Champions and Trailblazers

Mountain Statesman: WV Community Throws a Party to Bash Trash

07.29.17

Getting Ready for the Party (All Aboard Grafton Facebook Page)

By Nicki Skinner, Mountain Statesman Editor

Two Taylor County citizens, frustrated with the illegal dumping of garbage, decided to organize an event, in conjunction with Taylor County Project HOP2E, to shed a light on the growing issue.

Sherri and Louis Friend were instrumental in organizing the first-ever Thornton Trash Bash, which was held on Saturday.

Despite the heavy rain and storms that moved through the area, S. Friend said that they felt really good about the turnout of people at the event.

“We were very happy with the community’s turnout for the bash,” shared S. Friend. “Throughout the day, we had probably 50 people who came to see what we were offering.”

During the bash, volunteers took the time to help pick up litter along Route 50, near the old Thornton School, and Tygart Valley Watershed volunteers took part in a creek clean-up.

Vendors were set up selling goods, and Nanny’s Ice Cream was present, offering a cool treat, on the humid summer day.

Guests were able to grab some food, while they visited booths or gathered information about the importance of recycling and properly disposing of trash.

In addition, Taylor County Project HOP2E held a food distribution, for families in need…

View the full article on the Mountain Statesman website »

Now Accepting Nominations – 2017 Spirit of Philanthropy Awards

07.17.17

Diane Hinkle accepts the 2016 Staff Leadership Award

Do you know of a remarkable program or project that has had a critical impact in WV; a star philanthropic volunteer; or a WV corporate giving/foundation staff person who has made a significant difference in our state in the past two years?

If so, please take a few minutes to nominate them for the 2017 Spirit of Philanthropy Awards presented by Philanthropy West Virginia.

Awards will be presented in the following categories:

Volunteer Philanthropic Leadership (individuals),
Critical Impact (recognizing programs, partnerships, and organization having a critical impact through their work), and
Staff Leadership (recognizing a foundation or corporate giving staff person doing remarkable work).

The deadline for nominations is August 1, 2017.

Submit your nominee today »

Meet Nate Smith, “a Force to be Reckoned with” for McDowell County

07.10.17

Nate Smith

Northfork, West Virginia is a tiny town situated in eastern McDowell County, with a population of 421 according to the 2010 Census. There’s not much there- ATV trails dot the landscape with a few local restaurants and a dollar store here and there. Specifically, when youth look for a place to hang out, they often come up short. One man is looking to change that.

Nate Smith, past recipient of the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, is on a mission to help his town create a safe space for youth. Nate is a force to be reckoned with and like many movers and shakers in McDowell County, he wears dozens of hats. At any given time you can find him coaching basketball or football at Mountview High School, volunteering at the local food bank, starting a high school tennis team, helping with community based soccer programs put on by WVU Extension McDowell County, or just trying to make his lifetime home a better place.

Nate plans to either convert an abandoned building or build a new community facility, specifically for youth in Northfork. “I want a place where they feel safe, and kids can come and hang out and play ball or work on homework. A place that takes care of after-school needs – a lot of these kids are headed home after school to nothing, even food. I want to change that.” Nate is passionate about his third space creation – the theory that people need a place to hang out besides home and work or school. In adult cases, this is often a restaurant, coffee shop, bar, or yoga studio. For Nate, he sees this as a place for youth to gather, adults to be employed, and the community to interact. “Sports and activities outside the home bring so much more than just competitiveness, it’s how some kids learn to get along with each other and build those life skills.”

While this dream is gathering steam, Nate is keeping himself busy by participating in and directing community based sports programs. He’s formed a nonprofit called Grayhound Youth Sports and is deep in learning organizational structure – he saw a need and simply decided to do something about it. He subscribes to the theory that everybody can be engaged with physical activity at any level, and plans on running camps during the summer whether he has a building or not. “You can put on a camp anywhere, for anybody. Let’s use our local parks and show people that they can be utilized for awesome activities too!” replies Nate with a laugh when asked about camp ownership and just where he plans on having these camps. For Nate, every single struggle is seen as an opportunity to make a stronger and better program. One thing is for sure, this infectious energy and personality is needed and will go far in Southern West Virginia.

If you would like to get involved, Nate can be reached at grayhoundyouthsports@gmail.com.

Yes! Magazine: Kentucky Community Joins Forces to Rebuild Economy

07.10.17

All join hands for a round of square dancing at the Carcassonne Community Center. Photo credit: Lafayette College. Source.

By Peter Slavin

Nearly 50 years ago, on a presidential campaign swing through eastern Kentucky, Sen. Robert Kennedy promised to help a disabled coal miner build a community center in the tiny mountain town of Hemphill to give idle youth and others a place for recreation and meetings.

James Johnson used the brick-making machine and VISTA workers that Kennedy supplied to create community space and built a park and area for horseback riding.

Years later Johnson developed black lung disease and couldn’t keep the center going. After he died, his widow, Mabel, helped establish a new Hemphill Community Center in this mountainous region in the heart of Appalachia.

