Volunteers

Gen. Stanley McChrystal: You Don’t Have to Wear a Military Uniform to Serve Your Country

07.22.16

Photo by AmeriCorps

By General Stanley McChrystal, writing for The Atlantic

In 1838, a 28-year-old Abraham Lincoln declared that the greatest threat facing America comes not from a foreign invader:

If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

The thought that Americans, themselves, may destroy the ideals for which so many have sacrificed is sobering. Trust among Americans is at its lowest levels in generations, and stereotyping and prejudice have become substitutes for knowing and understanding one another as individuals.

How Americans restore trust may be an existential question for their country, then, but it’s ultimately a practical one: What U.S. society needs to answer it in the coming years aren’t lamentations but practical measures, especially among the emerging generations that will define America’s future.

A year of service has the power to bring young people together from different races, ethnicities, incomes, faiths, and political backgrounds to work on pressing problems facing U.S. society today.

Service may be at the heart of the answer.

A year of service has the power to bring young people together from different races, ethnicities, incomes, faiths, and political backgrounds to work on pressing problems facing U.S. society today. In the process, they can build empathy by getting to know each other around something positive—the shared work of participating in a democracy—as they shape their views of their country and the world.

The danger of inaction should be clear. Tensions and violence in cities across America are reminders of how quickly communities can erupt with an absence of social trust. Dallas, St. Paul, Baton Rouge, and Orlando, following on the heels of Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago illustrate a disheartening reality.

Political campaigns offer Americans an opportunity to adjust direction, reaffirm values, and recommit to the covenant that binds them together.

But politics can also summon the smaller side of America’s national character, offering final glimpses of desperately needed big ideas and real solutions before they go up in political smoke, disappearing in favor of what’s popular or easy.

As the presidential candidates head to their national conventions, they should advance ideas to help restore social trust in the United States—practical solutions, such as engaging young Americans in a year or more of national service…

Read the full story at www.theatlantic.com

West Virginia, We Need You Now: Hundreds of Volunteers Needed To Help Flood Victims

07.14.16

Photo courtesy Team Rubicon USA – www.facebook.com/teamrubicon/

Local flood response organizers are reporting an urgent need for volunteers to help with flood cleanup efforts over the next 10 days.

According to Volunteer West Virginia Executive Director Heather Foster, more than 1,000 homeowners have reported needing cleanup and recovery assistance, primarily in Kanawha, Clay, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties.

“Immediately after the flood we had a huge number of people putting their hand up to help, which was so inspiring,” Foster said. “Now is a critical time to maintain that momentum.”

To volunteer, all individuals and groups are encouraged to simply report to the Volunteer Reception Center nearest them.

To volunteer, all individuals and groups are encouraged to simply report to the Volunteer Reception Center nearest them. Groups of 10 or more should call in advance so the center can prepare work assignments. If you registered online and haven’t received a call to volunteer, please report directly to the nearest reception center for an assignment.

A complete list of Volunteer Reception Centers is found at wvflood.com/volunteer

Foster said AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams arrived in West Virginia this week from neighboring states, and are waiting and prepared to process the large number of volunteers needed to help flooded communities, clean out and repair damaged buildings, and provide displaced residents with adequate shelter.

She said the next 7 to 10 days is a critical window for those communities, before those AmeriCorps teams finished their deployment and returned home.

“The national media has gone home, the spotlight of public attention has started to fade, but the disaster of the situation for people in these communities is as real as ever.”

“You know, the national media has gone home, the spotlight of public attention has started to fade, but the disaster of the situation for people in these communities is as real as ever,” Foster said. “We still have people without homes, people who have lost everything, people who need food and shelter.”

“The need for volunteers to help these fellow West Virginians is immediate and urgent. If you can volunteer, please do. You are needed, you will be put to work, and you will make a difference.”

Clubs, work teams, sports teams, church groups and all forms of community groups are encouraged to volunteer together.

“Get a group of friends together, come as a family team, the more people you can bring the bigger the impact you will have,” Foster said.

Volunteers that can do moderate to heavy manual labor are particularly sought after.

Special volunteer equipment needs include:

Work boots
Heavy duty gloves
Tyvek (coverall) suits
N100 particulate respirator masks
Flathead shovels
Rakes
Long pants
Bug spray

Volunteers who can bring all or any of these items are urged to do so.

