Employer Partners
Our Employer Partners are non-profit organizations and churches that serve Asheville and the surrounding regions in areas of critical community need. Hands and Feet Fellows have served within these organizations and more, over the years.
​
Would you like to become an Employer Partner in the future? Fellows add valuable capacity to your team, performing vital work for your organization during their eleven-month tenure!​ Fellows are vetted based on their skills and experience, and the needs of your team, and then interviewed by your organization to find the right match. Fellows work 32 hours per week, Monday-Thursday from September to July.​ Please reach out to handsandfeetavl@gmail.com to learn more about becoming a Hands and Feet Fellowship Partner.​​
2025-2026 Partners
Asheville City Schools Foundation
IRL Program Associate
The Asheville City Schools Foundation is doing “whatever it takes for all ACS students to thrive”. The foundation operates as both a funder and as a provider of K-12 programming. ACSF programs are grounded in a pursuit of equity and the desire to magnify the genius, encourage the curiosity, celebrate the joy, and support the aspirations of our students, teachers and staff.
​
In Real Life (IRL) After-School provides high-quality, hands-on, equitable, and accessible programming for all Asheville City Schools middle school students. IRL strives to provide programming that reflects the diverse and varied needs of Asheville's youth while encouraging them to live a curious life.
To learn more about Asheville City School Foundations's IRL After-School Program, click here.
Asheville Greenworks
Since 1973, Asheville GreenWorks has inspired, equipped, and mobilized communities to create an equitable, climate-resilient future. As Asheville experiences more extreme weather, more action is required to protect the environment that sustains us. The more native trees we plant, the more we protect pollinators, the more we clean up our rivers, the more we keep waste out of the landfill — the more easily we can recover from excessive rain, extreme heat, and other effects of a changing climate.
To learn more about Asheville Greenworks, click here.
Black Mountain Presbyterian Church
Helene Relief Fellow
Black Mountain Presbyterian Church (BMPC) strives to embody the love of Christ in the heart of Black Mountain. BMPC was founded in 1908 and is a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation.
Within a day of Hurricane Helene landing in North Carolina, BMPC was mobilizing a community-centered, compassionate response. Through a Fellow placed at BMPC, the church will continue its disaster relief work - coordinating volunteers, supply distribution, and case management for families and individuals who continue to be impacted by the storm.​
To learn more about Black Mountain Presbyterian Church's Hurricane Helene Relief, click here.
FIRSTwnc
Program Associate
FIRSTwnc's mission provides persons with disabilities and their families with programs and advocacy to support and foster healthy, inclusive, and self-determined lives. FIRSTwnc celebrates serving families in Western North Carolina since 2002. The agency grew out of conversations between parents and special education providers. The idea for an information and support center for families was born. This diversity of viewpoints is a strength that serves FIRSTwnc well.
​
FIRSTwnc offers a spectrum of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families, and professionals across Western North Carolina. These include early childhood intervention, supported living, family education, and inclusive employment programs.
To learn more about FIRSTwnc, click here.
Habitat for Humanity
Home Repair Program
Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. Through Habitat homeownership and home repair programs, 2,100 adults and children in Buncombe County have achieved the strength, stability, and self-reliance they need to build a better future. Habitat's Home Repair program addresses the home repair needs of eligible, low-income Buncombe County and Madison County homeowners. Our goal is to help people live better and longer in their own homes.
To learn more about Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, click here.
Homeward Bound
AHope Day Center
Homeward Bound's mission is to prevent and end homelessness in our community through permanent housing and support. Homeward Bound uses the evidence-based national best practice Housing First approach to tackling homelessness. AHope Day Center is the only daytime center for those experiencing homelessness in Asheville and provides access to basic needs (showers, mail, food, storage) in addition to access to housing services. ​
To learn more about Homeward Bound, click here.
Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville
The Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville (RSAA) serves as a Reparations Finance Authority, overseeing some of the distribution of monetary reparations to Black citizens in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Beyond financial transactions, our mission extends to empowering and uplifting our local Black communities while addressing the enduring impacts of systemic racism and discriminatory practices.