Now the Johnsons’ daughter, Gwen, is trying to save this piece of family legacy by opening a catering business inside the center, which saw operating funds diminish as tax revenues from the coal industry declined.

The network of local organizations that helped get Hemphill Catering up and running is part of an unusual form of grassroots economic development underway in this community, staggered by the collapse of coal.

It’s known as the Letcher County Culture Hub, a broad and growing collaboration of arts and media groups, for- and non-profit outfits, community organizations, and government agencies that help one another survive and grow…

Read the full story at Yes! Magazine »

Columbia Journalism Review: On the Front Lines – Changing the Narrative about WV

07.10.17

New Story 2016. Photo by David Smith/WVU Reed College of Media.

By Catherine V. Moore

After the 2016 election, the calls and emails rolled into West Virginia, as the press scrambled to make sense of a place that hadn’t occupied this much space on the national political stage since John F. Kennedy’s 1960 primary.

“We’re looking for a family in a trailer park.”

“We’re looking for a holler. How do we get there?”

“I need a Trump-supporting son of a coal miner who doesn’t think coal is coming back. Do you know one?”

Even before Donald Trump’s election, Appalachia was treated as a kind of Rosetta stone for deciphering rural white poverty in America. In its aftermath, media inquiries like these confirmed many residents’ deep-seated fear that the national press only shows up when the news is bad, or to make them look like fools or freaks. Instead of inviting input on how to frame their stories, reporters seemed to be looking for people to fit a frame they already had in mind.

As the communications director for the nonprofit West Virginia Community Development Hub, Jake Lynch fielded a lot of these questions, and grew increasingly frustrated with the journalists asking them.

So when he began to prepare for New Story 2017—the organization’s yearly gathering for people trying to drive the story and the future economy of the state—Lynch invited members of the national media for a two-way dialogue about covering the region…

Read the full story at Columbia Journalism Review »

Celebrate The Change-makers in Your Town!

05.18.17

Photo by Volunteer West Virginia

Who are the rabble-rousing change-makers in your community?

Maybe they’re organizing city council candidate forums and spreading the word about the importance of voting in local elections, or working to address the needs of your town’s most vulnerable. Whoever they are, if they’re working to put West Virginia first through service to others- the Governor would like to honor them!

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate those in your community who give so much of themselves and expect so little in return.

Volunteer West Virginia is now accepting nominations for West Virginia’s most prestigious volunteer award, the Governor’s Service Award. The award aims to celebrate individuals, families, and organizations working to solve community problems in an innovative manner.

Outstanding mountaineers selected as recipients of the award will be honored at a special banquet at the Culture Center in Charleston on September 14th, 2017. So take the next five minutes and nominate the neighbor who never gives up on your town! Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate those in your community who give so much of themselves and expect so little in return.

Nominate your neighbor here!

All nominations must be postmarked or emailed by 5pm on Friday, June 30, 2017.

If you have questions about the Governor’s Service Awards please contact Moya Doneghy at (304) 558-0111.

The Governor’s Service Awards banquet is coordinated by Volunteer West Virginia, the State’s Commission for National and Community Service. Volunteer West Virginia challenges mountaineers to strengthen their communities through service and volunteerism by identifying and mobilizing resources, promoting an ethic of service, and empowering communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for individuals and families.

These West Virginia Business Are Giving Back to Their Communities. Here’s How You Can Thank Them.

12.16.16

Photo by Allison Thaxton/‎The Lunch Box Public Facebook Group

We didn’t have to look far to find local businesses in West Virginia that go above and beyond in supporting their local community.

Here are just a few folks who have given themselves the chance to win a free 3-course dinner at one of West Virginia’s finest restaurants during Charleston Restaurant Week. Have you entered yet? What’s keeping you?

Brigid told us about the Lunchbox in Clendenin. “To this day they will feed anyone who is hungry no questions asked. Just by opening they provided a ray of hope to our community.”

Sarah had some love for Mi Cocina De Amor in Charleston, noting its long history of supporting Habitat Again Hunger, the Humane Society and other local charities and arts and culture events.

Shouting the praises of Ferguson Services in Summersville, Stacy said “their generosity, both personally and professionally, is unmatched in our community.”

“Shortcuts in Morgantown cuts hair for the homeless and has been doing so for many years,” said Barb.

John was thankful for the commitment of Stephens Auto Center in Danville to the local volunteer firefighter effort: “managers have always been willing to allow these members to leave work and respond to emergency calls when needed.”

These are just a few of the many people who have entered their names into the draw to win a free 3-course dinner during Charleston Restaurant Week.

Be sure to enter the running by telling us about a great business that supports your local community!

Jake-Lynch

Grafton, West Virginia: Proof That the Past Does Not Define Our Future

09.01.16

The Hub’s Amanda Workman and Stephanie Tyree at the new Grafton Main Street deck – known as Toad Hall. Photo by The Hub.

As I was walking down Main Street in Grafton last week, making plans for The Hub’s 2016 board retreat, I couldn’t help but have a “proud momma moment.”

