Appalachia's Hometown Heroes

[theHandpuppet]

This discussion thread is pinned.

If you know of an individual or group dedicated to improving the lives of people in Appalachia, please let us know about it in this thread so we can duly celebrate them!

I'll start this off today with this article...

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/news/home_top-news/150116546/Steven-A.-Hunter-Hope-Fund-benefits-from-dental-program
The Portsmouth Times (Ohio)
Steven A. Hunter Hope Fund benefits from dental program
by Frank Lewia
October 11, 2014

Dr. Tracy Murray and his team, through the Crown Council Annual Smiles for Life campaign, have provided teeth whitening services to patients at reduced rates and donated 100 percent of the proceeds to children who face disabilities, serious illnesses, lack of medical care and decreased opportunities. Half of the funds go to a local charity.

Thursday afternoon at Murray’s office located at 1010 Gallia Street in Portsmouth Murray, his wife Rhonda Murray, and their staff presented a check for $2,080 to Mark and Virgie Hunter of the Steven A. Hunter Hope Fund as their local charity. The goal of the Steven A Hunter Hope Fund is to provide goods, services, and resources for the benefit of the students of Scioto County with financial needs in Hunter’s memory...

... Mark Hunter said, with last year’s donation, Murray had provided over $20,000 since 2006. And with this year’s donation, the total stands at over $22,000. Hunter said the important figure is the amount of children those $22,000 have fed. That money provides almost 30,000 meals.

“Our budget, just for food now is up to $75,000-plus a year,” Mark Hunter said. “I know we’re out there a lot asking people for help and working to get grants but it takes an awful lot of different pieces to work out and certainly Dr. Murray and his team is a fantastic part. The Hope fund is a community effort, both in the funds that are raised and the volunteers in the schools - the teachers who make it run. The teachers who determine which children go on because they see them every day. The teachers do the distribution. They keep the records. It really is a whole community effort all around that makes this work. That’s why we’re confident the help really gets to the kids that need it.”.... MORE at link provided above.

For more on the Stephen A. Hunter Hope Fund, see: http://www.stevenshopefund.org/

[theHandpuppet]

2. Welcome!

I'm glad you had some good people to guide you on your journey, as did I.

[theHandpuppet]

4. Scott Widmeyer, ACF's National Appalachian Hero Award

National Appalachian Hero Award
When: October 16, 2014 @ 6:30 pm – October 16, 2014 @ 9:00 pm
Where: New York

Appalachian Community Fund (ACF) is proud and pleased to announce that Scott Widmeyer has been chosen for the Appalachian Community Fund’s 2014 National Appalachian Hero Award. Scott Widmeyer has been chosen for this award not only for his support of ACF, but also substantial contribution to social justice in Central Appalachia and for his commitment to educational development in his home state of West Virginia. Scott Widmeyer is our National Appalachian Hero because he provided more than 30 educational opportunities for African-American and first-generation West Virginians seeking a degree in journalism by establishing the West Virginia University Widmeyer Scholarships; he created a one of a kind sponsorship program that not only allows WVU to hire a faculty member to teach public relations and integrated marketing to undergraduates and graduates, but the sponsorship also challenges the professors to develop new and innovative curriculum; he is a supporter of ACF since 2005, serving on the New York Host Committee since the beginning, helping to secure sponsorships and inviting guests, and donating over $5,000.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Davis Wax: A Spirit of Service in the Mountains

Appalachian Voices
A Spirit of Service in the Mountains
By Molly Moore

Davis Wax can be a hard man to find — if he isn’t spending a week camped along the Appalachian Trail guiding volunteers through trail-repair projects, he’s likely off on mountain adventures. A former editorial intern with The Appalachian Voice, Davis is as comfortable writing an article about electricity transmission as he is teaching diverse groups of new volunteers the ins and outs of trail building.

A native of Concord, N.C., Davis studied professional writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, where he explored the mountains and trails in his backyard. Midway through college, his connection to Appalachia deepened when he began to volunteer with regional organizations.

He joined fellow volunteers with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for a week of camping and outdoor work, and witnessed how people from all walks of life share a need to contribute to causes they care about. “[People] need to get some volunteer work in, not expecting to have any kind of reward but just doing it because they feel like it’s the right thing to do or they want a new experience,” he says.