For information about how to volunteer, visit wvflood.com/volunteer

Jake-Lynch

Need Flood Assistance, Or Want to Help Flood Victims? Use This Website.

06.29.16

West Virginians throughout the state and beyond have responded to the June 23 flood devastation in overwhelming numbers.

To coordinate the numerous efforts to aid flood victims, the West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, is working with volunteers to launch the website wvflood.com.

This site houses a compilation of drop-off sites for supplies, shelter locations, online fundraising efforts, and a comprehensive list of the items needed in flood-impacted communities.

The West Virginia Attorney General’s office has verified all resources posted to the wvflood.com. Triquetra Marketing is sponsoring the site, and encouraging volunteers to submit any information on flood recovery resources to the site.

We encourage anyone utilizing social media to pass along flood resources to include the #WVFLOOD, so that we may begin to connect the dots.

At this time, it is key that we listen to the needs of the individual communities, so that we may serve them in the most effective manner. To that end, an updated list of items needed specific to each community can be found on wvflood.com.

If you are aware of any resources that are not listed on the site, please feel free to contact me at m.russell@wvhub.org

In this tragic time, all of these incredible efforts are a shining reminder of the resiliency, and kindness of Mountaineers.

Amidst Devastation, West Virginians Are Responding. Here’s How You Can Help.

06.27.16

Photo courtesy Coast Guard News/FlickrCC

The past five days have brought fresh challenges to West Virginia communities.

As West Virginians, we are still trying to comprehend the scope of the devastation and tragedy caused by the June 23 flood. As communities move from a space of rescue to recovery, we are seeing the best of West Virginia in a moment of darkness and difficulty for our state.

Every day since the flood, in every county impacted by rising waters, we have seen West Virginians stepping up to help. That motivation to serve is incredible to see.

It is vitally important that well-meaning folks do not self deploy. In order for the volunteer effort to be most useful, it must be coordinated.

They are helping their friends and neighbors. They are helping people they don’t know, families they have never met. They are making dry beds for tired, frightened strangers. They are hauling away rubble, sweeping up broken glass. They are driving from across the state to bring donations, to pick up a shovel and to help out. They are searching through wrecked houses. They are holding children, providing shelter, providing comfort.

They are going wherever they are needed, doing whatever needs to be done. They are volunteering, donating money, food, baby supplies. From the Eastern Panhandle to the Kentucky border and beyond, West Virginians are responding.

Staff at The Hub have signed up to be a part of that coordinated effort. We know you want to help too. If you are able to lend some time to volunteering in flood-impacted communities, you are urged to register at Volunteer West Virginia’s special flood response volunteer webpage.

The West Virginia National Guard has told us it is vitally important that well-meaning folks do not self deploy. In order for that volunteer effort to be most useful, it must be coordinated. If you really want to do your part to help your fellow West Virginians, please register at www.volunteerwv.org.

Donations are being coordinated through the West Virginia chapter of the American Red Cross. To give, visit www.redcross.org/local/west-virginia

If you are not able to help out physically, you can still do your part. Donations are being coordinated through the West Virginia chapter of the American Red Cross. To give, visit www.redcross.org/local/west-virginia

We have a saying that is at the core of a lot of the community development work we do: Do what you can. With what you have. Where you are. Now.

Never has that been so important as today.

One Small Step for West Virginia… Celebrating Some Awesome Physical Activity Firsts in the Mountain State

05.13.16

Photo by Anna Jarvis Elementary School PTO

It’s only May and there have already been a lot of great physical activity “firsts” in West Virginia. Here’s a quick recap of some of them to inspire you and get you thinking about something you could try!

Opening Day for Harrison Rail Trails

This newly formed rail-trail group is going strong! On April 16 they hosted a Spring Discovery Walk to invite people to walk on the rail-trail and learn about all the different things they can do on the trail, including meeting with a local cycling club, learning about geocaching, joining a “gratitude walking group” (more on this below), and learning about West Virginia flora from certified herbalists.

Check out their Facebook page for more information about what they’re up to next: www.facebook.com/HarrisonRailTrails/

Gratitude Walking Group

This brand new idea is just getting off the ground in Harrison and Marion counties.

