Get Involved in the Community with Hands On Asheville-Buncombe
The volunteer center of United Way, Hands On Asheville-Buncombe, makes it easy to get involved in meaningful volunteer opportunities with local nonprofit organizations and schools. With hundreds of opportunities made available each month, it's easy to connect with a cause that fits your interests and schedule. In 2018 Hands On placed 2,400 unique volunteers at 61 organizations, providing a total of 9,000 hours of volunteer service (equivalent to 4.5 full-time employees). These volunteer hours support projects at fellow nonprofit organizations, in middle schools, and during events for community partners doing integral work within Asheville and Buncombe County.
Find Projects Based on Your Interests and Availability
We understand that your lives are busy so we’ve made it easy for you to find a project you’re interested in and are able to commit to, whether that’s an afternoon or ongoing from week to week. We’ve sorted projects by activity type, level of involvement, impact area, location, and more so you’re able to browse needs and projects and find ways to plug in and support as you feel comfortable. In fact, once you’ve set up your interest areas, our system can also email you future opportunities so that you stay connected to local initiatives in the areas you’re most interested in staying hands-on with.
Make an Impact with Community Partners in Asheville & Buncombe Co.
We work with 70+ local organizations to better help residents living in Asheville and Buncombe County be able to find and access opportunities to engage and give back individually or as a team.Some of those community partners include:
- Bounty & Soul
- Care Partners Health Services
- Black Mountain Neuro-Medical Center
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC
- Asheville Jewish Community Center
- ABCCM
- Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity
- AB Tech Community College
- Eliada Homes
Give Back as a Company with Business United Volunteer Projects
Learn about local nonprofit work while giving back and building community by volunteering together as a team. Our staff can create a custom project based on your specific interests, whether it’s for a group of 10 or 200. We Care Experiences are one impactful way to achieve that-- a service-oriented project that connects the dots between the volunteer activity we’ve lined up for you and the community need the project is helping to fill. For these projects, we manage all the logistics, including purchasing the materials, managing the activity and integrating the experience with your employee engagement goals.We also have several smaller scale group-oriented activities that offer unique opportunities to lend a hand and support initiatives in the local community, such as:
- Homework Diners
- Holiday Book Drive
- School Supply Drive
Learn more about Business United activities through our volunteer center Hands On Asheville-Buncombe OR send an email to Michelle Bennett, Volunteer Engagement Director, to learn about ways your staff can get involved in the community as a team.
Find Portable Projects to Work on in Your Spare Time
For some, mobility can be challenging, yet there are several ways to give back from the comfort of your own home and in your spare time. These are also great group projects to work on during meetings, in school groups, book clubs, friend groups and more.
A few Examples of Portable Projects through Hands On Asheville-Buncombe Include:
- Teacher’s Pet: create supplemental learning materials that will be used in and out of the classroom to help Buncombe County Schools’ elementary students
- Project Linus: Knit or make simple no-fleece “blankies” to remind a child in crisis to know that someone cares.
- Forever Friend Pet Toys: Volunteers make simple dog and cat toys that will give shelter animals something to play with while they wait to be taken home.
Find a Portable Project that feels good for you or your team’s schedule and interests.