View our resource lists below or contact us directly for immediate needs matching.
View our resource lists below or contact us directly for immediate needs matching.
Beginning Tuesday, March 17, Watauga County Schools will operate five feeding sites across the county. parents from any school may pick up take-out meals at at of the designated sites in a drive through line.
Lunch and a packed breakfast for the next day will be served at Bethel, Mabel and Green Valley schools from 11AM-1PM each of the days that schools are closed for students
Dinner and breakfast for the next day will be served at Hardin Park School and Brushy Fork Baptist Church, located at 3915 Highway 421 North in Vilas, from 4PM-6 PM each of the days school is closed for students.
All children under the age of 18 may get free meals at these sites regardless of where they live or attend school in Watauga County.
Contact your school's main office if these options do not work for you.
141 Health Center Dr # C, Boone, NC 28607
(828) 262-1628
Open 10AM-3PM Monday - Friday, Pharmacy Hours 10AM-3PM Tuesday and Thursday
Offers drive-thru services, including pharmacy, market, pantry, and to-go meals.
828-265-8090
Home Delivered Meals are intended to help impaired home-bound older folks, and provides nutritional meals served at their homes. "Home-bound is defined as being confined to the home due to reason of illness or incapacitating disability."
Qualifications:
Must be 60 years of age or older
Physically or mentally unable to obtain food or prepare meals
No responsible person who is able and willing to perform this needed service
Unable to participate in the congregate nutrition program because of physical or mental impairment
The spouse of an eligible older person is also eligible to receive a meal
338 Brook Hollow Road Boone, NC 28607
(828) 264-1237
Open 12PM-4PM daily,
The Hospitality House Food Pantry is the "only local food pantry providing food boxes seven days a week." When picking up a food box, Food Pantry staff will bring a box to you, no need to leave your car!
The Hospitality House Community Kitchen serves three meals a day in take-out containers you can pick up in their drive-thru, each day of the week.
Breakfast: 6:30 - 8:30 am; Lunch 11:30 am - 1:00 pm; Dinner 5:30 - 6:30 pm
To make a contribution please visit HospHouse.org/donate OR Venmo: @hosphouse
513 Jefferson Road Boone, NC 28607
The Little Free Pantry is a small food donation site where you can pick-up or drop off food and supplies.
Watauga Agricultural Center 252 Poplar Grove Rd. Boone, NC
Open Saturdays from 9AM-12PM
Using the Double Up Program at a Market:
Bring your SNAP/EBT card to the market
Go to the manager's booth to match up to $20 per day
Get your tokens and spend them at the market
Watauga Agricultural Center 252 Poplar Grove Rd. Boone, NC
Order online Thursday - Monday and pick-up on Wednesdays
Using the Double Up Program at a Market:
Select EBT card when you set up your Food Hub account
Select your items and place an order
Pick up your order on Wednesday and swipe your EBT card
471 New Market Boulevard Boone, North Carolina 28607
828-264-6090
Boone UMC Thursday Night Dinners will be available 5PM-6:30PM, drive-thru style from the portico, located at the lower left side of the church building at the Children’s Wing.
Office Space: 191 Howard St. Boone, NC 28607
828-264-3415
The Heart will be providing food boxes available for pick-up at their office space location on Wednesdays from 1PM-4PM.
239 Sunset Drive Blowing Rock, NC
(828) 295-3487
The Public House is providing free, take-out breakfast for all children regardless of age Monday - Friday from 8AM-11AM.
194 Aho Rd Blowing Rock, NC 28605
The Casting Bread Food Pantry is providing pick-up food boxes on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30AM-3PM.
Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1218 Main Street Blowing Rock, NC 28605
(828) 295-7675
Blowing Rock C.A.R.E.S. Food Pantry will be open on Mondays from 9AM-12PM and Fridays 4PM-6PM for pick-up food boxes.
