Volunteers – Page 4

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.

Being a VISTA: The Important Bits

11.20.15

The Hub’s West Virginia Physical Activity Network VISTA, Christina Hunt, cheers on walkers in Grafton.

VISTA Frequently Asked Questions…

VISTA stands for Volunteers In Service To America.
President John Kennedy first introduced the idea of a VISTA program to Congress in 1963, and it was founded as a national service program in 1965.
Noteable VISTA alumni include former West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller, Xerox CEO Ann Mulcahey, Car Talk radio host Ray Magliozzi, State Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson, U.S. Congresswoman Gwendolynne Moore, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Executive Director and CEO, Scott Finn.
Today, more than 46 million Americans live in poverty. AmeriCorps VISTA taps the skills, talents and passion of more than 7,000 Americans annually to support community efforts to overcome poverty.
The Hub’s VISTA placements cover a wide range of projects related to the development of West Virginia’s communities, including education, dilapidated buildings, economic development, research, communications and physical activity, to name but a few.
VISTA must be at least 18 years of age. There is no upper age limit.
VISTA must be a U.S. Citizen or legal permanent resident of a state.
VISTA serve for one year, full-time, at a nonprofit organization or public agency (referred to as sponsoring organizations).
VISTA earn a modest living allowance, health care coverage, training and travel expenses.
VISTA may be able to defer student loan repayment while they serve.
Some VISTA may be eligible for child care benefits.
VISTA who successfully complete a term of service are also eligible to receive either a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $5,730 to pay for college or to pay off student loans, or an end-of-service cash stipend of $1,500.
If a VISTA candidate is willing to move to a new community to serve, the candidate may be eligible for a modest relocation allowance.
VISTAs receive training in interpersonal and leadership skills.

If you have more questions about being a VISTA in West Virginia, email me at l.henry@wvhub.org or call 681.404.6053.

What Does a VISTA Look Like? Meet Our 5 VISTA Freshman for 2015…

11.19.15

Welcome new VISTAs! Brenna Collins, Josh Donohew, Doris Pauley, Nicole Marrocco and Marsha Shonk.

Welcome new VISTA! Breanna Collins, Josh Donohew, Doris Pauley, Nicole Marrocco and Marsha Shonk.

This month The Hub welcomed five new VISTA into our growing family of grassroots champions doing great work in West Virginia!

The five new VISTA all got to meet each other during their “Pre-Service Orientation (that’s PSO in VISTA lingo) in Orlando. Yep, Orlando! Nice.

While training they got to enjoy sunny 80+ degree weather. But this was also an opportunity for VISTA from all over the country to form valuable relationships, and share projects, problems and celebrate achievements.

Now that they all know each other, we’d like to take a moment to introduce them to you!

“I have always wanted to be a part of what goes on in our beautiful little town.”

Grafton’s Breanna Collins will put her communications and organizational training to work helping her home town with the continued development of Turn This Town Around and All Aboard Grafton projects. It’s the perfect fit for a passionate young West Virginian who says “I have always wanted to be a part of what goes on in our beautiful little town, and to help make our town more desireable for those who live here, those who have moved away and wish to return home, those who might want to visit, and the children who live here now.”

***

“Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

A graduate of the West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Ripley’s Joshua Donohew will spend the next year in his home community working on Turn This Town Around projects as their dedicated VISTA. “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” says Joshua, wisely. “I aim to amplify the change that I know is possible in this area by putting into practice the skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the course of my life in West Virginia so far.”

***

“I want, and need, to see positive changes.”

Not all VISTA are young kids just out of school. Our Turn This Town Around VISTA in Whitesville, Marsha Shonk of Raleigh County, is a terrific demonstration of the great value that people with diverse life and professional experiences can bring to communities through the VISTA program. Since beginning her professional life in the 1980s, Marsha has been a business-owner, care provider, and has worked in the tourism industry. “I want to see people from all the communities around Whitesville get involved in helping this town come back,” she says. “I want, and need, to see positive changes, and I’m motivated to help make these changes happen.”

