I want to hear your ideas to help kids thrive!

Last June, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate $70,000 within the Strategic Partnership Grants fund for emerging issues across the county. Each Commissioner - there are 7 of us - has the discretion to award $10,000 in our district for projects that address a public purpose and are eligible for county funding.

I've chosen to allocate this funding in two $5,000 grants focused on helping children in our community thrive.

Almost 50% of all children in Buncombe County live in poor to low-income homes and 20% of children experience food insecurity. We can do better by our kids - and we must.

Let me know about organizations or projects that are making real change in the lives of children and that do work in District 1 (they can work other places too).

Email me at Jasmine.Beach-Ferrara@buncombecounty.org with the name of the group you're nominating and a link or article about their work. 

I'll accept nominations through Monday, April 8. 

One of my favorite things is getting out in the community to spend time with kids and see where they're spending time. Recently, along with Commissioner Al Whitesides and Director of Strategic Parnterships Rachael Nygaard, I got to tour the Asheville City Schools Preschool, which serves almost 200 kids in our community with quality early childhood education. 

​Buncombe County's work around early childhood education and development has a lot of momentum and urgency right now. This is my top focus as a County Commissioner and the reason is simple: currently almost 50% of local kids live in poor to low-income homes and 20% experience food insecurity. We can do better by our kids - and we must. That's why we're launching the Early Childhood Education and Development  Fund, which will provide $3.6 million of funding annually for local initiatives focused on early childhood. We're also launching the Early Childhood and Development Committee, which will play an advisory role on funding and policy issues. 

Learn more about the county's work here: www.buncombecounty.org/governing/community-investment/grants/early-childhood-education-development-fund.aspx