3986 Todd Railroad Grade Rd, Todd, NC 28684
336-877-1706
Todd's Table Free Little Food Pantry is a small food donation site where you can pick-up or drop off food and supplies. Use the address listed above to visit the site. Take what you need, give what you can!
120 Henson Hollar Rd, Vilas, NC 28692
The regular food bag distribution from 4PM-6PM on Thursdays has moved from the Community Center to Henson’s Chapel UMC. Drive-thru. Weekly food bags available.
1330 Sherwood road, Vilas, NC 28692
The Little Free Pantry is a small food donation site where you can pick-up or drop off food and supplies.
8235 U.S. Hwy 421 N, Vilas, NC 28692
(828) 297-1092
High Country UCC will be offering pick-up food boxes from 10:30AM-1PM on Saturdays and 5:15PM-7PM on Mondays.
122 Skiles Way Banner Elk, NC 28604
The Holy Cross/VCCC Little Food Pantry is a small food donation site where you can pick-up or drop off food and supplies. Use the address listed above to visit the site. Take what you need, give what you can!
It is critical to keep in mind that during this challenging time of responding to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) public health crisis, following the guidance to stay home as much as possible is the most important mitigation measure the community can take.
If you suspect you have Coronavirus, take the at home “self-checker” by the Center for Disease Control: Symptoms & Testing | CDC
New testing recommendations: People with mild symptoms consistent with COVID-19 do NOT need testing and should be instructed to stay at home to recover. Mild symptoms include: fever and cough without shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. If you experience shortness of breath, chest pain or pressure, blue lips, difficulty breathing or confusion, call 911 or your doctor right away.
COVID-19 updates for watauga county: Watauga Updates
COVID-19 updates for NC: North Carolina Updates
Prevention
The following guidance is provided by the CDC, N.C. DHHS and AppHealthCare:
Practice social distancing: avoiding gatherings, keep 6 feet or more away from others and remain at home as much as possible.
Frequent hand washing for 20 seconds.
Stay home when you’re sick.
Keep distance from others who are sick.
Avoid touching your face.
Clean and disinfect high touch surfaces in common areas like doorknobs, remotes, light switches, tables and handles (CDC Cleaning & Disinfection Recommendations: click here)
People at high risk should stay home to the greatest extent possible.
Wear cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (DIY No-Sew Mask video)
Appalachian Regional Healthcare System
AppHealthCare is available and on-call 24/7 to respond to public health emergencies. To reach them, call (828) 264-4995 anytime and follow the prompts. Click here to visit their website or click here to visit their COVID-19 specific website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
ARHS has established a new telehealth and drive-through testing process for COVID-19: For more information, click here. Appalachian Regional Healthcare System has banned visitors at Watauga Medical Center and Cannon Memorial Hospital, except on a case-by-case basis for:
Hospitalized minors
Patients at the end of life
Patients needing help with communication or decision making
Patients giving birth
Pharmacies
High Country Drug pharmacies offering drive-throughs, curbside pickup, delivery:
Boone Drug King Street: 828-264-8929
Boone Drug New Market Center: 828-264-9144
Boone Drug Greenway: 828-355-3350
Warrensville Drug: 336-384-3900
Mountain City Pharmacy: 423-727-0038
Crossnore Drug Store: 828-733-2486
Avery Pharmacy: 828-737-7476
The Hunger and Health Coalition is also offering drive-thru services for their pharmacy from 10AM-3PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To visit their website, click here.
141 Health Center Drive Suite C, Boone, NC 28607
(828)-265-8591
Children’s Council of Watauga County Diaper Bank
Beginning on Monday, March 30th, our Diaper Bank will be temporarily moved to the Health and Hunger Coalition for ease of access.
141 Health Center Drive Suite C, Boone, NC 28607
(828)-265-8591
We will have diapers, wipes and infant formula for Watauga County residents. These items will be available for pick-up on M-F from 10:00-3:00. Click here to access the Children’s Council’s website.
Community Care Clinic
The community care clinic is still open and operating for low-income and uninsured members of Boone. Please make sure to call the front desk to check in before entering the building. DO NOT enter the clinic if you are experiencing flu like symptoms. To visit their website, click here.
141 Health Center Drive Suite B, Boone, NC 28607
(828)-265-8591
Volunteer Needs
If you are a healthcare worker and want to volunteer for COVID-19 response you can sign up through NC TERMS click here. For help with registering, please call (828) 264-4995 or email preparedness@apphealth.com and give your name, expertise/credentials, and a call back number.
Email preparedness@apphealth.com to inquire about volunteering with AppHealthCare
To apply to be a medical volunteer for NC, click here.
If you are a parent who provides necessary services to, or cares for, members of our communities and your child care has fallen through or is unavailable because of COVID-19 closures, call 1-888-600-1685 to be connected with the right fit for you and your child. At this time, representatives are available to assist you on weekdays between 8AM-5PM.
Care options are for parents whose typical child care arrangements are unavailable due to school or child care closings and who cannot access other care.
Options are available for infants up to children age 12.
If you are in need of local childcare and the service above does not provide for you, contact us and we will do our best to safely meet your childcare needs.
If you are in need of tutoring services to assist with online classes or K-12 homework, contact us and we will do our best to find or facilitate tutoring services.
ABC Ya offers more than 400 educational games for children in grades Pre-K through 6. Games are categorized by grade and subject, and families can access all ABCya's regular games and videos with a free subscription. They can be accessed online here.
BrainPOP is an online resource that provides animated interactive lessons, quizzes, and games for core subjects and a variety of electives. Click here to visit their website.
CMU CS Academy is a free online, interactive high school computer science curriculum. By signing up for a mentor account, families can access the CS0 course. This course includes about 40 hours of instruction and is intended for middle school, out-of-school programs, and summer camp settings. Click here to access this resource online.
This is a fun, interactive, supportive group for families, as it is difficult to not feel isolated during this time. In an effort to keep families connected we are continuing all our Circle of Parents meetings online via Zoom. These are open and welcoming groups to any parent or caregiver in the High Country. There are several meetings offered via zoom and the links are shared weekly by our staff on our FB pages.
Planeta Mamá (Planet Mom) our Bilingual group
Every Tuesday at 12:30-1:30 p.m. - Contact Tana@thechildrenscouncil.org or on Facebook at Tana Children’s Council
Circle Tuesdays
Every Tuesday evening at 6:30-7:30 p.m. (normally our Circles Yoga Group) - Contact shawna@thechildrenscouncil.org or on Facebook at Shawna CC
Circle Wednesdays
Every Wednesday at 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Contact shawna@thechildrenscouncil.org or on Facebook at Shawna CC
Circles KIDS
Various times throughout the week - Contact renee@thechildrenscouncil.org or on Facebook at Renee Children’s Council
To join a meeting check the Facebook pages for links or check back here for weekly Zoom link invites.
Circletime Fun offers kids classes from home that you can either watch on-demand or participate in live. Each class is led by an expert instructor and geared toward children ages 0-6. Registration is required to access the classes but is free with this code: homefun1. Click here to go to their website.
Cognitive ToyBox is offering free daily activities geared towards young children (ages 8 and younger). Click here to visit their website.
Coronavirus Homeschooling offers parents free schedules and weekly lesson plans for kids in grades K-5 during the pandemic. Parents can sign up for access to resources on the website. Additionally, the group sends an email each weekday with a list of fun, educational activities for the day (a.k.a. lesson plans) and a video from an experienced homeschool mom to walk you through them. These lessons can be used on their own or as supplementary activities to a district's assignments. Click here to access their website.
Gutenberg offers over 60,000 books for free online
OpenLibrary offers books on art, fantasy, science, cooking, religion, and more!
LibriVox offers free audio books
ManyBooks also offers thousands of free books online
This article lists several online educational sources that are free at this time, including Khan Academy and Coursera.
Yale University is offering several free online courses, including a class on Capitalism and a class on Pandemics.
MIT is also offering hundreds of free online courses.
Offers specific homeschooling lessons for grades K-12 on their website.
Duolingo offers language learning activities in the form of games on your phone or computer!
Fabulinga is free during the COVID-19 Pandemic!
This Facebook group offers mentorship and resources from experienced online educators. Wondering how to fix a bad WiFi connection? Looking for learning ideas? Craving a support network? Find help on their Facebook page.
TEDEd brings lessons to life for students through animation. TEDEd’s goal is to ignite curiosity among learners. To do this, TEDEd collects the best teacher lessons around the world. Then, it turns them into shareable animated videos for students. To access their website, click here.
Take your child on a Virtual Field Trip! You can take your kid on a virtual field trip to Zoos, National Parks, Aquariums, Volcanoes, Farms and more! Click here to access their website.
Gutenberg offers over 60,000 books for free online
OpenLibrary offers books on art, fantasy, science, cooking, religion, and more!
LibriVox offers free audio books
ManyBooks also offers thousands of free books online
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options
Find a list of different federal options for funding relief
Disaster Loan Assistance
Paycheck Protection Program - provides loan forgiveness for retaining employees
EIDL Loan Advance - provide up to $10,000 of economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing temporary difficulties
SBA Express Bridge Loans - Enables small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 quickly.
SBA Debt Relief
https://www.lisc.org/covid-19/verizon-small-business-recovery-fund/
Grants up to $10,000 to businesses facing immediate financial pressure due to COVID-19
Especially for entrepreneurs of eof color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises in historically underserved communities who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital.
Can be used for rent and utilities, payroll, outstanding debt to vendors, and other immediate operational costs
The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation has compiled a list of resources (that is continuously updated) for current restaurant employees or those who were let go due to COVID-19 including: relief funds for restaurant workers, financial information, healthcare resources, immigrant specific resources, volunteering options and more. Their resources can be found on their website.
The U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives offers several resources as well as answers to Frequently Asked Questions to their members and the wider cooperative community on their website.
If you are a small business owner, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers funding options, guidance for businesses and employees, local assistance, options to join relief efforts, products and resources, and government contracting information on their website.
https://carolinasmallbusiness.org/initiatives/nc-covid-19-rapid-recovery-loan/
Loan
Designed to be a “bridge loan” until businesses can access SBA disaster or other federal disaster funding.
Up to $50,000, based on current business revenue.
Loan size capped at approx. 2 months of current revenue
6 months of no interest and no payments, followed by 48 months of principal and interest payments at 5.5% interest
No prepayment penalties
Who is eligible?
NC small Business
At least one employee (could be the self-employed owner)
Star
Requirements
Any individual with greater than 20% ownership in the applying business must personally guarantee the loan.
Proceeds from the loan may only be used for maintaining or restarting a business.
The use of loan funds to pay off debts already incurred for qualifying business maintenance or restart purposes may be authorized on a case-by-case basis.
Borrowers are required to assign the proceeds of future assistance programs, including SBA loans, to the repayment of their Rapid Recovery Loan.
Business Edge is a series of layoff aversion strategies and activities designed to help North Carolina employers prevent or minimize job losses. Through Business Edge, workforce partners collaborate with business leaders to assess the needs of, and options for, “at-risk” firms, and to deliver services that address those needs.
Dial 919.814.0400 or Toll-Free: 800.562.6333 and choose option 2 (Business Services) or email DWS_BusinessServices@nccommerce.com
The Carolina Small Business Development Fund is offering loans to small businesses that are designed to be “bridge loans” until businesses can access SBA disaster or other federal disaster funding. The loans are up to $50,000, based on current business revenue, without interest or required payments for 6 months. All NC small businesses with at least one employee (could be the self-employed owner) are eligible. For a list of requirements and to apply for a loan, visit their website.
