The West Virginia Community Development Hub
Katelyn Campbell – The Hub’s latest team member.
The Hub is thrilled to welcome our latest team member.
Katelyn Campbell joined The Hub last week, and will be working from our Charleston office.
If you’d like to get in touch with Katelyn, to learn more about her work, you can email her at k.campbell@wvhub.org.
Photo by Corporation for National and Community Service.
Are you excited about the work that The Hub is doing, and want to be part of it?
Or perhaps you are interested in trying out community development work to see if it’s a good fit for you as a long-term career?
The Hub is bringing three new people on to our team this spring – and you might be the person we are looking for!
We’re excited to announce 3 VISTA positions opening in the next few months.
We’re excited to announce 3 VISTA positions opening in the next few months that we hope will play critical roles in taking our work further across the state and deeper into communities.
Taking a year-long VISTA position with The Hub is a great way to get exposure to a wide variety of community development activities, to gain an in-depth knowledge about what is happening on the ground across West Virginia, and to build skills that are translatable to a wide variety of jobs. (And maybe even to find a job with The Hub! Some of our best staff started off as VISTA with us…)
If you’re interested in any of the positions described below, contact me or our VISTA coordinator Louise Henry to learn more.
The Hub is launching a multi-year program this Spring to work with four communities to build a culture of entrepreneurship and to support entrepreneurial development from the ground up.
This position is a heavy mix of organizing, facilitating and coaching local teams, and supporting individual business owners and entrepreneurs as they try to start and grow local businesses in Boone, Lincoln, Wyoming and Taylor counties.
The VISTA will be doing a good amount of travel to these counties, and will serve as a direct resource to the dozens of community members we are working with through this program
This position is a heavy mix of organizing, facilitating and coaching local teams.
The VISTA will also be trained in entrepreneurial coaching, a skill that we are eager to bring to The Hub’s other community development programs.
Do you like working directly with people, problem-solving, listening and helping to brainstorm solutions to challenging problems? Are you interested in doing your part to seed community development in small West Virginia communities, to lead from behind and support communities in executing the vision they have for their future, and to help grow local businesses?
The this could be the right fit for you.
The position starts in May 2017 and will be based out of The Hub’s Charleston office. A valid driver’s license and a car are required. No other experience is necessary.
The Abandoned Properties Coalition is a dynamic statewide group that seeks systematic solutions to address the persistent challenge of dilapidated and vacant properties in West Virginia communities.
Do you have an interest in downtown redevelopment, historic preservation, or revitalizing small communities?
Do you care about public health and safety, or making treasures out of underutilized or trashed properties?
Do you have an interest in downtown redevelopment, historic preservation, or revitalizing small communities?
Are you interested in getting to know a wide variety of communities across the state and getting plugged into a high-capacity group of architects, developers, policymakers, economic development professionals, historic preservation advocates, and local government actors who are all trying to improve West Virginia communities?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, this is a VISTA position you might want to consider.
The Abandoned Properties Coalition VISTA will help to coordinate The Hub’s dilapidated and vacant property programs, including helping to coordinate the Abandoned Properties Coalition, creating education and advocacy tools to advance systemic solutions, and providing coaching to individual communities that seek technical assistance in starting down the path to addressing their vacant properties. This position will involve limited travel.
We are seeking someone with strong writing and public speaking skills, experience with group facilitation (helping to facilitate a youth, volunteer or church group is great experience), and an interest in deepening their knowledge about revitalization and downtown redevelopment. The position starts in May 2017 and will be based out of The Hub’s Charleston office.
Interested in working with communities to move forward specific downtown redevelopment projects than working on seeding innovative statewide solutions? Our HubCAP Downtown Appalachia VISTA position might be the right fit for you.
This position will support The Hub’s HubCAP (Communities of Achievement) Downtown Appalachia program. This 18-month program will work directly with five communities across southern West Virginia to help them build redevelopment projects that local teams have identified and are undertaking with assistance from The Hub and WVU’s Northern Brownfields Assistance Center.
The VISTA will assist with running the HubCAP program, providing direct support and coaching to community teams in Summers, Boone, Nicholas, Mercer and Mingo counties, and help to amplify the success and impact that these small communities are having on revitalizing their towns – one step at a time.
The VISTA will be expected to travel regularly to the HubCAP communities, and will work under direct supervision of the HubCAP project coordinator. This position starts in summer 2017 and can be based out of The Hub’s Charleston or Fairmont office, depending on the preference of the candidate. A valid driver’s license and care are required. No other experience is necessary.
We hope you’ll consider one of The Hub’s exciting VISTA opportunities this year – and pass these opportunities along to anyone you think might be interested.
The Hub is an energizing and creative place to work. If you’re interested in community development and improving West Virginia through innovation and supporting local leadership, you’d be a great fit with our team!