The idea is, we spend so much time complaining about things; why not take 30-60 minutes to move and to think about all the things we’re thankful for? The weekly walks take place at different times and in different locations, so there’s probably one that fits your schedule. More info: www.facebook.com/wvgratitudewalk/

Anna Jarvis Elementary School Color Run

A color run, at an elementary school? Yes!

Anna Jarvis Elementary in Grafton organized their first color run fundraiser this year. On April 30, 2016 the Anna Jarvis PTO held its first AJ Mother’s Day Color Run. With 350 in attendance, the event was a roaring success. Mark your calendars for next year’s AJ Mother’s Day Color Run: Saturday, May 6, 2017.

Check out some great photos from the event!

Photo by hopeless128/FlickrCC

West Virginia Bike Summit

The first statewide bike summit, organized by WV Connecting Communities, was held in Charleston on April 17-18. It included group rides, presentations about the best places to cycle in the state, and lots of great information about biking and health, quality of life, and economic development.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting has more information, plus a video of a group ride.

Ready to attend the 2017 summit? Stay up to date about what’s happening on WVCC’s website: wvconnectingcommunities.com/events.php.

Active Southern WV Bridge Day 5k, October 15, 2016

Okay, this one hasn’t happened yet, but it’s a very cool physical activity first…

This is the first ever, in history, running event across the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville! It benefits the Active SWV Kids Running Clubs. Start on the north side, and run across the bridge with a police escort in a closed lane. Exit the event onto open town streets, lap around the Fayetteville Town Park, and finish beside the Historic Fayette County Courthouse.

Pretty awesome. Heads up: due to tight Bridge Day event timing, no walkers are permitted this year.

Got a physical activity “first” happening in your area? Share the good news with the West Virginia Physical Activity Network!

Stop Meth Labs Proposal Falters, But Child Care Reform Passes For Our Children, Our Future Campaign

02.24.16

Photo by Our Children, Our Future

The citizens behind the Our Children, Our Future campaign have been aggressively working the marble steps at the West Virginia State Capitol over the past six weeks in support of bills that would help West Virginia’s children and families be happier, healthier and more prosperous.

We have had our share of both victories and defeats.

The Right to Work is Wrong team unfortunately faced a tough battle at the beginning of the session to stop this piece of legislation, and despite rallying to urge Governor Tomblin to veto the Right to Work bill, a simple majority veto in the Legislature in the end proved more powerful than the voices of thousands of working West Virginians.

Additionally, the Stop Meth Labs proposal to limit the availability access of single-ingredient pseudoephedrine products, and a proposal to make school’s fitness facilities available to the general public both hit hurdles raised by the state’s looming budget crisis.

The Juvenile Justice proposal to redirect money spent on building detention centers into community-based programs to reduce recidivism rates is currently being examined by the Senate Judiciary committee.

The proposal to create a statewide mental health advisory group, Mental Health Matters, received the most support in this year’s Our Children, Our Future platform vote. Thanks in part to that groundswell of grassroots support, that bill – SB 286 – is moving through the Senate committees and is currently before the Finance committee.

Second Chance for Employment, SB 411, a bill that would help nonviolent offenders reenter the workforce, passed the Senate Judiciary committee on Tuesday. As did SB 634, the Second Chance Driver’s License Act, that would allow a person with unpaid fines to be issued a provisional driver’s license so that they can drive to work while paying off their fines.

Both bills now await passage by the full Senate.

And there was terrific news for supporters of child care centers this week. SB 146, allowing child care centers and counties the flexibility to choose between a 4 and 5 day Pre-K week, made its way through both chambers and is now on its way to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

Thank you to everyone for your continued dedication and response to helping our policy teams! Together we will help to end child poverty in West Virginia!

Gazette-Mail: The Simple Power of People Working Together is Making a Real Difference in West Virginia

02.08.16

Photo by Chris Dorst/Gazette-Mail

Bill Curry/Charleston Gazette Op-Ed

It often seems from what we read about West Virginia that little has been done to improve our state and much is being done to tear it down. However, the facts are different, and many good things are being done to improve our future.

One must pay attention to seemingly small independent citizen-driven initiatives. Together, the many independent initiatives represent a groundswell of new economic improvements that will have long-term positive impacts on the state.

