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Charleston Gazette-Mail: Young West Virginian becomes new leader of local institution

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Nichole Greene (image from the Capitol Market Facebook page)
BY MARIA YOUNG FOR THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL

It’s hard to imagine someone’s life coming full circle by the time they reach 28 years of age — but it’s fair to say, that’s exactly what’s happened for Nichole Greene, 2016’s Miss West Virginia USA and now the executive director for Charleston’s Capitol Market.

“I am born and raised in West Virginia. My family had a small business here for over 86 years, Save Supply Kitchen and Bath Company on the West Side,” which closed in 2012 after 83 years in operation, she said.

“And so I’ve been around small businesses and had this love of West Virginia my whole life.”

Still, she never planned to run a farmers market…

To read the full story, visit the Charleston Gazette-Mail site »

We’re collaborating with Generation WV to support WV communities in making change on the ground

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BY TAYLOR BENNETT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT POLICY COORDINATOR, THE HUB

We know that local policy changes can move the needle in a big way as we work to build stronger communities and economies. Often, though, it can be a challenge to know how to go about making that change happen.

We also know that young people have a huge role to play as we craft strong, vibrant communities and economies that work for everyone.

How do we make change in a way that will support creating attractive communities for young people? The Hub is teaming up with Generation WV on the Next Generation Communities Project to tackle these challenges in collaboration with West Virginian communities.

This project will support West Virginian teams as they identify the changes they want to make, build the relationships that they’ll need to succeed, and create a strategy that will help guide them through each step of the change-making process.

How does it work?

  1. Generation WV and The Hub are taking a look at research from across the country. Working with research partners including West Virginia Forward, we’re identifying themes from existing studies – from both in-state and across the country – to help us identify key community characteristics that drive the decisions that young people make about where to live, work, and build a community. Community characteristics could be things like jobs, community health, social activities, or arts and culture.
  2. We’ll bring these key community characteristics to participating community teams, where we’ll work out a strategy to get feedback from community members about which areas make the most sense to focus on.
  3. Then, we’ll work with the team to identify specific changes that can be made which will strengthen the area that the community identified. (For example, the community identifies that they wanted to focus on community health. A specific change that might be made could be for the municipal government to allocate space for a community garden.)
  4. Once the team has selected a specific change, we’ll work together to create a strategy and build the relationships to make that change happen. And when it does, we’ll celebrate our collective victory.

Right now, team members from Generation WV and The Hub are touring around the state, providing in-depth information to community teams who would like to participate, and working to identify the key community characteristics that teams will need to get started.

Are you interested in being a part of the Next Generation Communities Project? Connect with me, Taylor Bennett, at t.bennett@wvhub.org to get started.


47 new community projects coming to Cowen and Moorefield

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Community members in Cowen accept their grant awards
BY KATHRYN RYAN, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ASSOCIATE, THE HUB

The Hub’s newest community development program, Cultivate West Virginia, has announced 47 mini grant awards toward revitalization projects in Cowen and Moorefield! This seed money will allow these communities to build momentum toward greater community revitalization as they take on projects related to downtown beautification, tourism, community events, and more.

By working together within and amongst project teams, tracking progress, and utilizing shared resources, these communities are building their capacity to leverage further funding toward larger scale economic development.

Interested to see what kinds of projects build community development? Here are the awarded projects in each Cultivate community:

Moorefield Revitalization Mini Grant Projects:

  • Moorefield Micro Farmers Market
  • Moorefield High School Hospitality Services
  • VISTA Community Support
  • South Branch Riverfest Event
  • Bishoff Photography Community Photos Exhibit
  • ‘Which Came First? The Chicken or the Egg?’ Street Art Initiative
  • Hardy County Historical Museum Enhancement
  • ‘Up Up and Away’ Playground Additions
  • Church Flagstone Repair
  • ‘Faces of Moorefield’ Community Mural
  • Higgins House Fence Repair
  • ‘Finding Pupuseria Emerita’ Local Business Signage
  • ‘Moorefield Empowers Community’ Self Defense Classes
  • WPA Sidewalk Restoration
  • Moorefield Semi Mobile Train Platform
  • Moorefield Masonry Workshop
  • ‘Higgins House: Something to Stand On’ Repair Initiative
  • Moorefield High School Micro-Business Complex Pocket Park
  • Moorefield High School Micro-Business Complex Art Picket Fence Project
  • ‘Carla’s Public Garden’ Seasonal Decorations Project
  • ‘Moorefield Dances’ Classes & Events
  • Here We Are! Historical Society Museum Signage
  • ‘To Be or Not to Be’ Community Theater Event

