The Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team, Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia and Coal Heritage Highway Authority are partnering to highlight the AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) projects in Southern West Virginia. The event will take place Wednesday May 13th from 1 to 3 pm at Tamarack in Beckley, WV. VISTAs serving in southern WV will be in attendance to introduce themselves and the programs/communities they are serving. Invitations to state and other local elected officials from the following counties have been extended: Boone, Fayette, McDowell, Mercer, Raleigh, Summers, and Wyoming.

ACCWT Program Coordinator April Trent , CCCWV Director of Development Marie Walker and CHHA Executive Director Christy Bailey invite the public to join them at Tamarack to learn more about VISTA projects in Southern West Virginia and to celebrate the great work that these men and women are doing. For more information call: (304) 461-3132.

The third annual AmeriCorps Week will take place May 9-16, 2009. AmeriCorps Week is a recruitment and recognition event planned to help bring more Americans into service, salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their powerful impact, and thank the community partners who make AmeriCorps possible. AmeriCorps Week provides an opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on the work done by members in communities across the country.

The ACCWT is a coalition of change-minded grassroots-level watershed improvement groups determined to help heal land scared by pre-regulatory mining practices while creating economic stability needed in our rural communities. With its Support Office in Beckley, WV, the ACCWT works throughout an eight state Appalachian region (PA, OH, MD, VA, WV, KY, TN, AL) with unified goals to: build local capacity, monitor water quality, enhance outreach and education, engage redevelopment and require professional development. The Team is supported by an innovative partnership between AmeriCorps VISTA and the Office of Surface Mining. The ACCWT began in 2002 as an OSM/VISTA initiative, placing determined college-trained OSM/VISTA Volunteers in a year of service in rural mining communities. Reflecting the needs and the determination of the communities they serve, the ACCWT currently has 36 OSM/VISTAs in the field and will see a 10% increase in new watershed groups/partners this spring and summer.

The CCCWV currently fulfills its mission through four innovative programs -- West Virginia Courtesy Patrol, statewide motorist assistance program that utilizes former welfare recipients as patrol operators; Youth and Developmental Projects, which provide community service employment opportunities to youth ages of 16-24; The First Tee of Beckley (TFTB), a youth development program that utilizes the game of golf to teach valuable life skills; and the Twin Branch Recreational Area (TBRA) facility in McDowell County. CCCWV also serves as the Fiscal Sponsor for the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) and Volunteers in Service for America (VISTA).

The Mission of the CCCWV is to conduct projects and programs that:

• Strengthen and revitalize our communities;

• Provide self-esteem, educational enhancements and employment opportunities through meaningful work experiences for both youth and adults; and

• Conserve, develop, and enhance our state’s natural resources.

The Coal Heritage Highway Authority *VISTA Umbrella Project is a network of public, private, faith-based nonprofit, and local state or federal agencies that strengthen communities in southern West Virginia through the provision of AmeriCorps VISTA members, service oriented individuals dedicated to addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities. The CHHA promotes and enhances tourism and community and economic development activities through non-profit capacity building, resource development, outreach and education, and historic preservation and interpretation. Coal Heritage VISTA members strengthen communities along the Coal Heritage Trail, a national scenic byway passing through Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, and Mercer Counties and within the National Coal Heritage Area, a federally designated area of national historic significance, encompassing 13 counties in southern West Virginia.



AmeriCorps programs currently provide opportunities for 75,000 Americans to give back in an intensive way to their communities and country each year. The newly signed Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act will increase this number to 250,000 in less than a decade. AmeriCorps consists of three main programs: AmeriCorps State and National, whose members serve with more than 2,900 national and local nonprofit and community groups; AmeriCorps VISTA, through which members serve full-time fighting poverty; and AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), a team-based residential program for young adults 18-24 who carry out projects in public safety, the environment, youth development, and disaster relief and preparedness. As a part of the national VISTA Program, the ACCWT serves rural communities impoverished by environmental degradation and its consequences.

Quotes:

• “Programs like these are a force multiplier; they leverage small numbers of members into thousands of volunteers. And we will focus their service toward solving today’s most pressing challenges: clean energy, energy efficiency, health care, economic opportunity, veterans and military families.” – President Barak Obama

For more information on the ACCWT visit www.accwt.org

For more information on the CHHA visit www.coalheritage.org

For more information on the CCCWV visit www.cccwv.com

For more information on AmeriCorps Week visit www.americorpsweek.gov