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THE COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS AWARDS IN ASHEVILLE
“Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments." - the Talmud
The Community of Kindness Award was created to recognize the exemplary acts of kindness by individuals and organizations. We are committed to identifying the people and organizations that are helping to create a “community of kindness.”
MAYOR PROCLAIMS KINDNESS WEEK IN ASHEVILLE;
AGENCIES RECEIVE COMMUNITY OF KINDNESS AWARD
Thursday, February 9, Mayor Terry Bellamy read and signed a Proclamation declaring the week of February 13-19, 2006 as Kindness Week in Asheville (See attached Proclamation and picture).
In addition to signing the proclamation, Mayor Bellamy helped the Kindness Campaign present its Community of Kindness Award to 13 different non-profits in the Asheville area for their contributions to the relocation to the Asheville area of over 500 families to who lost their homes in the Katrina disaster. The agencies receiving this award were ABCCM, The Affordable Housing Coalition, The Asheville Mountain Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Catholic Social Services, The Department of Social Services, Eblen Charities, Hearts with Hands, Manna Food Bank, The Salvation Army, The Sisters of Mercy Urgency Care Centers, and The United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County.
Tawyna Watts, Zack Comer, and Anne Carpenter
of the Affordable Housing Coalition,
with Mayor Terry Bellamy and Barry Weinhold
For example, the Red Cross helped 850 families with Client Assistance Cards that enabled them to buy $310,000 worth of clothes, food, household items and medication. They also helped find temporary housing for them working with local motels, hotels and the Corporate Lodging Program. They also acted as a referral source and helped develop a coordinated plan of service delivery to the evacuees.
The schools districts provided free tuition to the children so they could attend school and the 221 Center of the United Way provided needed information to evacuees on how to get replacement driver's licenses, birth certificates, social security cards, marriage licenses and information on how local citizens could contribute to the relocation effort. Other agencies helped evacuees find permanent housing, gave them rent money, utility assistance, furniture, school supplies, medical treatment and clothing. It was a seamless cooperative effort of all the agencies involved that made this possible.
Last October, as part of Make A Difference Day, the Kindness Campaign presented 14 area schools with Community of Kindness Awards for their contributions to the Katrina relief effort. To date the Kindness Campaign has given 37 Community of Kindness Awards to area individuals, schools and organizations that have performed extraordinary acts of kindness all contributing to the creation of a Community of Kindness in Asheville.
Did you know that over one thousand refugees from the Hurricane Katrina floods found their way to Asheville? On Thursday, February 9 at 11:30 am, ten agencies who reached out a helping hand to these new residents will be given "Community of Kindness" awards at the Mayor's office. Representatives from ABCCM, Manna Food Bank, Hearts with Hands, the Salvation Army, the United Way's 211 Center, Catholic Social Services, the Affordable Housing Coalition, Pisgah Legal Services, the Asheville Chapter of the American Red Cross, and Sisters of Mercy Urgent Care will receive awards from the Kindness Campaign for going the extra mile to help our new neighbors.
Dr. Barry Weinhold, Director of the Kindness Campaign, said, "We wish to honor all of the social service agencies who went way beyond their usual level of service to welcome in and care for over a thousand Katrina refugees of the flood zones last fall. It was their work that enabled many people to start new lives in our city."
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