We've been thinking a lot about housing recently. For sure, affordable housing has been a hot political topic for a long time in gentrified Asheville. But live around here for a while and policy starts to feel pretty darn personal. As retail workers we exist with a constant fear of getting priced out of our city, and the housing we're able to access can be awfully precarious (seriously, some of our members are making their second move of the pandemic next month). Housing has been at the center of nearly every major story in February: from policing, to reparations, to tourism.

The lack of safe and affordable housing in Western North Carolina is a huge and multifaceted issue that isn't going to get solved by a bookstore, but during the first five days of March, our co-op will be raising money for Community Housing Coalition (CHC) of Madison County. Ten percent of every sale will benefit the nonprofit's mission to facilitate rural housing improvements.

Community Housing Coalition provides urgent home repairs to low-income residents in need of assistance. Last year, CHC undertook 73 home repairs, made over 300 COVID-19 outreach calls, and oversaw 670 hours of volunteer labor to bring rural homes up to essential housing standards. We're excited to help them grow their impact!

To promote our fundraiser, CHC staff made a book recommendation list that includes titles by local authors, books that guide the work of the nonprofit, and other staff favorites. Don't need a book but want to support the cause? You can make a direct donation.