Asheville-Biltmore Rotarians & Friends
Walked the Walk
to Serve Others on
Saturday May 17, 2025
We Walked the Walk!
Asheville-Biltmore Rotary completed its Walk the Walk fundraising event on Saturday, May 17, with great results.
We had dozens of walkers and contributors that made it all happen, and we were graciously hosted for the day by Bear’s Smokehouse, on Asheville’s Downtown South Slope.
Walkers chose either 1 or 2 mile routes through downtown Asheville, spreading the word of our commitment to raise needed funds to fight dementia (funds going to Memory Care and the CARTS research program) and to fight hunger (contributing to Manna FoodBank).
Over $162,000 was raised to be equally shared among these three great organizations. The club absorbed all costs so 100% of donations went to the causes.
In addition, we used this event to remind people of the great work being done by Veterans Restoration Quarters (VRQ), taking care of our veterans. Our club has a separate fund raising program ongoing to support VRQ’s post Helene rebuilding program, but we used the Walk to also remind people of the value of VRQ to our community.
Walkers included Rotarians, family, friends, community members, volunteers from the supported organizations, our always hard working and present Rotary District Governor, people from all over the greater Asheville area, and quite a few good dogs!
This was a great day of fellowship and living the motto of Service Above Self.
The Walk was directly tied to four primary objectives of our club:
- Serve Others: We are supporting excellent organizations that take on the tough challenges in the world.
- Educate and Increase Awareness: Helping all of us better understand challenges that people face and how we can help.
- Increase Rotary Visibility: Asheville-Biltmore Rotary is a vital part of our local community. The Walk provides us an excellent opportunity to share the Rotary story of service.
- Reinforce Friendships and Camaraderie: The Walk is a great opportunity to spend time together as Rotarians, friends, and families. Nothing says we cannot have a lot of fun while doing good!
Why Did We Do This?
We Walked and Donated to Support Efforts To:
- Fight Dementia: Funds going equally to Asheville’s own MemoryCare and the Rotary Sponsored CART program, doing cutting edge research to defeat dementia.
- Feed the Hungry: Supporting Manna Food Bank, which has experienced a surge in demand following Tropical Storm Helene.
- Celebrate Our Veterans: Reminding all of the vital work being done by Veterans Restoration Quarters, which serves those who served our country.
