Donate to Keep Growing Wild Forest School Open

Hello to our beloved community,

Growing Wild Forest School in West Asheville, NC is a special place in all of our hearts. My name is Erika Bowser and I am local to Asheville. My 4 year old son attends this pre-school. Our 100% outdoor pre-school is a beacon of creativity and exploration for our children. Furthermore, Growing Wild is a space of stability and safety for teachers, students, administration and families alike.

https://www.growingwildforestschool.org/

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, we had to temporarily close Growing Wild. This week (10/21/24) we were able to open again and welcome students back to school!

The entire Growing Wild community, like Asheville at large is in a space of transition as we process the complex emotions that come with such loss.

We are raising money at this time to continue programming at the school. In this space of processing and transformation we don’t know exactly what the coming weeks and months hold for our school. Traditionally we rely on student tuition to cover operating costs and most importantly to pay our hardworking and loving teachers. Following the storm many families made the difficult decision to leave Asheville until basic services such as power, wifi, cell phone service, and potable water are universally available-a process with an unknown timeline. Any money raised will initially go to the staff to pay their salaries while enrollment is low and will also be used to keep our school solvent until tuition is again able to sustain our community. Additionally we will be using funds in the coming weeks to open the school for the surrounding community as childcare and connection is urgently needed.

We know that from darkness comes light and through our grief we remain hopeful and dedicated to the education of our children.

With love,

Growing Wild Forest School