We would like to thank the ladies of the High Country Women’s Fund and everyone involved in the P.O.P. Shop for the opportunity to participate in their Mother’s day event this past weekend and for all the lovely clothing, purses, shoes, and jewelry that they donated to the store.

We would like to encourage everyone to come and see us and take a look at all this very nice merchandise that we now have for sale in the store!

Small business owners looking for a way to get their product or service online now have some help available.  Google is partnering with Intuit to assist small businesses with free website creation and hosting.  Check out www.GYOB.com/north-carolina/ (Get Your Business Online) for the details which include free domain for one year, free tools to help get a site set up, and free hosting for one year.  After that the service will cost $4.99 per month.

Several articles are available online that outline details of the free service.  Do a search of Get Your Business Online and read available information to be sure you understand any “extras” that might be tied in.  For example, after the first year you will receive free technical support for one month.  To help resolve any problems after that there is a charge of $7.99 per month.

This might be a way for you to get the help with a web site that you have hoped for.

The Garden Voucher Program of W.A.M.Y. Community Action, Inc. was very successful this year. The purpose of the program is to provide assistance to low-income, disabled and elderly individuals and families to help meet their nutritional needs. The program provides a monetary voucher in the amount of fifty dollars to purchase items needed for gardening. Such items may include, but are not limited to, seeds, starter plants, fertilizer, canning and freezing supplies and even gardening tools. The Garden Voucher Program offers a great return on investment as every dollar spent, the recipients receive twenty-five dollars worth of produce. With the collaboration and monetary support of many organizations and churches W.A.M.Y. was able to provide garden vouchers in all four counties of our service area. It is with much appreciation to the following organizations and churches for making the 2012 Spring Garden Voucher Program a success: High Country United Way, High Country Women’s Fund, United Way of Mitchell County, Mountain Heritage Expo Center, Yancey County Cooperative Extension, Crossnore Presbyterian Church, Holy Cross Episcopal Church, and High Country United Church of Christ.

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!
http://www.cultivatewines.com/give#causes
Tell all your friends!

One of WAMY Community Action’s recent endeavors has been to address the issues of homelessness in Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties with the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid-Rehousing Program (HPRP). Through a partnership with the Northwestern Regional Housing Enterprises, Oasis, and Hospitality House, WAMY has helped over 60 homeless and at risk families and individuals to stabilize their housing situation in a three-county area. While WAMY’s HPRP program is no longer accepting applications, people needing assistance with a housing crisis will continue to be served by the Hospitality House, our local homeless shelter in Boone, NC.

New clothing going out over the next week, starting today in Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s!

April 18th – 25th sales. Books buy one get one free (excluding cookbooks). Children’s clothing half price! 24 months and under .50 each (2 piece outfits $1). 2T and up $1 each (2 piece outfits $2).

Financial difficulties impact people of all ages in these tough economic times.  According to the Office of the Consumer Credit Commissioner the average credit card debt among graduate students who carry credit cards is $7,831.  And young adults between the ages of 20 and 24 make up the fastest growing segment of bankruptcy filing.
While some recent college graduates may believe bankruptcy is a way out of debt trouble there is a downside to filing.  One big problem is that some debts are not eliminated by declaring bankruptcy.  These include taxes and student loans.

Go to www.investorguide.com for more information on the downsides as well as the law on discrimination for those who have declared bankruptcy.  Remember that April is financial literacy month.  Check the internet for many articles on strengthening your financial situation.

Looking for easy, quick ways to save energy in your home?  Try these for starters:

1: Only wash clothes in cold water
2: Turn lights/devices off when you leave the room
3: Lower your water heater’s temperature to 120 degrees.

Want more quick and easy ways to save energy?  Go to http://www.energysavers.gov/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf for a comprehensive guide on residential energy use and tips on saving energy from the U.S. Department of Energy!  Notice a key term?  (hint: it’s energy!)