Together, the many independent initiatives represent a groundswell of new economic improvements.

As the co-founder and chairman of the Coal River Group, one of these citizen volunteer groups, I have been involved with many people who simply say, “let’s get ’er done.”

While politicians continue to defend old-fashioned out-of-date concepts, jobs keep disappearing. The daily news is loaded with negative poll results — yet every day hundreds of citizen volunteers wake up with one thing in mind: These devoted folks simply say “let’s go out and fix something that will benefit our community.”

The Coal River Group started over 11 years ago to try to fix a very troubled and abused river system. The 88 miles of rivers with 560 feeder streams had been all but written off by environmental officials, industry and government, simply because they looked like they were unfixable.

Volunteers cleaned up trash and old tires and successfully promoted funding of over $30 million in sewage system expansions.

The small volunteer organization, The Coal River Watershed Group, took on the cleanup and during the past 11 years they exposed the truth that the rivers were not nearly as bad as reported. Volunteers cleaned up trash and old tires and successfully promoted funding of over $30 million in sewage system expansions.

While much of the state’s leadership, well-intentioned groups and well-spoken experts wrote off the Coal Rivers, citizens who had lived their lives on the river went about the arduous job of cleaning up other people’s trash — and recruited neighbors and others to join in on the fun…

Read the full story at wvgazettemail.com

Gazette-Mail: Driven by Caring Citizens, Ingenious Charleston Project Gives Homeless Some Warmth

01.04.16

Photo by Christian Tyler Randolph/Gazette-Mail

By Elaina Sauber/Charleston Gazette-Mail

Despite Tuesday’s balmy temperatures, community volunteers carried on the Charleston Scarf Project for a second year.

The Charleston Area Alliance and Charleston Town Center partnered together to tie more than 100 scarves, hats and gloves to lamp posts and trees at Slack Plaza.

Intended to help the homeless and those in need during the winter season, each item included a message such as “I am not lost. If you are cold, bundle up.”

Intended to help the homeless and those in need during the winter season, each item included a message such as “I am not lost. If you are cold, bundle up.”

Susie Salisbury, Charleston Area Alliance vice president of community development, said she was approached last winter by a friend, Ashley Dunkle, who wanted to help those subjected to the brutally cold weather.

“It was February 14 and zero degrees, so we just came out and put them up,” she said of the cold weather items.

The next day, all of the scarves were gone.

The Charleston Town Center Teen Board also played a role in this year’s scarf project, collecting around 50 scarves with volunteers who helped hang them on Tuesday.

The Charleston Town Center Teen Board also played a role in this year’s scarf project, collecting around 50 scarves.

Salisbury said they decided to hang the items in Slack Plaza because of its central downtown location.

“A lot of people pass through here every day, it’s the transit center, and frankly, adding this color to the park really livens it up,” she said.

Almost immediately after the scarves were hung throughout the plaza, passersby began taking items and thanking volunteers.

Salisbury said she’ll return to the plaza in the coming weeks as the weather gets colder to replenish some of the scarves…

Read the full story at www.wvgazettemail.com

Follow the author on Twitter @ElainaSauber

Passion-powered VISTA Tackling One of West Virginia’s Biggest Problems: Dilapidated Buildings

11.23.15

Lowell, Massachusetts. Photo by Lei Han/FlickrCC

Abandoned and dilapidated buildings are a problem in every West Virginia community. They’re not only eyesores — these problem properties reduce neighboring property values, increase crime and drug activity, and further hobble economic development.

In August 2015, I joined The Hub as an AmeriCorps VISTA to work on programs that reduce the number of abandoned and dilapidated buildings across the state. This is a subject near and dear to my heart.

For about a century, Lowell was a booming industrial center until the textile mills began closing and relocating to the South.

I grew up in a small town neighboring the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. For about a century, Lowell was a booming industrial center until the textile mills began closing and relocating to the South.

By my childhood in the 1990s, Lowell was a shell of its former glory with crumbling factories, high unemployment, and a crack epidemic. My mother, who was born and raised in Lowell, would only take my siblings and me to the city if we were visiting our grandparents, or to see a doctor.

