With the support of the Appalachian Regional Commission and matching funds from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the One Foundation, DARRE will support these communities in developing a strategy for economy building focused on downtown building redevelopment, entrepreneurial training & small business assistance, and community revitalization.
DARRE will build upon community partnerships developed as part of The Hub’s community coaching programs in the eight participating communities, including working with existing teams to help accelerate positive impacts. The eight participating communities will have access to over $1M in technical assistance funding to:
- Revitalize underutilized downtown properties & attract developer investment
- Build engaged entrepreneurial communities that proactively develop and support small businesses
- Community development services that ensure long-term local engagement and visible improvements to each individual community.
While the tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, state and national parks have been an exception to the rule, including in West Virginia where we saw a 9% increase of visitors to these locations in 2020. The eight communities participating in DARRE are located in the Monongahela National Forest region and are ideally placed near parks and recreational areas to take advantage of the state’s investment in tourism and remote worker attraction.
We’re thrilled to continue to work with these communities to see their growth and positive momentum through the coming years!
Are you a stakeholder or a community resident interested in learning more about DARRE? To get connected with the program, contact program leads Kaycie Stushek at k.stushek@wvhub.org or Stacy Thomas at s.thomas@wvhub.org.