***

“My passion for revitalization led me to West Virginia.”

The VISTA program provides a compelling reason for passionate and talented people from all over America to come to West Virginia and make a difference. One such person is Massachusetts native Nicole Marrocco, whose VISTA placement with The Hub will involve coordinating a number of exciting new initiatives to address abandoned and dilapidated buildings across the state. “Coming from the Industrial Revolution-era city of Lowell, I have seen firsthand the transformative role that community partnerships can play in the revitalization of an area. My passion for revitalization led me to West Virginia, where I want to be an active participant in the community revitalization work happening here.”

***

“I really enjoy helping others help themselves.”

Doris Pauley of West Union says she “always feels great joy when giving to people,” and her VISTA placement with the Opportunity Council in Doddridge County will provide her with a very tangible gift to give people as she assists with job training and continuing the council’s GED program. With a background in education, it’s a task well suited to her. “I wanted to be a VISTA because I really enjoy helping others help themselves.”

***

Could this be you? Do you have a passion for making a real difference to the people of West Virginia? Or, perhaps you are looking to advance your career?

We can help. Email me at l.henry@wvhub.org, and I’ll send you some information about current VISTA opportunities in West Virginia.

Kickstarting Hope: Mini-Grants Spark 45 Projects in Ripley and Whitesville

10.19.15

Photo by Turn This Town Around Whitesville

There’s a lot to love about working with our Turn This Town Around communities, but what’s happening right now is particularly special.

Last month we announced the recipients of the $2,500 mini grants that will provide that vital kickstart to 45 grassroots projects in Ripley and Whitesville.

$2,500 mini grants will provide that vital kickstart to 45 grassroots projects in Ripley and Whitesville.

These projects represent dreams both modest and outsized. Some of them have very simple and immediate goals – beautifying a crosswalk. Others have bigger achievements in mind – creating a regional recreation tourism attraction.

But what they all have in common is that they were ideas that came from the people that live in these communities. The Hub is proud to have been there to help develop some organization and planning around those ideas, and, now, to pass on funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation in the form of these mini grants to start making these ideas real.

A lot of the projects have already started and some of them have even been completed. It is fun to watch the groups talk about what’s next – sometimes I don’t even think they realize they are doing it. That kind of optimism and excitement about the future has almost become like second nature to them now, and that’s a great sign.

Here’s just a few of the mini-grant projects worth mentioning…

In Whitesville:

Art installation in the park.
Family adventure night.
“Windows Into the Past.” This historic walking tour is a creative way to dress up abandoned building windows and share local history.
Clear Fork Coal Heritage Rail Trail. This is Whitesville’s bold, transformational project, for which Benedum have provided seed funding to develop further.

In Ripley:

Food pantry. Milton Bennett and his team provide food to between 300 and 600 people each month. This mini-grant will help them bolster their operation with new equipment. I am looking forward to visiting the food pantry the next time I am in Ripley and learning more about the facility.
Nostalgic business mural. This is a mural with a difference! The mural will consist of seven depictions of past businesses – businesses that people still reminisce about today.
Mobile open air market.
Where are you on the grid. The funding will help create a math and science outdoor area that will allow kids to bury fossils at different coordinates so their friends can then go on a search for the fossils. A little digging will uncover the buried treasure and the participants will experience real mathematical and archeological processes in a new and exciting way.

Photo by TTTA Ripley

I have been working in Ripley and Whitesville for 10 months now and I can honestly say I have seen a difference in both communities, not just cosmetic differences, but a difference in the way the community members think and the way they interact with each other.

I have seen a difference in both communities, not just cosmetic differences.

They are working together!

Thank you so much to the folks of Ripley and Whitesville for welcoming me into their communities with open arms, and treating me as if I were one of their own.