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VOLUNTEERS
JOIN FORCES TO REVITALIZE SWANNANOA
Swannanoa, NC – Some 400 volunteers will participate this
August in Swannanoa Pride Day, a community-wide effort to clean up,
improve, and revitalize Swannanoa. The
project is being coordinated by various community volunteers, civic groups, educational
institutions, and non-profit organizations, including Quality Forward, Warren Wilson College,
the Friends of the Swannanoa Library, the Swannanoa Community Council and the Swannanoa
Beautification Committee. Coordinators
hope that the project will breathe new life into an area that has been particularly hard
hit by plant closings and the devastating floods of last fall. Volunteer crews will work at a number of sites
around Swannanoa, including Owen Park, The Presbyterian Home for Children, W.D. Williams
Elementary School, the Swannanoa Library (and the surrounding park and playground),
Buncombe Community School East, the Swannanoa River, ArtSpace Charter School, and the
Swannanoa business corridor along U.S. 70.
The bulk of the work will be completed in a single day,
August 19, by community volunteers and over 300 incoming freshmen and transfer students
from Warren Wilson College. Follow-up work
will be completed by students from Montreat College. The
many projects that volunteers will tackle include creating a children's vegetable garden,
an outdoor classroom, and a nature trail at W.D. Williams Elementary School; building a
new park in a vacant lot adjacent to the Swannanoa Library, and constructing a fitness
course and ¼ mile walking/biking path; removing flood debris and trash from the Swannanoa
River and its banks; planting trees and shrubs at various sites; and helping re-construct
flood damaged trails around the ponds at Owen Park.
“As far as we know, this is the first time a
volunteer project of this magnitude has been attempted in Swannanoa,” said Carol
Groben, a Swannanoa resident and Quality Forward Board Member who is one of the
project organizers. Groben said that she and
the other organizers are excited that the Swannanoa community is pulling together to make
this project a reality. They are especially
grateful to Warren Wilson College for providing countless hours of volunteer time and
numerous other resources. “We are
encouraging local residents, churches, and businesses to get involved in this effort in
whatever way they can,” said George Scott, President of the Friends of the
Swannanoa Library. Organizers say
that monetary contributions of any size are greatly needed, as well as donations of
supplies and materials such as lumber, gravel, and playground mulch. If you would like more information about helping
with Swannanoa Pride Day, or would like to make a donation of supplies and materials,
please contact Carol Groben, George Scott, or Patty Anderson by sending an email to info@ilovethelibrary.org. Monetary contributions can be made by check payable
to Quality Forward (all contributions are tax deductible) and earmarked for the
“Swannanoa Fund.” Checks can be
mailed to Quality Forward at 29 Page Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801. |
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