Sketch Book Club
🎨•Sketchbook Club Asheville•🎨📖
Spencer Beals hosts a sketchbook club in Asheville for anyone who wants to build creative community! It is a great opportunity for people who want to develop their creativity and be around other creative people! All levels and ages are welcome, it’s every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. Its $10 for a class and you should bring a sketchbook and art supplies! He looks forward to sharing inspirational artists, collaborating on drawings, and intentionally creating creative community space
April Advocacy Conversations with DeepTime
Monthly Advocacy Conversations with Asheville Poverty Initiative
Second Chance Employment: Employment & Re-entry after Incarceration with Deep Time
Vote Riders Voter ID Help
VoteRiders is the country’s leading nonpartisan organization focused on the critical issue of voter ID.
Our mission is to eliminate ID barriers to the ballot box so every eligible voter can cast a ballot that counts.
We inform communities about ID laws, equip partner organizations to expand voting access, advocate for pro-voter policies, and provide free one-on-one help to individuals to secure an accepted form of ID to vote.
Sketch Book Club
🎨•Sketchbook Club Asheville•🎨📖
Spencer Beals hosts a sketchbook club in Asheville for anyone who wants to build creative community! It is a great opportunity for people who want to develop their creativity and be around other creative people! All levels and ages are welcome, it’s every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. Its $10 for a class and you should bring a sketchbook and art supplies! He looks forward to sharing inspirational artists, collaborating on drawings, and intentionally creating creative community space
Open Good Friday
We are open normal hours Good Friday, April 3rd, & Easter Monday, April 6th.
Lent Book Study
Lenten Study Group with Hill Brown
Sunday at 10:0 am
We will be reading Creative Disobedience by Dorothee Soelle. Contact Hill Brown for the weekly reading guide hillhbrown@gmail.com
March Advocacy Conversations with Asheville Area Tenants Union
Monthly Advocacy Conversations with Asheville Poverty Initiative
Tenant's Rights: Asheville Area Tenants Union with Jen Hampton
Westival - A Festival for the West of Us
A new event showcasing West Asheville food will occur at Archetype Brewing on Saturday, March 14, 2026 from 5-8 pm. “Westival” is a fundraiser for 12 Baskets Cafe and the work of Asheville Poverty Initiative (API), and will allow participants to sample from over 10 West Asheville-based food businesses.
“There is so much to celebrate about West Asheville,” said Ben Williamson, Executive Director of API, which operates 12 Baskets Cafe at 610 Haywood Road. “We wanted to design an affordable, casual event that highlighted the many exceptional food businesses we are surrounded by, as well as the amazing sense of community that exists,” Williamson said. Besides access to the food, Westival will include a DJ, information tables, a raffle, and other activities.
“12 Baskets Cafe serves without judgment,” said Tony Franco, Owner and Executive Chef at Food Experience. “Their focus is on the simple task of filling people’s bellies with an extended hand of love. It’s a clear, unambiguous effort to ease suffering, and anything we do to help is appreciated and accepted as well. We love working with 12 Baskets!” said Franco.
‘Love Never Leaves’
Tucker Cooke Gallery, Room 101 | Late February – March 2026
Introduction
‘Love Never Leaves’ isn’t just another campus exhibition—it’s a community welcome. Rooted in the heart of UNC Asheville, our show is a hometown celebration of strength, imagination, and the healing journey through trauma. The gallery walls will carry the stories and artwork of Kelly Redfern and Nico Adams, two visionaries whose creative spirits have weathered adversity and emerged more vibrant, more human—and forever inspiring. This is a show about resilience, unity, and the kind of love that refuses to fade, even in the hardest seasons.
Collaborators
Moonlight Cheese Alliance (Professor Leslee Johnson, Founder): Our partners in community-building and creative energy. Plus assistant/ interns like Elle and more in her dept.
The Love Project (Joni Lamb): Lifting up narratives of trauma and renewal through art.
Brent: Bridging connections between campus teams and heart-forward creators.
UNC Art Department: Keeping us grounded in the university’s artistic spirit and academic tradition.
Haywood Congregation (with Hank+ Joni): Providing a space that welcomes everyone, especially those who feel different, eccentric, or outside the box.
@12basketscafe and Asheville Poverty Initiative
February Advocacy Conversation
Turning awareness into action!
Conversation about resiliency and racial justice in Western North Carolina with David Greenson of People's Place AVL and Nina Ireland, Tiffany DeBellott & Lindia Pearson of GAP AVL.
David has been a community organizer for over twenty years, working as a Lead Organizer and Deputy Director for MoveOn.org, the Training Director for Rootskeeper, and the Advocacy Director for the Racial Justice Coalition of Asheville. As an ordained interstitial chaplain, his primary calling is to engage white people in the spiritual work necessary to dismantle white supremacy and bring about racial justice.
Evening flow:
6:00: Folks arrive and mingle.
6:15: Mae Welcome and introductions.
