As families deal with competing demands, organizations that use volunteers have learned that flexibility is key. By smoothing the process of participation, groups such as the YMCA of Western North Carolina, the Junior League of Asheville and Girl Scouts Carolina Peaks to Piedmont are attracting kids to the habit of giving back.
Charitable organizations, food pantries and community gardens are working hard to combat hunger in WNC. And at the heart of those efforts, are hundreds of committed volunteers.
A revitalized volunteer push is underway to rescue Western North Carolina’s oldest known African-American cemetery from the ravages of neglect and obscurity. The effort includes a new website that features an interactive map of the cemetery and a digital guide to each of its graves.
Local producer Ben Gradison is traveling through Africa, helping to build studios, deliver equipment, and train youth and adults to create and record music. Follow his work (and listen to the music he’s recording with African groups) on his blog. Photo from the Likoni and Arusha Studio Projects blog.