The Healthy Living Club sold more than 100 water bottles to students and faculty in three days. Photos by Lou Cassis/Try This West Virginia
In 2015, Elizabeth Werts and Kaitlyn Connor, both students of George Washington High School in Charleston, decided they wanted to work on health issues at their school.
So they reached out to other students and teachers to launch a Healthy Living Club. It began meeting weekly after school to get familiar different types of physical activity, and strategies for making more healthy foods available in school.
In its first year, the club did some fun things, holding yoga sessions, and laying the groundwork for a school garden.
Students then connected with Dr. Jaime Jeffrey of the West Virginia Fed Up Movement, who guided the students to the Fed Up documentary and related curriculum.
West Virginia Fed Up has made it their mission to equip children and teens with the tools necessary to confront a culture that promotes obesity and poor health.
The movement is working to educate kids about the dangers of “Big Fat Industries”: fast food, junk food and soft drink companies, which often target children, using the same marketing and sales strategies employed by cigarette companies back in the 50s and 60s. These industries spend billions of dollars on advertising, and use celebrity endorsements, colorful packaging and cartoon characters to entice children and their parents to consume their unhealthy products.
The Fed Up documentary, available to all West Virginia schools, encouraged students to begin arming themselves with facts about the foods they, their families, and peers were consuming en masse.
Now, the West Virginia Fed Up Movement is growing a network of West Virginia children willing to work with school cooks on new menus, and ask for healthier options in school vending machines and concession stands.
In 2016, the Healthy Living Club traveled to West Virginia Wesleyan College to attend the annual Try This West Virginia conference. At Try This, students engaged in discussions about promoting healthy school environments and shared a number of strategies they were using to help students form healthy habits.
Back at school, club members observed that students weren’t utilizing the water fountains and so they set a goal to have them upgraded. The club applied for, and received, a $2,200 grant through Try This West Virginia to install filtered water stations throughout the school.
Once the filtered water stations were installed, the club sold fruit-infusing water bottles to students and teachers. They encouraged all of George Washington High to refill their bottles often and to always bring a water bottle to school.
The Healthy Living Club sold more than 100 water bottles to the students and faculty in the first three days of the sale. Recently, the club began selling 32-ounce tumblers sporting the George Washington High logo. Now, they’re seeing more individuals with water bottles at school each day.
“Look how much sugar is in this!” George Washington students talk to younger kids at Overbrooke about “Big Fat Industries.”
In 2017, the Healthy Living Club will rekindle their school garden, which supplies fresh herbs, spices and lettuce to the school cafeteria, and continue to educate the student body on the importance of healthy foods and an active lifestyle.
Last week, the club took their show on the road to Overbrook Elementary School, where they presented the facts behind unhealthy foods to two third grade classes.
And this group of informed teens isn’t stopping anytime soon. In the coming weeks, the Healthy Living Club plans to visit Holz and Ruthlawn Elementary schools to spread the word about soda, junk food, and sugary snacks.
Photo by Claire Gail/FlickrCC
It was great to sit down with a group of hardworking AmeriCorps VISTA in Charleston last week, to talk about how they can quickly and easily tell great stories about the important work they are doing.
Because that storytelling part is really important! The ability to communicate the good work that is happening, to celebrate the important people and promote critical events and happenings, is vital if we are going to grow this work, attract new VISTA, and change the narrative about what’s really happening in West Virginia.
Here’s one of the stories we were able to quickly crank out during the workshop – thanks Kayla Lucas for sharing your inspiring story!
As promised, here’s a copy of my presentation for you guys.
I hope it’s helpful for you all as you move ahead with putting the ideas we discuss into practice. (Remember, you don’t have to be Hemingway. And, if you don’t take a minute to write down your story, nobody else is going to. Okay?)
Keep up the good work, people. And be sure to stay in touch.
Photo courtesy the Soil Association’s Future Growers program. More info: www.soilassociation.org/futuregrowers
Lincoln County has been a bit of an outlier among our Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS) communities.
While most of the five communities we are working with in the southern part of the state are struggling with the loss of mine jobs, many in Lincoln County are struggling with the decline of something a little closer to the surface – farming and agriculture.
Below is a rundown of the latest projects in Lincoln County we have been able to support with IAS mini-grants. Community leaders hope that these new IAS projects will help introduce farming to the next generation, and begin to market themselves outside county lines.
David Stowers is a longtime farmer in Lincoln County. He understands that in order for farming to remain a mainstay of the community, it is imperative that young people want to take up the mantle.
That’s why we awarded David and the Agriculture team $2,000 to develop a mentorship program.
David’s idea is to find farmers that will set aside an acre of land so that a local student can grow crops on it.
David’s idea is to find farmers that will set aside an acre of land so that a local student can grow crops on it. The farmer will advise the student, but ultimately it will be the student’s small scale garden. The grant money will also pay for the farmer to put a deer fence around the acre of land, making it more functional for the student.