Cowen Revitalization Mini Grant Projects:

  • ‘Movies on the Hill’ Community Event Series
  • Webster County Little Libraries
  • ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’ Community Event Space Improvements
  • ‘Repair the Pavillion’ Initiative
  • Cowen Post Office Flower Box
  • ‘Rain and Drain’ Library Space Repair
  • ‘Covering New Ground’ Softball Parking
  • Cowen Tennis & Basketball Courts
  • Sewing & Quilting Community Events
  • ‘1913 Corner Store – How it all Began’ Community Exhibit
  • Marathon Scholar Program
  • VISTA Community Support
  • ‘The Engine that Could’ Community Mural
  • ‘It’s All About Choices’ Community Event
  • High School Dugout Home
  • Get Fit Cowen
  • ‘Under the Big Tent’ Volunteer Fire Department Tent & Accessories
  • ‘Mow Shack’ Softball Lawn Care Building
  • Cowen Farmers Market
  • ‘Come Play with Me!’ Playground Equipment
  • ‘Roof for the Hounds’ Structure
  • ‘Fountains and Flowers for our Friends’ Public Space Improvement
  • ‘Raise the Fence’ Softball Field Project
  • ‘Field of Dreams’ Softball Field Project

The community members who have stepped forward in Cowen and Moorefield are leading the way toward healthy, happy, and thriving communities. And the most exciting part? This is just the beginning.

As Cowen and Moorefield head into the implement phase of these revitalization projects, they’ll be building momentum, community support, and more opportunities to leverage with increased experience and resources in hand. By coming together as a community, these established and emerging leaders are laying the foundation necessary for the economic development that West Virginia needs.

Want to know more about how the Cultivate West Virginia program works with communities toward increased engagement, buy-in, and community growth? Learn more on our Cultivate WV page.


Let’s get this party started – we’re documenting the true spirit of WV

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BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

If you have the heart and mind – and are putting in the time – to make a difference for the greater good in West Virginia, starting this June, we need you.

This year, we put a call out to the thousands of changemakers working on the ground in West Virginia. Let’s document a story that shows the grit, resilience, and determination that is the true spirit of our state. When you’re posting on social media about the people and projects that are making a difference for the better – big or small – in West Virginia, include the hashtag #NewStoryWV.

From June – November, we are challenging West Virginians to create at least one #NewStoryWV post on social media each month around a theme.

Sign up to take the challenge »

Posts can be brief or long, and may or may not include photos or videos. There are only 3 rules for your posts:

  1. Posts shine a spotlight on the positive happening in WV communities
  2. When addressing challenges, posts focus on solutions
  3. Posts incorporate the theme

If you sign up to take the challenge, you’ll receive an email each month with details about the theme plus tips and tricks to use social media to tell your story.

Sign up to take the challenge »

The themes are:

  • June: Champions & Trailblazers
  • July: Bright Ideas
  • August: Actions for Good – Happening Today
  • September: Opportunities & Paths
  • October: Skillsharing
  • November: Actions for Good – #Throwback Edition

Research shows that celebrating the positive stories happening in communities is linked to the ability of towns to be resilient in the face of economic shocks and downturns (Read our #NewStoryWV Brief for more on the research.). The stereotypes about West Virginia are holding us back.

To the locally-owned business owners and employees; community volunteers; champions at service organizations and clubs; workers at nonprofits and community institutions like libraries and schools; engaged West Virginians of every stripe working for the greater good in their communities; and to our state’s storytellers: let’s get this party started.

Sign up to take the challenge »


A community-led solution for recovery in Wyoming County, WV

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Volunteers fill food bags as part of One Voice’s efforts
BY JENNY TOTTEN, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR, THE HUB

Even just 4 years ago, Debra Davis was still teaching middle school in Wyoming County, WV, but she’d been working on a plan to rebuild her community for a decade. Her little town of Oceana had been rocked hard by prescription drug addiction and had few resources to deal with it.

