People who give of their personal time to care for others are among some of the best people in the world. Here at United Way, we get to meet a lot of those folks and we try to shine a spotlight on them - in thanks for what they do but also to inspire others.

Our spotlight this month is on Shelia Christofalos! 

For the fourth year in a row, we had a pretty big incentive for donors. Paramount Kia of Asheville donated a new Kia Soul and it helped increase new donations to the Community Investment Fund.

Anyone who made a contribution of $250 or more by January 30 was eligible to become a finalist.

How many of us have fallen head-over-heels for a book? There is nothing like joy that comes from the emotions and relationships between characters, the sights and sounds of a new fictional world, the magnitude of historic moments in our history, or the chance to explore the tiniest mysteries of this planet through the eyes of scientists.

Carolina Public Press, a local nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet, hosted a forum on the issues of hunger, food deserts and food insecurity. You can watch the entire forum below but several of our staff members were there and we wanted to share some thoughts about the topic and issues raised at the event.