The hope is that this will inspire a new generation of farmers that can lead Lincoln County’s agriculture economy into the future.
Along the same line of thinking, Agriculture team member and fellow longtime farmer, Nona Conley, feels like she has identified one major reason young people are not plowing the fields anymore. She senses a loss of community.
Nona thinks that the consolidation of Lincoln County high schools has meant that young people no longer feel connected to the people living and working around them.
Nona thinks young people no longer feel connected to the people living and working around them.
She plans to create a cultural event, held at the county-wide high school, that showcases life in Lincoln County.
Nona has been awarded $2,000 to create a festival that includes agriculture, reenactors, local musicians, published writers and anyone else that has had a cultural impact in the area.
She believes that by reintegrating students back into their community they will be more likely to stay, and might even think about becoming farmers.
We all know one of those people that seem to have their hands in everything.
They give up their time for the betterment of their community, and we see them at every local meeting or event. In Lincoln County, that person is Ric McDowell.
Ric is currently in charge of the county-wide Wastewater Project, which is likely what led him and the Recreation and Tourism team to their project concerning the Guyandotte River.
Their plan is to increase river usage by increasing marketing for existing river activities, and by creating a new project centered around kayaking in the summer.
The team has been tossing around several ideas, but they all agreed that the Guyandotte River was an incredible resource.
Their plan is to increase river usage by increasing marketing for existing river activities, and by creating a new project centered around kayaking in the summer.
We have awarded the team $2,000 for printing materials, kayak rentals and signage along the river.
Katie Thacker and her Arts and Culture team have been long-time supporters of the Arts in Lincoln County.
A welcome center to serve as an informational hub to outsiders.
They previously managed the Friends of the Arts building on Hamlin’s Court Avenue, and have plans to bring it back as a Lincoln County Welcome Center.
Katie believes this will be a way to bring all of the Lincoln County projects together. Each of the sector teams has the intention to bring people in from outside the county, and she hopes this welcome center can serve as an informational hub to outsiders.
We have awarded the Arts and Culture team a $2,000 grant to do just that.
You can keep up to date with the all the of news
coming out of our IAS communities at The Hub’s IAS blog feed!
Photo by Kayla Lucas
Meet Kayla Lucas.
Since September 2016, Kayla has been working in Mingo County helping school children be more active during the school day.
Kayla sees this as important because she wants more physical activity options in schools, to help kids learn, be more engaged in class, and understand all the fun things they can do.
“Kids in Mingo County only get one year of PE,” Kayla says. “I don’t think that’s enough. When people look at me they judge me because I’m bigger. But I run 5k’s, I rock climb, and do all sorts of active things. There are kids in schools that don’t understand that they can do that too, if they only tried.”
Kayla is currently serving as a VISTA for Step-By-Step, placed with Williamson Health and Wellness Center. You can learn about the Williamson Health and Wellness Center at www.healthyinthehills.com.
Step-By-Step WV works with kids in southern West Virginia to help them follow their dreams and be ready for a thriving adulthood.
Learn more about amazing people like Kayla and the work of Step-By-Step at www.stepbystepwv.org.
Interested in being a VISTA? Here’s where you can go for more information: www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/americorps-vista
Photo by Guyandotte Water Trail – www.facebook.com/guyandottewatertrail
The Hub’s Innovation Acceleration Strategy program, in collaboration with the International Economic Development Council, continues a new webinar series this week.
This week’s webinar is about Marketing for Small and Rural Communities. Speakers include Rachel DeLoffre from Development Counsellors International in New York, Ben Wright from Atlas Advertising in Denver, and Jane Jenkins, the President and CEO of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc.
These webinars will continue over the next three months, focusing on economic development topics such as how to deal with dilapidated buildings and opportunities for heritage tourism.
The webinars are free, and although they are designed to focus specifically on economic development opportunities in coalfield communities, they are open to all.
Here’s where you can sign up for the webinars listed below.
Marketing for Small and Rural Communities
Thursday Feb. 2
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Rivers as an Attraction for Tourism and Business Development
Feb. 15
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Best Practices for Dealing with Dilapidated and Abandoned Properties
Feb. 23
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Preserving our Stories – Opportunities for Heritage Tourism
Mar. 15
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Maximizing the use of Federal and State Tools for Economic Development
Mar. 23
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Photo by AmeriCorps VISTA
Here’s some terrific news for the many VISTA serving communities all across West Virginia.
The office of the Corporation for National and Community Service in Charleston wants to help you with any issues you are finding challenging in your VISTA year of service.
They are planning a statewide In-Service Training for currently serving VISTA. The training is tentatively scheduled for April 17-19.
These, and many other subjects are on the table, depending on what the state office hears from you, the VISTA!