Her involvement came as a direct result of the children in her classroom.  As Debra describes it, “There were dark secrets that were hidden, the kids in my classroom kept coming to me asking where they could go for help, and so I realized I was somebody who could be this person.” 

In 2005, One Voice was founded to “help our communities and our families do better.”  What started as an ad hoc gathering of community members to help provide a safe place for addicts where they would not be judged, quickly spiraled into direct referrals for detox centers.  Something was working – people wanted to get clean, yet their families were falling apart while they were in detox and so once again, One Voice responded.  

The group of community members, which by this time had grown considerably, quickly mobilized to stabilize these home situations.  The organization, together with Wyoming County Schools, started to feed children over the weekend in these homes. 

Today, the Food for Angels program serves 1000 youth in the county weekly, and successfully fed every child during the recent teachers work stoppages. 

Community members can support the program by purchasing food off of a list at the local Goodson’s supermarket, while direct monetary donations are used to purchase bulk food. 

As Debra puts it, whenever there is a crisis, everybody responds, but then afterwards, we forget about what is still needed.  One Voice is committed to being consistently present in its communities.  As such, the organization is turning its focus to more of a sustainable model with train the trainer curriculum related to recovery coaching and entrepreneurship activities. 

Recovery Coach training

As of today, 33 coaches have been trained across 7 counties; the organization supervises social work interns from West Virginia University, Lindsay Wilson College, Marshall, and other higher education institutions; and One Voice serves as a site for the day report center – providing that much needed give back and service hours for individuals in everything from alternative sentencing to those on probation. 

In the future, One Voice is planning on opening an education and training center on Main Street in downtown Oceana – front and center to the community.  Although this facility will of course offer recovery meetings, recovery coaching, and counseling, the thing Debra and the community are most excited about is the opportunity for job training programs and workforce development.  One of the largest hurdles here is that businesses don’t want to hire felons, or former drug users – it’s part of the stigma. 

The One Voice community is responding again by giving those in recovery a chance to learn to discover what they’re most excited about, and then turn that into a business.  They are planning on partnering with CoWorks, Inc. out of Huntington to provide technical assistance and one on one business coaching.  It’s a win win for everybody – Wyoming County gets more businesses, and these individuals are able to use their talents and skills to help rebuild the local economy. 

When I asked Debra what the secret sauce is to her work, she laughed and said, “I’m not sure, we all just saw something that needed fixed, and we kept trying and will keep trying until this isn’t our story anymore.” 

One Voice has worked hard to build community, reduce the stigma, and integrate family recovery into long term plans for individuals.  Sooner, rather than later, this will no longer be Oceana’s story. 

Mountain Statesman: 2019 Mother of Year awarded for community support

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BY MICHAELA FLOHR FOR MOUNTAIN STATESMAN

The Mother of the Year for the Anna Jarvis House Museum has been named and she is Amanda Workman.   

Amanda arrived in Grafton with Turn This Town Around almost five years ago, and since then, has worked tirelessly to help the people of Taylor County.

She has helped community members by uplifting those with businesses and guiding those with an entrepreneurial spirit, to connect with resources and partners that can help them realize their goals. 

Workman has been a cheerleader to the members of All Aboard Grafton, being there to help and guide them anytime they have called on her expertise. 

Amanda is the Director of Community Engagement for the West Virginia Community Development Hub.

“I work with communities from all over the state and enjoy every moment of it,” expressed Workman.

She revealed that she is a native West Virginian but has lived in several states throughout her life, although none of them felt like home…

Read the full article on the Mountain Statesman site »

Greenbrier County’s Fruits of Labor wins prestigious national award

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BY KAYCIE STUSHEK, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NETWORK COORDINATOR, THE HUB

Tammy Jordan, founder of Fruits of Labor (operated out of Dawson and Rainelle locations in Greenbrier County), was honored with the Don Meyers Humanitarian Award for her dedication to serving Appalachians managing substance use disorder.

The award presented to Fruits of Labor gives Tammy a national stage to share her story – the audience at the National Association of Development Organizations/Development Districts of Appalachian America’s Annual Washington Conference in Virginia was composed of hundreds of economic development planning professionals from across Appalachia and the entire U.S.

