombe County Government, and the City of Asheville. This also includes partner organizations that help find people to serve or for volunteers, like the Blue Horizon Project, Mountain Housing Opportunities, and Eblen Charities. Make a phone call today to see if you quality for free upgrades to your home.

People have a new opportunity to enroll in health insurance for 2021 on HealthCare.gov, but only for a limited time. This new COVID-19 Special Enrollment period starts on February 15, 2021 and ends on May 15, 2021. Pisgah Legal Services (PLS), and its enrollment partners of WNC, are once again offering free assistance helping people in the 18-county mountain region review their options and sign up for ACA health insurance.

With job losses continuing to mount amid the COVID-19 resurgence, and millions of people having lost their job-based health insurance since the start of this public health and economic crisis, the Biden Administration has opened up HealthCare.gov to give people who need health insurance a new opportunity to get covered, but they must act quickly. For free help locally, with trained assisters, make an appointment at pisgahlegal.org/aca or call (828) 210-3404.

“More than 535,000 North Carolinians enrolled in a health insurance plan during the last Open Enrollment period,” said Shannon Cornelius, Pisgah Legal’s Health Justice Program Director. “This is a new chance for people to sign up, and anyone who needs health insurance should visit HealthCare.gov today, or contact Pisgah Legal Services if you need assistance. Don’t delay.”

Health insurance is more affordable than many people think. In North Carolina, 83 percent of current marketplace consumers had plans available for 2021 that cost less than $50 per month, after financial help. Nine out of 10 marketplace enrollees in North Carolina received financial help that lowered their monthly health insurance premiums last year. In addition, 57 percent of enrollees also qualified for lower out-of-pocket costs for health care services.

“With this new Special Enrollment Period, both new and existing marketplace consumers can shop for marketplace pans, compare options, costs and even make changes. It opens up the ability to get health insurance outside of Open Enrollment. Our certified application counselors can help answer questions and get you enrolled in the plan that works best for you and your family,” said Cornelius.

Consumers enrolling in a plan on HealthCare.gov are guaranteed to receive comprehensive coverage, with no pre-existing condition exclusions or markups. All plans cover essential benefits, including doctor and hospital visits, prescription drugs, mental health treatment, and maternity care. In addition, consumers receive free preventive care services, such as immunizations and health screenings. Testing and treatment of COVID-19 are considered essential health benefits and are covered by all HealthCare.gov plans.

Consumers should avoid insurance plans offered outside of HealthCare.gov that seem too good to be true. “Junk insurance” products and short-term limited duration plans pose huge financial risks to consumers. These products can refuse to pay for care for pre-existing conditions, charge consumers more based on their gender, and impose annual coverage limits.

“HealthCare.gov is the only website where North Carolina consumers are guaranteed to get comprehensive coverage,” said Cornelius.

Make a Free Appointment Today

The health insurance landscape can be confusing, but free, local help is available. Appointments can be made online at www.pisgahlegal.org/aca or by calling (828) 210-3404. For the safety of consumers, staff and volunteers, all Pisgah Legal Services appointments are currently being conducted by phone, some community partners may offer in person assistance.

Pack Youth Services introduces Take & Play, a pilot program that offers everyone the opportunity to borrow games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets from the Youth Services department at Pack Library. Take & Play items check out for three weeks, and you need to pick them up and drop them off at Pack Library. Games, ukuleles, and disc golf sets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and you check them out with your library card just like a book. Call 250-4720 for details, or drop by the library anytime we’re open.

All our library hours are listed here.

The Enveloping Landscape: A Contemplative Photographic Journey is a visual celebration of the transformative power of place-based education. In this first-ever collaboration between the Arboretum’s Exhibits and Adult Education programs, images from award-winning documentary photographer Susan Patrice join those of 22 student photographers in a breathtaking exhibit that explores the ways that we are indelibly shaped by place. Through their images, these photographers reveal not only the rich biodiversity of Southern Appalachia, but a renewed sense of kinship with their local landscapes found through photography.

What began as a documentary photography project launched by Patrice in 2016 became a collaborative Arboretum workshop led by the artist in early 2020. The project invited photographers of all levels to return each season to focus their gaze on what called to them in the landscape — deepening a contemplative practice of seeing, knowing and caring for a place. When everything abruptly changed in March of last year, this photographic community wasted no time in moving online. What seemed like an unnatural distance imposed by technology became a path into both familiar and uncharted places. This exhibition chronicles these photographers’ year-long journey, inviting viewers to step into an intimate world where the landscape is alive, waiting to be met, understood and entered.

The Enveloping Landscape: A Contemplative Photographic Journey is on display daily January 16 – May 2, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Face coverings are required for visitors ages 5 years and older.

Exhibit support for The Enveloping Landscape: A Contemplative Photographic Journey is provided in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society; Asheville Citizen-Times; RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide; Smoky Mountain Living Magazine; The Laurel of Asheville; and Henco North Creative Imaging.

