ASHEVILLE, NC– Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) will kick off its 18th Annual MHO Ramp Festival on Saturday, June 9, 2012.

The 18th Annual MHO Ramp Festival marks a weekend of community volunteerism and support for this important service for homeowners in Buncombe County who are elderly or disabled and have low or very low income. Three ramps have already been completed during the month of May. By the end of this weekend, three more wheelchair ramps, three sets of stairs and three decks will be completed. More than 300 handicapped accessible ramps have been built throughout Asheville and Buncombe County by volunteers and MHO staff since 1988.

Volunteer crews participating this year include Eaton Corporation, Jubilee! Community, Mortgage Bankers Association of WNC, Salem United Methodist Church, Weaverville United Methodist Church, the Board and Staff of Mountain Housing Opportunities and other community members.

The 18th Annual MHO Ramp Festival is sponsored by: Eaton Corporation, BB&T Bank, CarePartners Health Services, First Citizens Bank, Jubilee! Community, Mortgage Bankers Association of Western North Carolina, Partnership Property Management, Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, Asheville Savings Bank, Hamilton Hauling, and On a Roll Screenprinting and Design.

Donations are being accepted to offset the cost of building materials for this year’s Ramp Festival and also for MHO’s ongoing Emergency Repair Program. If you would like to make a contribution, please visit http://www.mtnhousing.org or call 828-254-4030.


18th Annual MHO Ramp Festival Information

WHAT: 18th Annual MHO Ramp Festival

WHO: Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO) & Volunteer Crews: MHO is a private, non-profit, community development corporation, whose mission is to build and improve homes, neighborhoods, communities—and lives—and to build hope and dignity in the people we serve. Since MHO’s founding in 1988, it has assisted more than 4,000 households through its services of emergency home repair, rural home rehabilitation, and affordable rental and homeownership development.

WHEN: Volunteer crews will be on-location around Buncombe County Saturday, June 9.

WHERE: Locations in Asheville, Swannanoa, and Candler.

WHY: The MHO Ramp Festival brings the community together to provide an important service to Buncombe County homeowners who are elderly or disabled with low or limited income. The festival is part of MHO’s Emergency Home Repair program which eliminates immediate threats to life, health and safety in the homes of low-income homeowners with special needs. MHO’s Emergency Home Repair program currently provides over 150 safety-related repairs each year.

The MHO Ramp Festival can be found online at: http://www.mtnhousing.org/services/emergency/ramp_festival.php