Tammy’s heroic efforts not only bring hope to those struggling to reinvent themselves, her initiative also has a direct effect on the social and economic wellbeing of the region. The Fruits of Labor Café and Bakery is a mainstay business in Rainelle serving patrons from near and far. The Culinary training facility further serves as a community hub for many events, especially in relation to the recovery efforts from the 2016 Flood.

The overall operation includes a 218-acre farm which not only supports the café with farm to table produce but also serves as a conference and activity venue used for events and agricultural training.

Tammy’s program Seeds of Recovery focuses on recovery for adults by helping them reintegrate into society armed with viable job skills and confidence. The program has had an incredible success rate over the past 7 years boasting a 85% program graduation rate, with 90% of graduates successfully completing their drug court programs. She also manages a prevention program (Seeds of Hope) for at-risk youth, many who are aging out of the foster care system.

We are eager to be working more with Tammy – she is on the Meadow River Valley region team who just got accepted into the upcoming Blueprint Communities program!

Visit Fruits of Labor’s Facebook page to see more of their amazing food and work!

Nominate an outstanding volunteer for a Governor’s Service Award

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BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

Volunteer West Virginia is now accepting nominations for West Virginia’s most prestigious volunteer award. 

From the organizers:

The Governor’s Service Awards, the state’s most prestigious volunteer award, honors individuals and groups who roll up their sleeves to solve community problems in an innovative way. In recent years, recipients of the award improved their communities in many creative ways. Some examples include: creating an anti-human trafficking campaign; initiating neighborhood activities and support for older citizens; and incubating ideas and enthusiasm for community revitalization projects.

Outstanding West Virginia individuals and groups that are selected as recipients will be honored at a special banquet at the Culture Center in Charleston on September 5th, 2019.

Click here to learn how to nominate a volunteer superstar today.

New community group forms to support veteran well-being in North Central West Virginia

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BY RAE DYER, OWNER, THIS PLACE

West Virginia has over 165,000 veterans. About 10% of our population has served in our armed forces. That is something we can all be proud of. We are patriotic. We support our troops and our veterans in our hearts and words. We honor them in ceremony. We donate to veteran organizations. We thank them for their service, and we mean it. I have always believed that West Virginians want to support veterans the best that they know how to.

I think there is more we can do. If you reside in North Central West Virginia, I’d like to invite you to join me.

I have been to the ceremonies, and events. I have received gratitude. I have benefitted from the VA and other Veteran organizations. I am grateful for the effort of the recognition. But I did not enlist to receive praise, and I am not necessarily comfortable with it. Being differentiated can sometimes cause a feeling of alienation. Sometimes what I prefer is to blend in. To be a part of the whole. In the military we operate as a unit. For the good of the mission. For the benefit of us all. We hold each other accountable. We have each-others’ back. We form a camaraderie that is indescribable to anyone who hasn’t experienced it. As a veteran, it can be empty without it. More than recognition, veterans, like myself, can benefit from regular, authentic encounters, that include accountability and familiar goals.

I’d like to introduce you to Team Red, White and Blue (www.teamrwb.org), and invite you to join us. TeamRWB is a nationwide non-profit organization that was founded by a veteran, for veterans, in 2010, providing support through “…real people, providing authentic support, where they lived” (Smith, 2015).

With a current chapter in Wheeling, and another chapter currently being introduced in North Central West Virginia, we are dedicated to the mission:

“To enrich the lives of America’s veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity.” (Team Red, White & Blue, 2019)

Those who join TeamRWB will find that it is a simple concept with members comprised of civilians and veterans, alike, of all statures, backgrounds, genders, and ages. The only requirements to join us are that you care about veterans, and that you want to be a part of our community, without judgement.

Our objective is to create a community based on healthy, physical activities and social interactions. No formal meetings with agendas. No ongoing dues or obligation. We simply want to create an avenue in West Virginia for veterans and civilians to be welcome, engaged and supportive to one another.

If you think you’d like to be involved, try it out, become a partner, or learn more, please contact me, Rae Dyer at rdyer@thisplacewv.com, and visit www.teamrwb.org.