In the late 2000s, I returned to Lowell for a college internship. To my surprise, over the course of two decades, Lowell had become a vibrant center of culture, commerce, and community. The abandoned mills that fascinated me as a child had been transformed into polished storefronts and loft apartments. And I became captivated by adaptive reuse—the concept of rehabbing older, vacant buildings for new purposes—as a tool for community revitalization.

Over the next few months, The Hub, and our partners will be holding five regional workshops for communities interested in accessing PRI funding.

My passion for adaptive reuse and community revitalization brought me to West Virginia—first as an AmeriCorps Member with Preservation Alliance of West Virginia and now as a VISTA with The Hub. My year of service with The Hub will build the capacity of the Abandoned Properties Coalition—which works to convene and coordinate organizations and community leaders across the state working on abandoned and dilapidated property issues—and assisting with downtown redevelopment efforts through Downtown Appalachia

Through my work with the Abandoned Properties Coalition, I’ve assisted with the Property Rescue Initiative (PRI), a program of the West Virginia Housing Development Fund (WVHDF) that provides loan funding for communities to remove or acquire dilapidated residential buildings — a game-changer for many local governments that don’t currently have the resources to address problem properties.

Over the next few months, The Hub, and our partners at WVHDF, the Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center, and the WVU Land Use and Sustainable Law Clinic will be holding five regional workshops for communities interested in accessing PRI funding and receiving direct technical assistance.

Mark your calendar — the 2016 workshop dates are now available!

A Year of Living Famously: the VISTA Experience of West Virginia’s Paul Fallon

11.23.15

The many perks of being a VISTA…

In the story of Paul Fallon, you can see the enormous, long-lasting impact that a single VISTA can have in the community in which they work.

Although limited to one service year during his placement with Central WV Community Action Association in Clarksburg, this hardworking and ambitious local created a number of relationships between citizens in need and people in a position to help them that will last long beyond his tenure.

“My goal was to create a stream of volunteers that will continue to serve in the region.”

“Sustainability is the key to a successful volunteer program, and that has been my goal since I began my service year,” Paul says. “My goal was to create a stream of volunteers that will continue to serve in the region long after I have left my position.”

Nice. This strategy of increasing local capacity is at the heart of The Hub’s approach, too.

Paul’s list of achievements over the past 12 months is so long that perhaps it might be best to break them down into bullet points…

Created a partnership between United Technical Center in Harrison County and local nonprofit organizations, where the technical center’s vocational training students complete much-needed local infrastructure and repair projects (right). In its first year, vocational students contributed 223 volunteer hours, saving local nonprofits almost $8,000 in project costs. So successful was the new partnership that United Technical Center is expanding the program in year 2.

Recruited volunteers for West Virginia Head Start’s Wellness Day by forming new local relationships the Clarksburg Beauty Academy and United Technical Center’s nursing program.

Created a partnership between Central WV Community Action and Fred Eberle Technical Center in Upshur County. For the two groups first project together, the school’s construction students built a storage building for the local Head Start chapter. The school’s leaders have already indicated that they are keen for students to work on more projects that benefit local nonprofit organizations.
Recruited and trained six local volunteers to mentor and support chronically homeless people in Harrison County through a partnership with Homes for Harrison County. Each volunteer mentor committed to at least one hour a week, every week of the year.
Recruited 15 volunteer readers to read to young children at Head Start facilities in Harrison, Lewis and Gilmer counties. Paul also helped guarantee a future supply of volunteer readers by sparking a partnership with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, where school resource officers travel to local Head Start facilities to read to children. One of the special volunteer readers that Paul helped recruit was the mascot for the West Virginia University Mountaineers!
Worked with 25 volunteers from Dominion Resources, an oil and gas extraction company, to paint and landscape the Central WV Community Action’s main office in Clarksburg (below). Dominion Resources has agreed to again volunteer at the agency in the future.
Began working with Lewis County Food Pantry and the Lewis County Family Resource Network on the creation of a diaper bank in Weston, to provide diapers to needy families in an area. It will be the first diaper bank in the state. Paul collected 70 packages of diapers for the bank, and more than $700 in donations from local businesses.

Believe it or not, that’s not all Paul did in his VISTA year! But it provides a wonderful example of how even a single VISTA can really change their communities for the better.

Does this sound like you?
Want to know more?
I’d love to hear from you.

Email me at l.henry@wvhub.org to learn more about VISTA opportunities helping local communities in West Virginia.