Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry is busy planning their Walk for Your Neighbor fundraising event for this year. The money raised through Walk for Your Neighbor goes to all the good neighboring that SVCM does alongside our friends in the Swannanoa Valley. This ranges from providing the essentials like clothing and food to giving financial relief toward living expenses like rent, electricity, and water. SVCM works to meet the medical needs of our community through gas vouchers, contributing to medical and dental bills, and covering the cost of eye exams, glasses, and prescriptions. 

Beyond this, SVCM values equipping their neighbors with the tools they need to move beyond just surviving to thriving and wholeness. This happens through their Hope for Tomorrow Transitional Housing Program, educational scholarships, and a partnership with the Black Mountain Counseling Center to make mental health care more accessible to our community. This year, SVCM will donate 5% of the total funds raised to Black Mountain Counseling Center and 5% to Food Connection .

We will be tabling at the Blue Ridge Recovery Rally this Saturday in Marion. This celebration event is an opportunity for individuals and families touched by substance use to come together to celebrate each other. There will be a variety of entertainment, shared testimonials, information booths, and a Kidz Zone. This is a free event and the first 300 attendees will receive a t-shirt and a meal voucher.

The details: 4-8 pm, Saturday, Sept. 30 at Tom Johnson's Camping World. Learn more in the McDowell News.

Purchase tickets here.

For 35 years, members of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir graced the campus with their unique gift of sacred song. Combining four-part harmonies, texts both ancient and modern, organ, guitar, strings and winds, they brought their song to all corners of the English-speaking world. And now alumni of this esteemed ensemble will gather this summer at St. James Episcopal Church in Black Mountain, NC.

The concert will benefit nonprofits serving the Swannanoa Valley in the mountains of Western North Carolina: Black Mountain Counseling Center, Bounty & Soul, Food Connection, and the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry.

Giving Tuesday invites us to imagine a world built upon shared humanity and radical generosity. As we begin this holiday season, every act of generosity and kindness has an immeasurable impact on the lives of those around us, seen or unseen.

When you give to Black Mountain Counseling Center, you’re supporting crucial mental health services for those in Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Old Fort, and beyond who can’t access or afford counseling on their own. Every $50 can provide counseling for someone who is experiencing grief, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, or more and cannot afford to turn anywhere else for help.

You’re also championing our work in the community, connecting people with crisis services, working with first responders, and providing support in schools.

Be a champion for mental health and make a gift on Tuesday, November 29!

Join us on Sunday, October 9, at 2:00 PM for Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry's Walk For Your Neighbor event. Hosted by SVCM, 5% of event contributions go to BMCC!

The event begins at First Baptist Church Black Mountain. Registration opens at 1:00 PM.

This a great opportunity to get outside to enjoy the fresh, fall air and spend time supporting our community.

Learn more with SVCM.

Concert for Mental Health

Join BMCC for a fundraising concert to support mental health services.

This event is SOLD OUT. Thank you for your support!

Please join us for an exciting, music-filled evening with award-winning singer-songwriter David LaMotte, national champion hammered dulcimer player Benjamin Barker, and world-class kalimba musician Chinobay.

We will kickoff the evening with wine, desserts, and a silent auction with a variety of goods collected from local business partners, followed by performances with the musicians.

All proceeds from this event will support mental health services in Buncombe and McDowell counties.

Buy your tickets for $25/person by clicking the button above, or by calling BMCC at 828.669.9798.

The Musicians

David LaMotte

David LaMotte is an award-winning songwriter, speaker and writer. He has performed over 3,000 concerts and released thirteen CDs of primarily original music, touring in all of the fifty states, as well as five of the seven continents. The Boston Globe writes that his music “pushes the envelope with challenging lyrics and unusual tunings, but he also pays homage to folk tradition,” while BBC Radio Belfast lauds his “charm, stories, humour, insightful songs, sweet voice and dazzling guitar ability.” David has been featured as a MainStage performer at the Kerrville Folk Festival, MerleFest, LEAF, the Auckland Folk Festival in New Zealand, and Australia’s National Folk Festival, among others. His latest album, Still, came out earlier this summer. Photo courtesy Lynne Harty.