6:30: Conversation (30 - 60 minutes)
7:30 (or immediately following): Q&A
7:50: How to activate and closing
Sketch Book Club
🎨•Sketchbook Club Asheville•🎨📖
Spencer Beals hosts a sketchbook club in Asheville for anyone who wants to build creative community! It is a great opportunity for people who want to develop their creativity and be around other creative people! All levels and ages are welcome, it’s every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. Its $10 for a class and you should bring a sketchbook and art supplies! He looks forward to sharing inspirational artists, collaborating on drawings, and intentionally creating creative community space
Sketch Book Club
🎨•Sketchbook Club Asheville•🎨📖
Spencer Beals hosts a sketchbook club in Asheville for anyone who wants to build creative community! It is a great opportunity for people who want to develop their creativity and be around other creative people! All levels and ages are welcome, it’s every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. Its $10 for a class and you should bring a sketchbook and art supplies! He looks forward to sharing inspirational artists, collaborating on drawings, and intentionally creating creative community space
Unlabel Poverty: A Panel Discussion and Photo Experience
Event Details
At this event Asheville Poverty Initiative's Realities of Poverty Educators will share their lived experience in poverty and houselessness focusing on the human experience, systemic barriers and the strength of community.
Attendees will have the opportunity to attend an educational walk (weather permitting), view a photography and film exhibit, eat snacks provided by 12 baskets while learning more about food systems, and hear from a panel of speakers on the topic of poverty and houselessness.
This is a multi-part program, so you can choose which parts you'd like to attend if you can't stay for the whole time. Below is the event schedule:
3:00 PM- leave for a guided walk-through downtown where the realities of living in poverty in Asheville will be discussed
5:00 PM- Arrive back at the library, warm-up, eat some snacks and view the photography and film exhibit
5:30-6:30- Speaker Panel
6:30-7:00- Questions
Christmas Day at 12 Baskets Cafe
We will be open and serving lunch Thursday December 25th
Community Celebration
Join Asheville Poverty Initiative & 12 Baskets Cafe for a Community Celebration!
THURSDAY December 4th from 5 to 8 pm at One World Brewing West (520 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806).
This event will feature ...
Readings from our community writing collective & performances by local musicians
The first edition of The Intersection street paper
Delicious food for purchase from The Smokin’ Onion food truck
Raffle prizes
Your chance to grab our annual limited-edition t-shirt or hoodie, designed by local artist Kamryn Nordsiek
Saturday Co-Work
Join us for Saturday Co-Work at 12 Baskets Cafe this weekend!
📅 When: Sunday, 11-1 pm
📍 Where: 12 Baskets Cafe
Bring your laptop, notebook, or any project you’re working on, and enjoy a focused, supportive space to get things done. Whether you're tackling emails, brainstorming ideas, or just want to be productive in good company, this is a great time to work alongside others in the community.
See you there! 💻✨
Thanksgiving at 12 Baskets Café
The café will be open and serving a Thanksgiving meal during our normal Thursday hours from 11 am to 1 pm. As always the garden will be open at 10 am for coffee and community.
ORIENTATION FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS
Join us on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am and Sunday mornings at 9:00 am for an orientation specifically designed for those new to volunteering at 12 Baskets Café. Learn about our mission, the impact we make, and how you can play a crucial role in serving the community.
Reiki with Judith
We will be starting sessions around 11:30 and will be able to accommodate 3-4 people per day. Please come early to get on the list if you would like Reiki Healing. Our healers will have the agency to monitor and accommodate who and what they can.
Saturday Co-Work
Join us for Saturday Co-Work at 12 Baskets Cafe this weekend!
📅 When: Sunday, 11-1 pm
📍 Where: 12 Baskets Cafe
Bring your laptop, notebook, or any project you’re working on, and enjoy a focused, supportive space to get things done. Whether you're tackling emails, brainstorming ideas, or just want to be productive in good company, this is a great time to work alongside others in the community.
See you there! 💻✨
ORIENTATION FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS
Join us on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am and Sunday mornings at 9:00 am for an orientation specifically designed for those new to volunteering at 12 Baskets Café. Learn about our mission, the impact we make, and how you can play a crucial role in serving the community.
Reiki with Judith
We will be starting sessions around 11:30 and will be able to accommodate 3-4 people per day. Please come early to get on the list if you would like Reiki Healing. Our healers will have the agency to monitor and accommodate who and what they can.
Saturday Co-Work
Join us for Saturday Co-Work at 12 Baskets Cafe this weekend!
📅 When: Sunday, 11-1 pm
📍 Where: 12 Baskets Cafe
Bring your laptop, notebook, or any project you’re working on, and enjoy a focused, supportive space to get things done. Whether you're tackling emails, brainstorming ideas, or just want to be productive in good company, this is a great time to work alongside others in the community.
See you there! 💻✨
ORIENTATION FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS
Join us on Thursday mornings at 10:00 am and Sunday mornings at 9:00 am for an orientation specifically designed for those new to volunteering at 12 Baskets Café. Learn about our mission, the impact we make, and how you can play a crucial role in serving the community.
Reiki with Judith
We will be starting sessions around 11:30 and will be able to accommodate 3-4 people per day. Please come early to get on the list if you would like Reiki Healing. Our healers will have the agency to monitor and accommodate who and what they can.