FEBRUARY 2023

KINDNESS IN ACTION

Fun fact - in January we received over 12,000 phone calls from people needing help with everything from past-due rents to gasoline to help get to medical appointments. It is challenging for our relatively small staff to respond to this volume of requests in a timely way. We’re expecting this trend to continue, especially as another source of support for people living in and at the edge of poverty – food assistance benefits shrink.

Since March of 2020, families enrolled in Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) have gotten extra benefits each month due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. These emergency allotments are ending this February. FNS households have gotten at least $95 extra per month through emergency allotments.

For the folks we help, that additional $95 can be critical for them to have the food they need while maintaining the other aspects of their life – housing, heating, utilities, even medications. According to NC Health and Human Services, the average benefit per person per day will decrease from $8.12 to $5.45.To learn more about these cuts, take a look at this piece from WLOS.

To learn how you can help us provide food for local children and their families continue reading...

Did you know that 1 in 6 kids in Western North Carolina face hunger? We’re working to collect food for students at the 2023 Southern Conference March Madness between March 2-6, 2023 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville! We’ll be collecting easy to prepare, healthy foods in concert with these area hotels: Holiday Inn Asheville- Biltmore West, Doubletree Asheville Downtown, Hilton Garden Inn Asheville Downtown, Doubletree Biltmore, Crowne Plaza Asheville, Hotel Indigo Downtown, Renaissance Asheville Downtown Hotel and Hilton Biltmore Park.

All of the food that we collect will go to support students in Buncombe County and Asheville City Schools who will be without free and reduced breakfast and lunch over spring break. Let’s help kids in our community – please bring an item to one of these hotel lobbies, or visit us in the Ingles Fan Zone with your shelf stable food (canned soup, macaroni and cheese, cereal, boxed milk, peanut butter crackers, snack & granola bars, instant oatmeal, applesauce, etc.). You can also make a financial donation to support this work here or purchase a $5 Ingles Community Giving Food Bag at any local Ingles Market during the month of March.

The Eblen Charities annual Prom Dress Express is back! Saturday, March 25 from 10-4 and Wednesday, March 29 from Noon-4:30. New and gently used dresses, shoes, and accessories will be available for free to anyone planning to attend a prom, military ball or other formal event. We’ll be entering every shopper into a drawing for fun giveaways like a makeover, dinner out, a manicure and more! Clean, gently used formal clothing and accessories are accepted at to our office at 50 Westgate Parkway, Asheville.

Are you a golfer? Does the idea of playing on one of the top courses in the country while supporting the work that Eblen Charities does for our community sound like a great idea? The 2023 Brad Johnson/Wicked Weed Celebrity Golf Tournament will be held on Tuesday, June 13 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. Sponsorships at various levels are available and limited. Please contact Kathy Soule at [email protected].

Thank you!

Each month the Eblen staff gathers for a lunch meeting to reconnect and grow as a team to better serve the people of Buncombe County. Beginning in January, local restaurants have begun to donate this meal. We would like to thank Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack on Patton Avenue and All Day Darling on Montford for providing our delicious lunch in January and February. If you would like to provide lunch for our staff, please contact Beth at [email protected].

DID YOU KNOW? We are hiring an Intake Caseworker! To apply, visit our website to see the position and then send a resume and cover letter to [email protected].

You can help us serve our neighbors.

Your donation can go a long way at Eblen Charities! Your help is appreciated! We hope you will consider one of these ways to offer support from making a gift, offering your time and skills as a volunteer, or having your company sponsor one of our events.

The Faces of Eblen

Cindy Estes has been volunteering at Eblen since 2008 and knew founder, Joe Eblen all her life. She began answering phones but soon found her niche in the old Bon Marche warehouse. She and her team of volunteers keep everything organized and ready for the next Eblen event. Cindy loves the St Nicholas Christmas project but says the Coat Giveaway is her favorite. She loves sorting and sizing the coats and especially seeing the clients come in and pick them out often times in tears over their appreciation for a free coat.

When Cindy is not keeping things straight at Eblen, she loves to bowl, work puzzles and word games and is a devout TarHeel basketball fan. She is thankful for the opportunity to volunteer at Eblen and Eblen is grateful for her and as she says "her picky ways" that keep our warehouse tidy and neat. Thank you, Cindy, for your many years of commitment and service to Eblen and the people we serve.

View the 2022 Annual Impact Report

KINDNESS IN ACTION

Thank you!

You can help us serve our neighbors.﻿

The Faces of Eblen

You can help us serve our neighbors.