Ice Cream & Voting Outreach in Southside Neighborhood August 23

On Sunday afternoon, Aug. 23, Sweet Ride Asheville will roll into the Livington and Erskine-Walton neighborhoods in the Southside community as volunteers from Invisible Asheville/WNC offer free ice cream for kids and voting information for adults.

WHAT: “Ice Cream for Voting” Neighborhood Outreach
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, 2-5 p.m.
WHERE: Livingston and Erskine-Walton Apartments, 133 Livingston Street, Asheville, NC 28801
WHO: Indivisible Asheville/WNC with Sweet Ride Asheville

“We’re sweet on voting,” said Indivisible Asheville/WNC Board member Brenda Murphree. “And we’re excited to partner with Sweet Ride Asheville again for our second Ice Cream for Voting neighborhood outreach.” Indivisible Asheville/WNC will have information and materials on hand to help neighbors with voter registration, absentee ballot requests, voting schedules, in-person voting locations, and other voting information. “This is a way to get people fired up about voting in a safe and fun way.”

The group’s first Ice Cream for Voting outreach in July included neighborhoods in Montford, Kenilworth, and West Asheville.

Sweet Ride Asheville’s contact-free ice cream truck features delivery of sweet treats in a COVID-safe manner. All ice cream is individually packaged, placed in a drawer, and opened for customers to take themselves. Indivisible Asheville/WNC volunteers will wear masks and observe social distancing, and masks and sanitizers will be available at information tables.

BACKGROUND

Indivisible Asheville/WNC launched an ambitious “Let’s All Vote!” Voter Engagement Campaign in November of 2019 in an effort to increase voter turnout in Buncombe County. The initial year-long plan included monthly door-to-door outreach in various neighborhoods throughout the county, plus monthly in-person training and support for Community Conversations, a friend-to-friend relational voter strategy. When the pandemic hit, the campaign shifted to “virtual canvassing” and online trainings, with information about safe voting during the pandemic, as well as a focus on vote tripling and friend-to-friend engagement. When local entrepreneurs launched the new contact-free ice cream truck business Sweet Ride Asheville, Indivisible Asheville/WNC found an ideal opportunity to add safe outdoor events to the ongoing voter outreach campaign.

Indivisible Asheville/WNC is a local grassroots nonprofit dedicated to protecting democracy with informed community action in Western North Carolina. It operates as a 501(c)(4) and is led by an all-volunteer board. For more information about Indivisible Asheville/WNC and the 2020 “Let’s All Vote!” Campaign, visit IndivisibleAvl.org or email info@indivisibleavl.org.

For more information on Sweet Ride Asheville, visit SweetRideAsheville.com, email sweet.ride.asheville@gmail.com or call (828) 484-2216.