While in college Davis also joined an Appalachian State University fall break trip to Williamson, W.Va. He helped build community garden structures with the local initiative Sustainable Williamson, and learned about efforts to move past the problems associated with coal and build a more diverse economy. He wanted to stay engaged with these issues upon returning to campus, and contacted Appalachian Voices....

MORE at http://appvoices.org/get_involved/spotlights/davis-wax/

[theHandpuppet]

6. Everyday Heroes: Grow Appalachia one more way Wayne Riley continues to pay it forward

Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Everyday Heroes: Grow Appalachia one more way Wayne Riley continues to pay it forward
By Steve Flairty
KyForward columnist
This story will be included in Steve Flairty’s book, “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” scheduled for release in 2015.

When Wayne Riley founded the Laurel County African American Heritage Center in 2004, he saw it as a way he could share with others what he experienced as a youngster, that of having a sense of community. That good feeling took place in the early ’60s around London’s Mill Street Baptist Church, which now houses the Center. He learned that food and fellowship were important elements in building closeness. Today, he tries to continue each in his role as a highly respected community leader as he directs the center and leads an acclaimed community garden growing project...

...The process to establish the new museum/center started out modestly. “First, we started gathering pictures,” he said. Wayne went to great lengths to find them, too. “I would go to funerals and take a scanner along,” he said, “and we put the pictures in three three-drawer file cabinets, and it kept growing. I met some ladies in the historical society. They were very important because they’d save things and I’d bring them here (to the church).”

As items accumulated, including showcases to exhibit them, he called on the help of a woman from Frankfort to discuss a good structure for the project. The rest, as is often stated, is history and, with the directing of Wayne, a board and a group of volunteers, the place once standing as a house of religious worship grew to be, according to its web site, “a meeting place for the community that fosters discussion, reflection and hope.” To put it succinctly, the LCAAHC features togetherness, family and a sense of greater dignity to those who are connected in some way to the area.

About five years ago, things got even better through another initiative. With Wayne’s willingness to lead and expand the mission of the center, a new project entered the picture, called “Grow Appalachia,” based north of London at Berea College. Grow Appalachia makes gardening grants through “partner sites,” educates about raising healthy food and encourages entrepreneurship for the Appalachian region. Wayne took on the job as coordinator of a partner site after an impressive proposal to David Cooke, the director of the organization. He received a significant grant amount to get the community gardens going. The partner site would be a huge help for both those in the neighborhood and outside London. He was excited to see Grow Appalachia in place as an outgrowth of LCAAHC....

MORE at http://www.kyforward.com/everyday-heroes-grow-appalachia-one-more-way-wayne-riley-continues-to-pay-it-forward/

[theHandpuppet]

7. Gallia woman is ‘Child of Appalachia’ honoree

Gallipolis Daily Tribune
Gallia woman is ‘Child of Appalachia’ honoree
November 13. 2014
By Michael Johnson

GALLIPOLIS — A Gallia County pioneer in the broadcast industry, founder of a hospital foundation and longtime community volunteer is one of two people who will be honored Thursday night at the annual “Children of Appalachia” event in the atrium of the Statehouse in Columbus.

Each year, the event honors people who grew up as children from Appalachian Ohio. This year’s honorees include Marianne Campbell, an area broadcaster who helped start the “Child of Appalachia” campaign and founder of the Holzer Heritage Foundation at Holzer Health System. Campbell also is a full-time volunteer with the Gallia County Chamber of Commerce, something she has done for the last 12 years.

“One night a year, we come together from across our region to celebrate the difference philanthropy can make in Appalachian Ohio,” said Cara Dingus Brook, president and CEO of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio. “We all leave inspired by the stories of how individuals like our Child of Appalachia Honorees can make a difference through their work, compassion, and example.”

The other honoree is Dick Hubbard, of Nelsonville, who was a banker, sports broadcaster and community leader noted for facilitating the creation of the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway....

MORE at http://www.mydailytribune.com/news/home_top/150526406/Gallia-woman-is-Child-of-Appalachia-honoree