Still going strong: Christmas Jam celebrates 25 years of benefit concerts with two-night blowout

Reflecting on his 25 years of annual Christmas Jam benefit concerts, Warren Haynes says there’s been “too many highlights to list.” The event’s grown from a small concert at the now-defunct 45 Cherry nightclub into one of the city’s biggest entertainment events, held this year on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14, at the U.S. Cellular Center. With proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity, the shows are meant to celebrate Asheville’s philanthropic and artistic values, says Haynes.

Jingle Bell Trolley Train Run rides rails Saturdays in Asheville

The Craggy Mountain Line Railroad —a nonprofit dedicated to preserving a historic 3-mile section of railroad on the Craggy Mountain Line in Buncombe County — will present the second installment of this season’s holiday-themed run on Saturday. Launched on Nov. 30, the holiday event runs every Saturday up until Christmas — Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21, and train rides will be offered once per hour from 4-8 p.m.

Feeling the crunch: Mountain BizWorks tackles funding crisis

Struggling to address an increased demand for services amid a funding crunch, Mountain BizWorks is conducting “an intensive review of our programs and finances,” board Chair Eileen McMinn reports. Most of the organization’s existing training programs will be phased out by the middle of next year. The downsized local nonprofit will focus its remaining resources on lending.

Homeless, nonprofits­, APD vie over downtown policing

At a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 18, city of Asheville staff and police officers met with homeless activists and local nonprofit representatives to discuss a new law enforcement approach that focuses on more arrests in the city’s downtown. Responses varied, ranging from concerns about the impacts of a failing system to criticisms of the Asheville Police Department’s new strategy.

Making a path for mental health: Local psychother­apist starts national nonprofit

As a private psychotherapist, Paul Fugelsang understands the struggle between saying “yes” to middle-class clients who can’t afford his services and “no” to people in need. To meet those challenges, Fugelsang recently launched a national nonprofit, the Open Path Psychotherapy Collective. Its mission is to make it easier for people to find the counseling they need at a price they can afford, and to reward and encourage counselors to say “yes” to a group Fugelsang says is “falling through the cracks.”  (Photo of Paul Fugelsang by Max Cooper)