This Week’s Business Buzz: 5/17/19

May 17, 2019

UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program has released its summer workshop series. Keller Williams Realty put in serious volunteer time with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity. And Four Seasons is working on a new Serious Illness Care Accountability Project.

Achievement

  • AdventHealth Hendersonville achieved an “A” grade in the Leapfrog Group’s Spring Safety Grade. Today’s announcement of this latest honor marks the sixth consecutive “A” grade for AdventHealth Hendersonville. The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. It assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on how safe they are for patients.

Announcement

  • UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program (GSWP) will present five workshops this summer, offering writers in the community a chance to hone their craft in many different genres. All classes are Asheville-based and will meet weekly for five weeks. For more information or to register, visit unca.edu/gswp or call 828.251.6099
  • Children First will sponsor a day of giving on Tuesday, May 22nd.. In 24 hours, they are hoping to raise $5,000 to support students. Visit them at https://childrenfirstcisbc.org/ to learn more.
  • At Sleep Number, from May 9th to June 2nd, members of the military can receive up to $800 off on select Sleep Number 360 smart beds. For more info, go to sleepnumber.com/military.

Expansion

  • No Evil Foods, the mission-driven Plant Meat brand known for its sustainable vegan proteins and DIY, punk rock ethos, has rocketed to the national retail stage in recent months. Its product is slated to line the shelves of 1000 Kroger locations across the country. This number includes 400 Fred Meyers, Fry’s, Ralph’s, and QFC (Quality Food Centers) stores, also under the Kroger banner.

Opportunity

  • Friday Services is hiring several positions in the Asheville area including: Assembly, Machine Operator, Material Handler, Warehouse Laborer, Sorter, Order Picker, General Office, Data Entry, and more! They offer fair wages and comprehensive benefits. If you are looking for work, or looking to hire talent, give Friday Services a call today at (828) 684-8700, and discover why Fridays has been the premiere employment solutions provider in Western NC since 1980.

Outreach

  • Four Seasons is set to begin work on a project to develop and test measures of serious illness care in a two-year grant from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). As the demand for community based serious illness care has grown in recent years, so too has the need for meaningful, standardized performance measures indicating the quality of care received. In response to this need, NCQA has undertaken the Serious Illness Care Accountability Project to develop components of an accountability program for serious illness care. The project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
  • Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity partnered with Symmetry Financial Group on Thursday, May 16 as part of a daylong nationwide effort to help families achieve strength and stability through shelter. 80 volunteers from Symmetry Financial Group volunteered with Asheville Habitat across the organization – on the Construction site, in the ReStore, and on a Home Repair project. In addition, Asheville Habitat received an $8,000 grant from the company.
  • On Thursday, May 9, Keller Williams Professionals volunteered with Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity to help solve affordable housing crisis. RED Day is a collective service initiative where Keller Williams associates donate a day to give back to the local community. Keller Williams Professionals was among more than 180,000 Keller Williams associates worldwide participating in the real estate franchise’s annual RED Day.

Promotion

  • The Great Smokies Review, the online literary magazine published by UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program, has just completed 20 issues and 10 years of publication at thegreatsmokiesreview.com and to celebrate, some of the magazine’s contributing writers will offer a reading of their works. The reading, part of the Writers at Home series, is free and open to everyone at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 9 at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville.