The beauty of spring is cascading from South Carolina’s midlands to the mountains of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee. We’re excited to go outside, soak in the sunshine, and enjoy the glorious new blooms! 

On Friday, March 31st, the Mast Store in Asheville hosted a special event with Sherpa Adventure Gear, celebrating Nepalese food, culture, and the history of the Sherpa people.

The Sherpa Adventure Gear line is a new addition to Mast Store’s offerings in the Outdoor Department. The brand is a living memorial to the high-altitude climbers who have assisted individuals, like Sir Edmund Hilary, and groups in their ascent of Mount Everest and other peaks in the Himalayas.

Our country’s literacy initiative, Read Across America Day, is being celebrated on Thursday, March 2nd. In conjunction with this event, The Little Golden Books is celebrating its 75th anniversary throughout 2017.  In addition to honoring the importance of Read Across America, Mast associates share stories about lessons we learned from our favorite Little Golden Books.

Last week we learned about the seven basic principles of Leave No Trace (LNT). Familiarize yourself with the LNT essentials by clicking visiting last week's blog entry. This week, we’re exploring easy ways to share these important guidelines with the children in your life. Let’s get started.

If you’ve been to a Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts meeting, attended a wilderness summer camp, or participated in the Great American Backyard Campout, you may already be familiar with the principles of Leave No Trace (LNT). These valuable principles aren’t just useful in the woods, they can be applied in every environment. This week, we’re exploring Leave No Trace so our collective small steps can lead to big changes in the natural world (and in ourselves)!

On Valentine’s Day, we all want to do something thoughtful for our sweethearts. Why not double up and help someone you don’t even know have a hot, nourishing meal? It’s so easy!

This is the 14th year for Be a Sweetheart. The event was founded in 2004 when a need to fill their pantries was communicated by our food security partners. In the beginning, Mast Store matched each pound of candy purchased with our own pound of food. Then, because of the ability of our food banks and food rescue partners to stretch a dollar into more, Mast Store began donating $1 for each pound purchased. It was a natural tie-in to link Valentine’s Day, when many of us do something nice for someone we love, to supporting efforts to feed a desperate need in our communities.

On Valentine’s Day, we all want to do something thoughtful for our sweethearts. Why not double up and help someone you don’t even know have a hot, nourishing meal? It’s so easy!

This is the 14th year for Be a Sweetheart. The event was founded in 2004 when a need to fill their pantries was communicated by our food security partners. In the beginning, Mast Store matched each pound of candy purchased with our own pound of food. Then, because of the ability of our food banks and food rescue partners to stretch a dollar into more, Mast Store began donating $1 for each pound purchased. It was a natural tie-in to link Valentine’s Day, when many of us do something nice for someone we love, to supporting efforts to feed a desperate need in our communities.

On Valentine’s Day, we all want to do something thoughtful for our sweethearts. Why not double up and help someone you don’t even know have a hot, nourishing meal? It’s so easy!

This is the 14th year for Be a Sweetheart. The event was founded in 2004 when a need to fill their pantries was communicated by our food security partners. In the beginning, Mast Store matched each pound of candy purchased with our own pound of food. Then, because of the ability of our food banks and food rescue partners to stretch a dollar into more, Mast Store began donating $1 for each pound purchased. It was a natural tie-in to link Valentine’s Day, when many of us do something nice for someone we love, to supporting efforts to feed a desperate need in our communities.

On Valentine’s Day, we all want to do something thoughtful for our sweethearts. Why not double up and help someone you don’t even know have a hot, nourishing meal? It’s so easy!

This is the 14th year for Be a Sweetheart. The event was founded in 2004 when a need to fill their pantries was communicated by our food security partners. In the beginning, Mast Store matched each pound of candy purchased with our own pound of food. Then, because of the ability of our food banks and food rescue partners to stretch a dollar into more, Mast Store began donating $1 for each pound purchased. It was a natural tie-in to link Valentine’s Day, when many of us do something nice for someone we love, to supporting efforts to feed a desperate need in our communities.