giving back - T-V-S Overcoming Challenges

TVS donates Baking Mixes to local food pantries

Sep 6, 2024 | News

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) recently donated four different bakery mixes to the Sharing House and the Hunger Coalition of Transylvania County.

“Knowing the food we manufacturing can reach a member of our community in need is always a good day for us,” said TVS Director of Business Development Nan Higgins. “We look forward to any time we can reach out to our community partners to offer donations.”

Over 200 cases of Market District brand Eggnog Cookie Baking Mix, Hot Cocoa Crinkle Cookie Baking Mix, Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Baking Mix, and Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Baking Mix were split between the food pantries. These four products are manufactured at TVS’ sister facility, Dover Foods, in Mills River.

“What an incredibly generous donation,” Sharing House Pantry Manager Bev Spicknall. “All [of the donation] will make a huge impact on our neighbors, especially with cooler weather and upcoming holidays.”

Once a month, neighbors may make an appointment with Sharing House to shop for enough food for approximately one week. This can be in-person, drive-through pickup, or mobile delivery.

The Hunger Coalition provides monthly deliveries to seven Transylvania County Pantries, monthly Mobile Markets in four different locations, distributes Plant-Based Meal Kits weekly, and provides Educational Programs on healthy eating.

The Hunger Coalition Mobile Market Distribution Schedule; The Family Place 3pm-5pm first Thursday of the month, Champion Park 2:30pm-4pm second Thursday of the month, Cedar Mountain Community Center 3pm-5pm third Thursday of the month, and Quebec Community Center 2:30pm-4pm fourth Thursday of the month.

TVS partnership facilitates Laila Ali spice donation to local food pantries

Sep 12, 2023 | News

TVS HR representatives stand beside the organized school supply donations.

Laila Ali Lifestyle spices are freshly stocked at local pantries thanks to a partnership between Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) and Laila Ali. The spices were distributed to the Transylvania County Sharing House and the Asheville Manna Food Bank last week.

“TVS pursues partnerships with brands that want to build relationships,” said TVS Director of Business Development Nan Higgins. “We love watching our partners not only support our mission of employing adults with disabilities but by also collaborating and supporting others in our community.”

A total of 2,592 canisters were donated to the Transylvania County Sharing House and the Asheville Manna Food Bank. Each pantry received 54 boxes containing a mixture of Spicy Pepper, Sassy, and Soulful spice seasonings.

“I have been dedicated to supporting food banks for more than a decade due to my concern for the numerous Americans suffering from hunger. It is a privilege for me to contribute to this cause by donating my Spice Blends to local food banks,” said Laila Ali Lifestyle owner and founder Laila Ali. “By donating these spice blends, I hope to enable families in need to create nutritious meals at home.”

Ali also donated spices to other food pantries located near her home in Georgia.

“We rarely have spices to offer our neighbors. We strive to make it look like a grocery store with options to choose from— items they need and desire,” said Transylvania County Sharing House Executive Director Rev Shelly Webb. “We also love the opportunity to collaborate and prop up each other’s impactful work as organizations seeking to do good work.”

Helping facilitate and deliver the donation, TVS was happy to see the relationship turn into community support.

“TVS’ commitment to supporting their community resonates deeply with me and I am proud to be a part,” reflects Ali. “It was one of the reasons I decided to partner with TVS as well as their prioritization of quality manufacturing practices. Moreover, they actively promote inclusivity by offering employment and support to individuals with disabilities.”

Laila Ali Lifestyle Spices are organic, gluten-free, sugar-free, and non-GMO. To learn more about her brand and products visit: https://lailaali.com/

Read it here in the Transylvania Times.

TVS supports Sharing House School Supply Drive in 3rd annual donation

Aug 1, 2023 | News

TVS employees proudly donated 2,422 items to the Transylvania County Sharing House “Back to School” donation drive. This is the 3rd annual donation event TVS has hosted to assist the Sharing House’s continued support for children in the county.

“TVS’ generous donations allow the students of Transylvania to get the supplies they need to make their school year easier,” said Sharing House Special Projects Manager Lynn Traub. “Thanks to TVS employees, the families of this county do not have to worry about the financial cost of school supplies.”

Last year the Sharing House helped over 600 students, grades K-12, with school supplies, backpacks, new shoes and socks, and new underwear. This year they anticipate exceeding that number.