But, in order to make sure the training provides the kind of information you feel you need, they are requesting your input.
Take this survey as soon as you can to let the trainers know what they should focus on.
SURVEY LINK: www.surveymonkey.com/r/YHMN7DJ
What are the most important things, to you, for completing a successful year of service?
Volunteer Program Development? Communications and Social Media? Public Speaking? How to Run Meetings? These, and many other subjects are on the table, dependent on what the state office hears from you, the VISTA!
Please complete and submit the survey by February 3!
Ric Cavender of Charleston Main Streets takes us on a tour of the new space. Photo by Kenny Kemp/Charleston Gazette-Mail
The Hub is expanding in 2017 – bringing on new staff, new programs and, in a few short months, moving into a new collaborative office space with two other community development groups in Charleston.
As reported by the Charleston Gazette-Mail, The Hub is teaming up with Charleston Main Streets and Generation West Virginia for a shared office space in the warehouse district of Charleston – about one block from Capitol Market.
“The Hub tries to walk the talk of collaboration in everything we do. We believe that partnerships and collaborations are the foundation to successful community development.”
At this new space, which is currently under construction and expected to be completed in the next month, The Hub will house half of its staff. We’ll also host multiple VISTA for our statewide VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program, and we’re providing space to an Appalachian Transition Fellow in collaboration with the West Virginia Center for Civic Life.
The Hub will also maintain its Fairmont office. We believe that maintaining two offices across the state is critical to continuing our efforts to serve as a statewide community development organization and be accessible to as much of the state as possible.
We’re looking forward to the new Charleston space because it gives us room to continue to grow our staff, give us – for the first time – a public “street-side” presence for our organization, and will enable us to deepen our work with Charleston Main Streets and Generation West Virginia.
The Hub tries to walk the talk of collaboration in everything we do. We believe that partnerships and collaborations are the foundation to successful community development. We’re excited to see what new projects and collaborations are born out of this shared office space!
Could a rail-trail provide an economic boost for Wyoming County? Photo of Rockwood, PA, by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
It has a long and complicated title, but the goal of our Innovation Acceleration Strategy (IAS) program is short and simple to understand: to help citizens in our coal-impacted communities create new opportunities for their future.
They are local ideas, born of local innovation and determination. And The Hub is proud to be able to support them.
One of the ways we’re doing that is by providing mini-grant funding to help local projects get started. These are projects that citizens in our five IAS communities believe will make their city or town a better place to live, create new jobs and economic opportunities, and provide a welcome shift from the general decline and depression from which these communities have suffered in recent times.
They are local ideas, born of local innovation and determination. And The Hub is proud to be able to support them.
We’ve just begun issuing our second round of mini-grants. Here are the great projects we’ll be funding in Wyoming County!
Local artist Laura Burdette wanted to find a way to grow the Arts in her community. She has taught art classes before, and thought that could be one way to go. After a community survey revealed strong interest in the idea, (and revealed 40 interested potential students), she knew she was onto something.
With the help of the IAS Wyoming County Arts Team, Burdette put together a mini-grant application which has secured $1,120 for start-up funds. And a new partnership with Wyoming County SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), means the group will be able to use the Pineville SADD Power House Youth Center as space for the classes.
The Arts Team plans to expand the kinds of arts classes they offer to include other local artisans. Currently, they plan to offer painting classes with Burdette and music classes with Larry Cooper, the lead band member of the Pineville Methodist Church Band.
Matthew Allen has been working to develop a rail-trail on inactive train tracks in Wyoming County for much longer then we have known him through the IAS program. But we’ve been continuously impressed with his passion and what he has already accomplished.
Now, he is ready to take his plans to the next level.
The next step Allen will be taking is to make the City of Mullens bike friendly. Allen and the Wyoming County Transportation Team has been granted $2,000 to help make this possible. Allen is working with Reece Neeley of the Mullens City Council to install “Share the Road” signs throughout the city to encourage bikers to use their roads.
Allen believes this will not only increase the safety and wellness of people in the City of Mullens, but will also aid the revitalization of downtown and encourage tourists already biking in Twin Falls Resort State Park to bike in downtown Mullens.
We have written before about 14-year-old Joseph Watson’s project to create a Remote Controlled Car track in Wyoming County, after he received the third place prize of $1,000 in our Buck for Bright Ideas funding competition.
It should come as no surprise that his Tourism Team has also been granted $2,000 to continue his project. Their application stated that with the two grants they will be able to purchase a lap counter, making it possible for the upcoming track to hold races.
The team plans to create a 4-H club centered around RC Cars, and hopes this new interest in the hobby will lead to support businesses, such as hobby shops and design businesses.
We’ll be keeping you updated on the mini-grant winners in the other IAS communities here at The Hub Blog, so stay tuned…
