West Asheville, NC – Jan. 4- 9, 2026

Long term Volunteers with Bridges and Traditional returned to West Ashville from 1/2/26 to 1/5/25.  Weekly volunteers for the Bridge project arrived Sunday PM.  What a gorgeous week weatherwise to work on bridges and to visit ongoing worksites and investigate new ones.  Temperatures were in the upper 50’s to the low 60’s with plenty of sunshine.  Lou Erb and Phil Helmuth each made a visit to Ashville for several days.

Torri Garrison, RSAA Director, along with three board members, joined us as dinner guests on Wednesday.    Torri shared the story behind RSAA.

On Friday morning several crew members along with Project Director and Office Manager were invited to a foundation dedication ceremony for a cooperative build.  The parents and the six children of the new house each shared a Bible verse followed by a pastoral prayer with several other family members.  Bible verses were then placed in the foundation block to be filled with concrete later in the day.   It was a meaningful experience.

On Saturday, the Bridge and Traditional Teams went out for a team building lunch at the Farm Burger in Ashville.   We visited the Marque at the River District viewing the work of many artists in the Ashville area.

Our first group of volunteers for the traditional side will arrive Sunday PM