​
RSAA envisions a future where the United States of America has fully reckoned with the historical atrocities of chattel slavery, the transatlantic slave trade, redlining, and other forms of systemic racism. Through their work, which includes education around reparative justice and programming, they aim to foster healing, justice, and equity, paving the way for a society where all individuals can thrive, free from the burdens of past injustices.
To learn more about RSAA, click here.
United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County
United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County (UWABC), established in 1921, is the oldest United Way in North Carolina and the largest in the state's western region. The organization envisions a united and resilient community where everyone belongs and thrives. Its mission is to mobilize and support a robust network of people, partners, and resources to co-create opportunities for every person in the community to live free from poverty and injustice. United Way was quick to mobilize in the wake of Hurricane Helene and continues to lead community recovery efforts.
To learn more about United Way, click here.
YWCA
The YWCA provides direct service to, collaborates with, and advocates on behalf of the most vulnerable people in our community. YWCA Asheville is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. The YWCA works to accomplish this mission by providing programs and advocacy that bridges gaps in education, earning power, health and wellness, and access to child care for low-income and/or minority families in our community.​
To learn more about the YWCA, click here.
Past Partners
Asheville Poverty Initiative
12 Baskets Cafe
A steadfast presence for over a decade, Asheville Poverty Initiative builds community and promotes economic justice from our community center at State St. and Haywood Road. Our programs, 12 Baskets Café and Realities of Poverty, prioritize inclusivity, abundance, and dignity to address hunger, housing, and poverty. Everyone has, and everyone has needs. Come for the food, stay for the community.
To learn more about Asheville Poverty Initiative, click here.
The Arc of North Carolina
Project SEARCH
The Arc of North Carolina is a state chapter of The Arc of the United States. The Arc of North Carolina is committed to securing for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to choose and realize their goals of where and how they learn, live, work and play. The goal for Project SEARCH program participants is competitive, integrated employment. To reach that goal, the program provides real-life work experience combined with training in employability and independent-living skills to help young people with intellectual or developmental disabilities make successful transitions to productive adult life.
To learn more about The Arc's Project SEARCH, click here.
Black Mountain Counseling Center
Black Mountain Counseling Center is a non-profit, professional mental health counseling service providing care out of offices in Black Mountain and Old Fort as well as online for clients in Buncombe and McDowell counties. Services are provided by licensed, experienced counselors working with children, adults, seniors, and families within Western North Carolina. Black Mountain Counseling Center is committed to raising the standard of mental health care in WNC for those who cannot afford professional services on their own.
To learn more about Black Mountain Counseling Center, click here.
Homeward Bound
Welcome Home Project
The Welcome Home Project collects furniture and housewares donations from community members and uses donations to furnish the homes of those community members who have recently been housed through Homeward Bound.
​
Learn more about the organization here.
Haywood Street Congregation
Haywood Street is a United Methodist mission congregation and faith-based nonprofit. Core programs include weekly worship, a clothing closet, community garden, a free community lunch known as the Downtown Welcome Table, and Haywood Street Respite, which offers a safe place for adults experiencing homelessness to stay on a short term basis after being discharged from a hospital. The core programs provide a platform for the ministry of relationship, which can be defined simply as the act of “being with” and speaks to our deepest identity.
To learn more about Haywood Street Congregation, click here.
Just Economics
Just Economics works to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable local economy that works for all in Western North Carolina. Just Economics is home to the largest voluntary Living Wage Certification in the nation!​​
To learn more about Just Economics, click here.
Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry
Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry (SVCM) is a team of committed staff, volunteers, churches, and community partners working together to provide essential support and compassionate service to our neighbors in the Swannanoa Valley. Whether it’s housing, food, clothing, or direct financial assistance for things like rent, heating, transportation, and utilities, our goal in every interaction is to affirm every individual’s inherent dignity and worth regardless of their social or economic background.
To learn more about Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, click here.
Youth OUTright
As the only organization in Western North Carolina that is dedicated to LGBTQ youth, Youth OUTright provides programming, public education and outreach, to support youth ages 11-20 to be confident, resilient and compassionate community members.
Learn more about the organization here.