The EDPNC offers a list of business relief resources on their website.
The High Country United Relief Fund is a local relief fund that will supply emergency funds to our local non-profit network that includes 26 organizations across the High Country. Funding will help High Country residents in need of critical information and services like food, financial assistance, and more. To donate follow click here.
The LISC Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund offers grants up to $10,000 to businesses facing immediate financial pressure due to COVID-19, especially for entrepreneurs of color, female-owned businesses, and other enterprises in historically underserved communities who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital. The grants can be used for rent and utilities, payroll, outstanding debt to vendors, and other immediate operational costs. To apply for a grant, click here.
Mountain Bizworks is a Western North Carolina based organization for small business development that lists resources to help with funding, legal issues, and general support. Webinars, virtual clinics and Virtual Events are also available on their website.
Mountain Bizworks is also offering Rapid Recovery Financing options to business owners in Western NC at this time, they can be applied for here.
The NC Department of Commerce offers a list of resources and answers for Frequently Asked Questions for Small Businesses in North Carolina on their website.
Quiet Givers offers anonymous gifts to those in need in Watauga County. Area nonprofits, social workers, schools and other community organizations send Quiet Givers needs that they are having trouble meeting through existing funds or programs. If you are a part of an agency listed above and your organization sees a need that you need help filling, click here.
If you are in need of transportation or delivery services, contact us and we will do our best to find or facilitate transportation services.
Boone Community Relief is a local organization working to facilitate mutual aid services, including transportation services and delivery services for supplies drop-offs. You can contact them at boonecommunityrelief@protonmail.com
Appalcart
Craig Hughes, Director of AppalCART, stated they will be maintaining essential services in support of App State, the Town of Boone, and Watauga County beginning March 16, 2020. Only the Green, Red, Orange, Pop105, and Purple fixed (bus) routes will be running while all App State classes are meeting online. These routes will follow the Break Schedule unless there is demand to increase capacity. Complementary paratransit will operate during the same times as the fixed (bus) routes. The Rural routes and Project On Aging routes schedules remain the same. We are continually evaluating our operations and planning our next steps as new issues arise or as the situation changes. Bus routes are listed here.
Due to the close proximity to our drivers and other passengers, demand response clients are being screened by asking if they have been experiencing fever or flu like symptoms. If they indicate they have experienced either, they are directed to contact their healthcare provider or AppHealthCare.
AppalCART staff have been assigned to clean operating buses throughout the day. Each operating bus will be cleaned multiple times throughout the day. Cleaning of the buses will be documented to inform FTA, NCDOT, and the general public of the measures we are taking.
Boone Community Relief
Boone Community Relief is a local organization working to facilitate mutual aid services, including transportation services and delivery services for supplies drop-offs. You can contact them at boonecommunityrelief@protonmail.com or click here to visit their Facebook page.
Watauga Neighbors’ Network
If you are in need of transportation or delivery services, contact us and we will do our best to find or facilitate transportation services.
This helps time inhales/exhales, really great for calming down:
https://mobile.twitter.com/iatemuggles/status/1188992626730688513
The app “Down Dog” is free until May 1st (July 1st for students), it offers customizable fitness instruction videos for any length of time, even 5 minutes!! Includes, yoga, HIIT, & barre
Free Writing is an exercise that can help organize thoughts into a way you can better understand them, if you click on the lotus flower in the top left corner of the webpage, you can write in a distraction free “environment” (no word count, random options on google docs that are distracting, etc.) and if you don’t want to see your writing when you’re done, you can exit the page and *poof* gone forever, or there’s an option to save your work!
https://www.calmlywriter.com/online/
BetterHelp is an online counseling service that can be done anywhere at any time with a large number of therapist available. Their mission statement is "Making professional counseling accessible, affordable, convenient - so anyone who struggles with life’s challenges can get help, anytime, anywhere."