Devi Eddins, a graduate of Wake Forest University has been a part of the team at Arts For Life Winston-Salem, for several years. Her first internship with Arts For Life began in the summer of 2006. Devi came to the art table twice a week for 2 – 3 hours in the morning, assisting Arts For Life’s Program Director in teaching art to the patients in the Hem/Onc Clinic at Brenner Children’s Hospital.
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Come to the Bids for Kids event at the Biltmore Lake Clubhouse
May 17th from 7:00-9:00
To find out more or purchase tickets:
call Valerie at 665-9342 or email: spolet@aol.com. 

Neighborhood Organizes a
“Bids for Kids” Auction
to Benefit AFL

When a neighborhood group at Biltmore Lake started meeting last fall, their intention was to share arts and crafts with each other.  However, the focus of these 30 neighbors quickly changed to organizing an event to help seriously ill children when they heard about the work of the non-profit organization Arts For Life.

 Now the greater Asheville community can also help and have fun at the same time by attending Bids for Kids, A Spring Auction and Chocolate Symphony, May 17, 7:00-10:00 PM at the Biltmore Lake Clubhouse.    The event, underwritten by Marie Gillette & Family and Merrill Lynch, will feature a live and silent auction with hundreds of items and services donated by businesses, artists, craftsmen, and residents.  

Auction Chairperson Valerie Altman promises “an exciting and memorable evening with live jazz, sumptuous chocolate and fabulous auction items such as pottery by Ben Owen,  III, a week at Links & Logs in Steamboat Springs, dinner for eight with your own personal chef, lessons in dancing and New Orleans cooking, a hot air balloon excursion, jewelry, art, and gift certificates for WNC hospitality and attractions.  

Said Altman, “We are committed to having a highly successful event to support Arts For Life’s programs.  The caring artists and volunteers who work with the children help so much by teaching them new skills and giving them creative ways to cope with their illnesses.”

Reaching over 2,000 North Carolina patients annually, Arts For Life is dedicated to improving the lives and healthcare experiences of children and adolescents battling cancer and other serious illnesses. Its visual art, creative writing, and music programs decrease patient stress and anxiety, keep patients active and engaged, and help families handle the realities of illness.  In Asheville alone, Arts For Life teachers provide over 105 hours of art lessons to young patients each week. 

“I was amazed at the response from this remarkable group at Biltmore Lake when they learned about the program,” said Executive Director Anna Littman.   “Retired businessmen and women, professors, artists, and doctors have picked up their phone books, strapped on their walking shoes, and gotten out into the community to gather donations and auction items for the “Bids for Kids” event.  As these volunteers go from door to door, sit down to write one more letter of request or email of thanks, they know that their work will touch the spirits of hundreds of our community’s precious children.  We are so grateful for their help.”

Yet, it is hard to imagine anyone not being touched or being drawn to support this organization when they see the colorful animals, landscapes, and abstract designs the children create while getting their lengthy and repetitive medical treatments.