“We saw more participation this year from employees,” reflected HR Benefits and Wellness Specialist Kayde Hopkins. “This is the largest amount we have collected for this drive and that speaks volumes about our employees and their community support.”

TVS’ first school supply drive in 2021 had 885 items donated, followed by just over 1600 items donated in 2022.

Items donated included #2 pencils, colored pencils, notebooks, glue sticks, crayons, highlights, children’s scissors, and pencil sharpeners.

“The Sharing House provides an unique opportunity for families to shop for their school supplies,” said Hopkins. Children have the freedom to pick the items that they want and like from the donated supplies that meet the needs of their school lists.

Shopping appointments for “Back to School” are from July 31 – August 25. You must be a resident of Transylvania County to be eligible. Please call 828-884-2866 to schedule an appointment. Learn more about the Sharing House at: https://www.sharinghouse.org/

TVS Employee Giving Tree

Dec 19, 2022 | News

Transylvania Vocational Services (TVS) hosted the third annual “Give Back, Get Back” employee donation event over the last three months. This year TVS offered a new internal donation event! The TVS Giving Tree supported employees with children 18 years or younger, based on the traditional Angel Tree.

“The Giving Tree was a way for us to give back to TVS employees specifically,” said HR Specialist Kaydee Hopkins. “Employees give so much to the donation drives, we wanted to help them out as well.”

A total of 22 children were anonymously signed up by TVS parents to receive gifts. Each child had two ornaments on the tree; one for clothing and hygiene items and the other for toys. All 44 ornaments were taken from the tree by other TVS employees.

All gifts were wrapped and handed back out to the correct TVS employee the first week of December.

“This donation drive embodies the spirit of giving, which is exactly what this time of year is all about. It brings people together and builds on our family atmosphere within the company,” said Hopkins. “We all came together to support each other with this drive and that’s a really beautiful thing. It makes me so proud to be a part of TVS.”

The Giving Tree was the last of the holiday donation drives. TVS employees also donated 1,665 items to the local Bread of Life and 3,342 items to S.A.F.E. of Transylvania County. Both of these donation events surpassed expectations and donation amounts from last year.

“They were so excited when they saw the amount of donations. These wonderful community resources are supported by donations and having a company of our size give back is really special,” said HR Generalist Catherine Tinsley.

To cap off the Give Back, Get Back donation drives, TVS employees receive raffle tickets for the Thanksmas Raffle based on the number of items donated. This year employees were able to win a PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, multiple sizes of smart TVs, gift cards, and more.

TVS employees donate Back to School supplies!

Aug 2, 2022 | News

TVS employees continue to give back to our community! Over the past two weeks, TVS employees donated almost 1600 school supply items to the Sharing House.

The Back to School program provides free school supplies for all low-income students (K-12) living in Transylvania County. The Sharing House estimates to serve 600+ children in 2022!

“This school supply drive was very successful; we easily doubled the amount of donations we received the previous year. TVS employees show a lot of support for our donation drives, my favorite thing about each of our donation drives is seeing the employees so willing to give back to our community!” said Catherine Whitley, HR Generalist. “We decided to host the school supply drive again this year because of who it is benefitting. We all get to see the benefits of this drive in our community and kids. Helping them have a successful school year is a great feeling.”

The largest amounts of donated items included 164 rulers, 135 spiral notebooks, 126 packs of #2 pencils, and 116 packs of Crayons. However, TVS employees also donated hand sanitizer, dry erase markers, disinfecting wipes, and much more.

“This donation drive is our 2nd largest since TVS began donating back in the fall of 2020! Our record is 1700 hygiene items which were donated to S.A.F.E. in 2021,” Whitley said. “Though we didn’t quite pass that during this drive, we are thrilled with our employee participation!”

Prior to the school supply drive, TVS employees also donated dog food to the Labor of Love Pet Rescue during March of 2022.

“It is such a nice feeling being able to give back to this dog rescue,” said HR Administrative Assistant Kayde Hopkins. “Our support with this donation helps fosters care for the pups before they reach their forever homes.”

The total donation equaled just over 40 bags of dry dog food, over 40 bags of treats, and 3 cases of wet food.

Looking ahead for the rest of the year, TVS plans to host the 3rd annual “Give Back, Get Back” donation event. While the donation drives have not been released, TVS employees can expect to have three more ways to give back to their community.

Last year, TVS employees donated to Life Changers Outreach, S.A.F.E., and Operation Christmas Child.