Everyone Deserves a Village
Creating Spaces for Community, Connection, and Care
Who We Are
Loneliness is one of the biggest, quietest public health challenges of our time. The U.S. Surgeon General has called it an epidemic. At One Village WNC, we believe the answer doesn't need to be complicated - that bringing people together heals the ache of loneliness and isolation. Born from neighbors feeding neighbors after Hurricane Helene, we create spaces for community, connection, and care through shared meals, youth programs, wellness workshops, and informal gatherings at our West Asheville campus, The Hearth. Everything we do builds toward a Community Health Ecosystem, a model of multi-system care where everyone belongs.
We believe everyone should be able to join in, regardless of income. That’s why our sister nonprofit, One Village Collective, a registered 501(c)(3), hosts free and donation-based gatherings like potlucks, movie nights, and community workshops, and funds scholarships for our youth programs and local mutual-aid initiatives.
Exploring Appalachia
At One Village, we believe that fostering a deep understanding of the place you live is a profound way to heal a sense of disconnection and isolation. With our Flagship Project, Exploring Appalachia, we aim to foster a profound connection and friendship with the land we live on - the Appalachian Mountains.
We facilitate this connection through a hands-on journey into the history of this place: the plants and creatures, the songs and crafts, and the many peoples who have shaped this place. Grounded in gratitude to the Cherokee, whose homeland this is and whose communities still live and lead here today, we also honor the African American, Scots-Irish, German, and other families whose traditions and labor shaped these hills.
Through natural dye making, map study, weaving, songwriting, storytelling, and time around the fire, kids and families learn to see their own backyard with new eyes and to understand who came before us.
Our current "Exploring Appalachia" program is for children ages 7-11 and meets on Fridays from 2-4pm at The Hearth in West Asheville. Keep an eye on our calendar on Instagram for upcoming workshops and family events.
