For almost two years, volunteers have been swinging hammers and pounding nails to help build a new 17-home Habitat subdivision off Dennis Street in Swannanoa’s Beacon Village neighborhood. Now that the construction dust has settled, it’s time to come together and celebrate the spirit of giving and volunteerism that helped create this vibrant and diverse new community.

The public is invited to gather at the Habitat site on Tuesday, December 9, at 3:30 pm to see the completed neighborhood, congratulate the new homeowners, tour the final four houses, and enjoy some refreshments. The event is called “Let us Gather,” and will include the dedication of the Sweet Home Swannanoa house, as well as two homes built by an anonymous donor and a fourth built in recognition of support from Buncombe County.

The Sweet Home Swannanoa house is a community-sponsored home that was built with donations from folks who live in, or have connections to, the Swannanoa Valley. Many local residents, businesses and organizations contributed to the Sweet Home Swannanoa house — donating money, sponsoring fundraisers, and volunteering on the jobsite. Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) was honored to partner with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity on this very rewarding project. The 3-bedroom Sweet Home Swannanoa house will be open for tours during the “Let Us Gather” event. To read a Black Mountain News article about the charitable giving that the Sweet Home Swannanoa house inspired, please click here.

Celebration Scheduled for December 9! (details)

Construction is nearly complete on Habitat for Humanity’s new 17-home subdivision, located off Dennis Street in the Beacon Village neighborhood. The worksite has been a hub of activity ever since construction started a year and a half ago, with hundreds of volunteers contributing thousands of work hours to help make the dream of homeownership a reality for 17 very deserving families.

Among the group of new homeowners is the Lewis family, who will soon be the occupants of the 3-bedroom home that has The Lewis Familly been dubbed the Sweet Home Swannanoa house. Katlin and Javon Lewis both grew up in Swannanoa and are thrilled to make their home here. The Sweet Home Swannanoa house is a community-sponsored home that was built with donations from folks who live in, or have connections to, the Swannanoa Valley. Many local residents, businesses and organizations contributed to the Sweet Home Swannanoa house — donating money, sponsoring fundraisers, and swinging hammers. Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS) was honored to partner with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity on this very rewarding project.

The Swannanoa community is invited to gather from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9, for a celebration and dedication of the new Habitat neighborhood. The festivities will include a dedication of the final four homes (the Sweet Home Swannanoa house being among them) and tours of several of the finished houses. Come see the completed neighborhood, meet Habitat families, enjoy the fellowship of other Swannanoa residents and Habitat supporters, and congratulate the new homeowners!

Community Support Plays Key Role

Community Workday Draws Crowd of Enthusiastic Volunteers

On Saturday, May 31, more than 25 Swannanoa residents and supporters swarmed the Swannanoa Habitat jobsite to help build homes. The volunteers split into three separate crews and set to work assembling scaffolding, mixing concrete, painting, installing flooring, and applying stucco, among other things. By the time the day was done, three of the remaining Habitat houses in the 17-home Swannanoa community had moved a few steps closer to completion, including the Sweet Home Swannanoa house. This special community-sponsored home is being built through donations from folks who live in, or have connections to, the Swannanoa Valley.

The May 31 Community Workday included a delicious lunch provided by The Swannanoa Welcome Table. During the afternoon break, well-known Swannanoa musician, Steve Moseley, arrived with his guitar to lead the group in a rousing chorus of “Sweet Home Swannanoa.” After the music faded, volunteers competed in a lively game of Swannanoa Team Trivia. Members of the winning team received Swannanoa bumper stickers, as well as bragging rights as official “Swannanoa Scholars.” The day was a wonderful celebration of the spirit of Swannanoa — friendship, good food, willing hands, big hearts, and can-do volunteerism.

Overwhelming Support for Sweet Home Swannanoa House

A couple of months ago, Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa, in partnership with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, set out to raise the money for an Adopt-A-Lot sponsorship for the Sweet Home Swannanoa house. The goal was to collect $7,500 in community donations, thereby triggering a dollar-for-dollar matching grant that would bring us to the full $15,000 needed for the Adopt-A-Lot sponsorship. We’re pleased to report that the $7,500 fundraising goal has not only been met, but exceeded by more than 100% ~ allowing Habitat to cover the entire cost of the lot on which the Sweet Home Swannanoa house is being built, without using a single dollar of the matching grant.

The amount raised thus far is $17,685 (wow!), which includes numerous donations received from community members, a pledge of $7,000+ from the Asheville Breakfast Rotary Club, and a $2,000 donation from Native Kitchen & Social Pub, a Swannanoa restaurant. The generous Rotary Club pledge was facilitated through the efforts of Rotarian Jerry Vincent, who grew up in Swannanoa and whose family is co-sponsoring the Sweet Home Swannanoa house.

The $2,000 donation from Native Kitchen follows the successful “Swig and Swine” community fundraiser that the restaurant sponsored on Saturday, June 7. Festivities included a cornhole Swig and Swine Cornhole Tournament tournament, pig roast, local beer specials, free music, and more. The proceeds from the cornhole tournament and the sale of beer were donated to Habitat for the Sweet Home Swannanoa Adopt-A-Lot sponsorship. Native Kitchen made an additional substantial donation to raise the total gift to $2,000.

Many thanks to the Asheville Breakfast Rotary Club, Native Kitchen, Pisgah Brewing and Highland Brewing for their support! And a big shout out to all the community members who helped make the Sweet Home Swannanoa house a reality. Whether you contributed money, volunteered your time to swing hammers and pound nails, or donated food to feed the volunteers – your efforts made a difference in helping to bring affordable housing to Swannanoa.