Visit David LaMotte's website

Benjamin Barker

Benjamin Barker is a multi-instrumentalist and composer located in Wilkesboro, NC. Benjamin is a National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, and his most recent release is his new digital single “Mister Sandman”, one of the winning pieces that he played at the Championship. His most recent album is “Bach: Complete Cello Suites Performed on Solo Hammered Dulcimer”, released digitally. Benjamin is also a harpist and was selected as a Featured Young Composer for the American Harp Society’s Young Composers Project for his composition “Boardwalk Breeze,” which has been recorded and released digitally as part of “The Nautilus Trilogy” - 3 original compositions for solo folk or pedal harp. Benjamin has been influenced by a diverse range of musical styles, ranging from Bach to Bluegrass. Past performances have included such venues as the International Bluegrass Music Association’s World of Bluegrass Festival, the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, and Merlefest, among others.

Visit Benjamin Barker's website

Chinobay

Chinobay is a Ugandan musician and educator whose work has been described as “some of the most exquisite music coming out of Africa today.” Since his youth, he has captivated audiences with world-roots rhythms and melodies that emanate from the diversity of the many traditional instruments he has customized to develop his unique sound. The diverse textures of Chinobay’s music make it soothing, pulsing, meditative, and invigorating —much of it a mix of original and traditional with global influences—but the sound is uniquely his. He is featured on two of David LaMotte’s albums, and is a frequent MainStage performer at the LEAF festival. He is the curator and producer of Dance of Hope, an initiative that uses the transforming power of music, dance, and storytelling to educate and empower young people living in under privileged communities to become independent global citizens.

Visit Chinobay's website

The first virtual fundraiser of 2021

Journaling with Ina Hughs

Date: March 16, 2021
Time: 7:00-8:00 PM EDT
Cost: $25 per household minimum donation (all donation money will be used to support BMCC!)

This signup form registers with online donations only. If you would like to make your registration donation by mail, please email cammy@blackmountaincounseling.org to register. Be sure to include “Journal Event“ on your check description.

ABOUT INA

Before retiring to Black Mountain, Ina Hughs was for 45 years a full-time feature columnist, writing 3-5 columns a week for a variety of Knight-Ridder, Scripts Howard, and Gannet newspapers; author of four books; published in hundreds of magazines and anthologies; and featured on radio, book festivals and television, including “Good Morning America” - and teaching writing workshops across the nation. She is an avid reader, an enthusiastic visual artist, and a very poor golfer.

Join us for a virtual fundraiser, culinary style!

Date: November 10, 2020
Time: 7:30-8:30 PM EDT
Cost: $25 per household (all donation money will be used to support BMCC!)

This signup form registers with online donations only. If you would like make your registration donation by mail, please email cammy@blackmountaincounseling.org to register.

Executive Chef Ken Grogg, brother of Keith Grogg, will take you through cooking lessons and methods to make the most out of your grocery store run during the pandemic.

Ken will talk about the relationship with food across different cultures, the important role food plays during the holidays, what makes comfort food comfortable, why his own mental health inspired him to do this presentation, and more! He will demonstrate how to get the most uses out a whole protein (i.e. fish, chicken, etc.) to get the most of out of a trip to the grocery store during this challenging time with tips on:

• Simple butchering techniques;

• Use of different cooking methods;

• Use of global spices and ingredients;

• and Beverage pairing.

You do not cook during this hour! You get to sit back and follow along with the tips and recipes while Ken demonstrates his expertise and brings you laughs with his energetic spirit.

Bonus: Leave with new recipes for the winter! Recipes TBD.

Ken Grogg studied at the L’Hotel Sofitel School of French Culinary Skills, created all the stocks and sauces for Café Royale, part of the Sofitel’s restaurant business, and served as executive chef at the Minnesota Governor’s Residence for twelve years.

Living and working in Minnesota, Grogg loves Minnesota food — and he’s exceptional at making it. So it’s fitting that Grogg finds himself at Lunds & Byerlys, a family-owned Minnesota company where he’s the executive chef in charge of L&B Meal Creations, the meal-kit program that makes at-home cooking faster and more enjoyable, and makes meals more memorable.

Join BMCC and Ken on November 10 for a culinary good time!