Buncombe County Early College establishes Eblen Charities Spirit of Giving Award

It is without a doubt one of the most innovative and successful education programs anywhere. The Buncombe County Early College on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College provides unique educational opportunities for a diverse group of students to earn a high school diploma and anassociate degree in five years, or as much as two years of transferable credit along with their high school diploma.

But academics is far from the only thing that permeates the Early College core curriculum. As important as the traditional studies are, there is one thing that shines brightly through the halls and is reflected by every student there. That is the value of leadership that faculty, staff, and students place on service to the community that can not be learned through reading any text or listening to any lecture. It comes from the heart as their desire and compassion to serve those in need is as remarkable as their academic achievements.

“Service learning is a big part of the educational culture at Early College. Three year ago Student Government designed an award to recognize students who did outstanding service work during each school year, calling it the ‘Kennedy Award’. This year, they decided that they wanted to rename the award because there was no real connection or school ties to the name of the award. When we started brainstorming for a new name, it only took a few mo-ments for someone to suggest Eblen. Immediately everyone knew this was the perfect name for this award. Many students participated in the final design of the award. We are so proud to honor our students with this award each year. With a title like ‘Eblen Spirit of Giving Award’, everyone must know that the recipient is a passionate, tireless, advocate for those in need. We look forward to working with the Eblen Foundation each year when we present these awards” states Bonnie Johnston, Principal of Early College.

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This year’s recipients are:

Kevin Meyers, recognized for his outstanding work as one of the founding members of the Bronies for Good Charity group that raises money for numerous endeavors including Smile Charity Event: that benefited the Children’s Cancer Association and

Seeds of Kindness that raises money to benefit medical clinics and children and families in Uganda.

Payton Ammons was elected by her peers to head the Service Committee on Student Government. As Chairperson of the committee Payton organized and implemented the Pasta for Pennies campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Payton coordinated the Manna Food Drive and the student government effort to establish the Eblen Charities Spirit of Giving Award among her many endeavors.