Asheville Parks & Recreation Department is pleased to announce a donation of $2,000 from the Asheville Homebuilders Association (AHBA) for the development of a new program called BuildOut. The program focuses on teaching youth basic building skills such as learning how to select appropriate materials and tools, best safety practices, and then completing a project from start to finish that they can take home.
Asheville Parks & Recreation Program Leader Keith Aitken developed the program plan and the collaboration with the AHBA made it a reality. The program has also been supported by donations of surplus building materials and supplies from AHBA members, the Buncombe County Partnership for Children and Ace Hardware.
The program is currently being offered as part of the Recreate and Educate initiative in partnership with Asheville City Schools to provide learning PODS (Positive Opportunities Develop Success) for students who are enrolled in virtual classes. The department plans to provide the program on a larger scale for other community youth once normal programming resumes after the COVID pandemic has subsided.
Asheville Parks & Recreation would like to thank the AHBA for their tremendous support in creating this program. For more information about Asheville Parks & Recreation, visit the City’s website at www.ashevillenc.gov/parks or the department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/APRCA. For more information about the Asheville Homebuilders Association, please visit www.ashevillehba.com.