Image: Susan Patrice, Enveloping Landscape #1, archival pigment print, 45 x 45 inches, © Susan Patrice

Buncombe county residents can bring their old wireless devices to any UScellular location to recycle responsibly and some of those devices could be worth up to $500. Area residents do not have to be a UScellular customer to take advantage of this opportunity. In addition, regardless of the phones age or value, we can ensure the phones and their parts will be recycled in a way that does not impact our local environment here in Western North Carolina.

While recycling or trading in old devices is one way to be green, there are other ways to reduce,
reuse, and recycle with the help of your smartphone. For Earth Day, and any day, UScellular
offers tips to help take care of the environment.
 Have fun (and get rewarded) by going greener.
o Recyclebank.com provides actionable tips and advice. Plus, users get rewarded with
points to get discounts at local businesses and exclusive deals on sustainable goods.
o The fun JouleBug app also provides valuable information about how to make changes to
your everyday habits at home, work, and play to be more environmentally friendly. You
can compete with friends in eco-challenges and even join local community and national
challenges virtually in 2021.
 Recycle more easily. RecycleNation is a location-based app that provides users directions
to local recycling centers, hours of operation, as well as a list of materials accepted for
recycling. The app also allows users to track their recycling progress and quantify their effect
on the environment.
 Share your treasures. The Freecycle app allows people to give away their unwanted but
reusable stuff to people in their local community. Users post items to give away or make
requests for items on this convenient app. Keep in mind COVID-19 guidelines for no contact
porch pick-up or other contactless transfers.
 Shop local: Want to be able to find locally grown and fresh foods year-round? Look for
apps such as Farmer’s Market U.S. that locates farmer’s markets closest to you and
provides listings for products sold and hours of operation. Or try the SimplyLocal-Farmers
Market app that helps locate produce, local beef and poultry farms that sell directly to
consumers in the Asheville area.

It’s the 10th anniversary of the Mountain Science Expo at The North Carolina Arboretum, and this year the Expo is once again going virtual! Celebrate the occasion with our Youth Education team and science partners across our community on Thursday, April 22, and Friday, April 23, as we present this special two-day summit of interactive programs and activities for students and their families.

Attendance is FREE and pre-registration is required. Simply create a login for the event, then add individual sessions to create your own custom itinerary.

Included with admission

Our fun-for-all-ages botanical model train displays invite you to experience our grounds in an engaging new way. Located in the Conservatory in the Walled Garden, the displays feature replicas of structures connected with Biltmore and its founder George Vanderbilt. Each beautifully executed piece was handcrafted from such natural elements as leaves, bark, and twigs.

In compliance with state and local mandates related to COVID-19, all guests must enter the Conservatory via the ADA entrance in the back and follow a one-way route.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

April is National Poetry Month and we invite all poets, would be poets and poetry fans to celebrate with Buncombe County Public Libraries.  We’ll be hosting the following free events at libraries all over the county.  For more information on any of these programs, contact your friendly neighborhood library.

Black Out Poetry Kits Available at the Library
All Month Long
Every Library

Come to any library and pick up a free kit to create a black out poetry masterpiece. Black out poetry doesn’t start with a blank page, it starts with a page of words taken from an old book. Poets will eliminate words to create a poem composed of the words left on the page. Visit any branch of Buncombe County Public Libraries in April to pick up your very own black out poetry kit featuring markers, inspiration and pages of print to begin your creation. When you’re finished, photograph your creation and upload it to facebook or instagram. Tag your library’s account and we’ll feature it as a post! You can also drop your poem by the library and we’ll post it for you. Kits are available while supplies last.

We are OPEN Fridays and Saturdays
for private, pre-booked tours at:
10:30 AM
12:00 PM
1:30 PM
3:00 PM

Brunch B’Yahad is now available through Zoom meeting here.   

Join new and old friends for light brunch, socialization and lively discussion.  Featured guest speakers, and relevant cultural and timely topics will fill our minds.

“Take a Woolworth Walk on the Wild Side” – Participating local
artists will donate a percentage of sales of art depicting native wildlife in
a variety of mediums.

Woolworth Walk and participating local artists join to support
Appalachian Wild’s mission to help save injured and orphaned wildlife.
Appalachian Wild provides care for approximately 2,000 animals
annually.

Featuring more than 40 paintings and works on paper, Beauford Delaney’s Metamorphosis into Freedom examines the career evolution of modern painter Beauford Delaney (Knoxville, TN 1901–1979 Paris, France) within the context of his 38-year friendship with writer James Baldwin. The works in this exhibition bring into special focus Delaney’s intensified experiments with abstraction sparked by the artist’s 1955 move to the Paris suburb of Clamart, as well as the ways that the artist and Baldwin’s ongoing intellectual exchange shaped one another’s creative output and worldview from their first meeting in 1940 until Delaney’s death in 1979. This exhibition also calls attention to Baldwin’s role as “witness” to the painter’s evolution, which he deemed “one of the most extraordinary personal and artistic journeys of our time.”