Grafton was one of the first Turn This Town Around communities, and it has accomplished so much since our first meeting back in February 2014.

As I was looking around and taking in all of the great things happening on Main Street I had to chuckle to myself as I thought back to that first meeting, and one specific conversation.

“Grafton has had outside help before and it has never worked. So good luck.”

I was new to The Hub and so excited to be at my first community meeting, when one individual (I won’t name names) said:

“Grafton has had outside help before and it has never worked. So good luck.”

Even as new Hubber I knew this time was going to be different for Grafton.

And it was! Let me name just a couple of my favorite things that Grafton is doing these days:

First Friday events,
All Aboard Grafton meetings,
the Grafton Farmers Market,
and my favorite thing of all – the beautiful Toad Hall! (We love Toad Hall so much that we’ll be having a session of our board retreat there.)

Photo by Grafton Farmers Market

I may have a new favorite thing this year, as I hear there is a haunted house in the works. If you know me even a little bit, you know how much I love Halloween.

Grafton was one of the first Turn This Town Around communities, and has accomplished so much since February 2014.

I recently said to that one individual that made the comment to me at the first meeting, “I hate to say I told you so, but I did.” This person has since become a wonderful friend of mine and of The Hub’s, and has been one of the major champions for everything that has taken place over the last 2.5 years.

So my question to Grafton now is – What’s up next?

Hi, Amanda.

WV Public Broadcasting: In the Northern Panhandle, Turning Ruin Into Ribbon Cuttings

03.07.16

Glynis Board/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Is the Northern Panhandle experiencing an economic rebirth? More than one panhandle resident thinks so, and is working toward the goal of seeing every abandoned factory that lines the Ohio River Valley repurposed.

53-year-old Patrick Ford has vivid memories of growing up in rural Buhler, Kansas. He remembers family farms becoming obsolete with the rise of corporate farms. It was an economic shift that happened fast. He remembers as a kid, for fun, walking through abandoned homes.

“TV would still be there, photo albums,” Ford said. “There was one [abandoned home] where the spectacles of this old man were still on the table.”

Ford says the scenes of abandoned life are burned into his memory. It shocked him that no one planned for the economic shift, that there was no transition for these families. That’s part of what motivates his work today.

The Private Nonprofit Model for Driving Economic Development

For the past seven years, Ford has been the Executive Director of the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle. The mission of the private nonprofit is to foster a diverse economy in Brooke and Hancock counties.

30 priority projects ranging from helping a small bakery open its doors to repurposing the former pottery plant Taylor Smith & Taylor.

Ford sat in his office building in Weirton in front of a white board that lists some 30 priority projects his organization is focused on ranging from helping a small bakery open its doors to repurposing the former pottery plant Taylor Smith & Taylor. Ford says it’s his goal to see new businesses taking over the the abandoned mills that line the Ohio River Valley. And he says he’s not alone…

Listen to the full story at wvpublic.org

Follow the author on twitter @GlynisBoard

Gazette-Mail: Coalfield Development Corp Offers a Pathway of Hope In the Southern Coalfields

02.29.16

Photo by Sam Owens/Charleston Gazette-Mail

By Andrew Brown/Charleston Gazette-Mail

By the time Colt Brogan reached his senior year at Lincoln County High School, his hopes of attending college and planning for a career had all but disappeared.

It wasn’t that Brogan didn’t have the ambition or the grades – he was set to graduate with honors. But part way through his senior year, he moved out of his home along the Coal River to escape what he thought was an unhealthy environment.

He still wanted to plot a way forward — to find a career, to afford an education, to build a life. But he said he felt trapped by where he grew up, who his parents were, what high school he attended, and what he could afford.

“You know, nobody was gonna help me get there. It was up in the air what I was going to do after school because nobody really cared.”

The price tag of higher education had convinced him not to go to college straight out of high school, and the chances of landing a job after graduation, he said, weren’t great.

Many of his classmates from Lincoln County confronted the same reality. Some considered nursing school. Others looked into construction jobs or work with a utility company. A few found jobs in Hamlin at the Burger King or 7-Eleven. Gone was any expectation of a job in a coal mine or manufacturing plant, like many of their fathers and grandfathers had.

For Brogan, joining the military started to look like his only way out.

“There weren’t really any other healthy choices for me at the time, because I didn’t take a lot of preparation for college because I never thought my family could afford it or that it was possible for me,” he said.

“You know, nobody was gonna help me get there. Nobody was really pushing me towards that. It was up in the air what I was going to do after school because nobody really cared.”

Then a teacher told him about a new company that had been growing in recent years and was looking to expand into Lincoln County. It offered not only a starting wage of $10 an hour, but the chance to attend community college for free.

Brogan applied, interviewed and was hired by the Coalfield Development Corp.

Now a year later, he’s attending Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. He’s learned how to deconstruct abandoned buildings, how to build new homes, and how to create high-tunnel greenhouses. Soon, he’ll be trying to build an agricultural business on an abandoned surface mine…

Read the full story at wvgazettemail.com

Follow the author on Twitter @Andy_Ed_Brown