Resources

Active Southern West Virginia is a nonprofit providing an ecosystem of physical activity for the residents of southern West Virginia by offering programs led by trained volunteers from within the communities it serves. In 2020, the organization included Boone County in its six-county service area. For a full calendar of events with program updates, descriptions, and driving directions, please visit: https://activeswv.org/calendar/.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time service program that covers lodging and travel expenses, allowing young adults to serve on a team and make an impact in communities across the country while gaining valuable leadership skills.

BARN Community Center incorporates the first letter of the four non-incorporated communities in the surrounding area: Bruston, Ashford, Ridgeview, and Nellis- to create an acronym for its name. The mission of the BARN is two-tiered: the immediate or emergency needs of people in the community, without judgment via services such as substance abuse recovery, financial assistance for education, and help with things like utilities and transportation until they can get back up on their feet.

Boone Memorial Hospital is a critical access hospital. With a 25-inpatient bed count and 24-hour emergency room, the hospital is a medical hub in its community, with a myriad of services and educational and community events such as Food and Toy Drives, Go Red for Women campaign events, blood drives, lunch and learn health education sessions, and an annual health fair.

Coalfield Health Center is a rural, nonprofit organization that provides primary and preventive health care services to Chapmanville and the surrounding area. Coalfield Health Center officially began operations in July 2009. As a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, the center’s services are available to all residents of the area regardless of their income level, insurance status, or residency.

Energy Express is a six-week summer reading and nutrition program for children living in West Virginia’s rural and low-income communities. More than 3,000 children statewide gain or maintain reading levels during summer months through creative, colorful, and captivating uses of art, drama, and vocabulary. The program provides children with two nutritious meals each day during the program, helping to ensure our youths are fed each day even after the school year comes to an end. Energy Express is offered in various counties at select locations. Facing Hunger Foodbank serves 17 counties in three states. It provides canned, boxed, fresh, frozen, and prepared food to nearly 116,000 individuals annually. This food is recovered and secured from restaurants, supermarkets, food distributors, the USDA, farmers, wholesalers, sportsmen, and through food and fund drives. It distributes emergency food through 248 partner agencies and programs, including soup kitchens, neighborhood centers, family crisis centers, and homeless shelters for adults and children.

The Fresh Start Program is a comprehensive opioid abuse treatment program, managed by the Southwestern Regional Day Report Center. It accepts referrals from various entities such as probation, home confinement, self-referrals, etc. This program is intended to connect individuals back into their community through various means such as community gardens, volunteering, agricultural and artisan programming, and community engagement. It serves Logan, Lincoln, and Mingo Counties.

Grow Appalachia is a community garden-based food security program, headquartered at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. It is currently in its 12th year of operation and seeks to help as many Appalachian families grow as much of their own food as possible.

Hungry Lambs Food Initiative began in 1991 at the First Presbyterian Church of Logan. Back then, a small group of church members would drive to Coal Mountain Food Bank to purchase food. Now, the organization is one of the largest pantries in Logan County and partners with several organizations, including: Facing Hunger Foodbank, the Fresh Start Program, PRIDE Community Services, Coalfield Health Center, and the Logan County Health Department.

Mountaineer Food Bank launched in 1981 in Gassaway, due to its central location. It is the largest emergency food provider in West Virginia, distributing over 29 million pounds annually. MFB provides food and other household items to over 480 feeding programs in 48 counties in West Virginia, including Boone County. It is part of the Feeding America network. If you’re interested in volunteering with Mountaineer Food Bank, contact Melissa England, Volunteer Coordinator, at 304-364-5518.

Partners in Prevention is a unique model of communities working together to strengthen families and help West Virginia’s children grow up free from abuse and neglect. The Partners in Prevention network comprises 42 community teams across West Virginia implementing

various community projects and working together to keep children safe. The network offers family support, resource distribution, educational workshops, and referral to other services when needed.

Patriot Guardens is an integrated agriculture and economic diversification initiative of the West Virginia Military Authority that is aligning and mobilizing strategic efforts to provide new economic and employment opportunities. The initiative involves partnerships with West Virginia State University (WVSU) Extension Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Appalachian Small Fruit Research Station at Kearneysville, NRCS, West Virginia University, Marshall University, Shepherd University, and landowners and coal operators across the state.

PRIDE Community Services is part of the Community Action Partnership, which is an alliance of nonprofit private and public organizations established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. It positively impacts the lives of those in need by bringing together educational, financial, and human resources that support self-sufficiency. The agency currently has approximately 125 dedicated full and part-time employees.

The Salvation Army is a worldwide evangelical Christian church with its own distinctive governance and practice. Its offices in Charleston and Huntington provide services to 11 West Virginia counties. It offers a wide range of traditional and social services, and emergency assistance programs, including: financial assistance, prescription assistance, thrift stores, senior citizen services, hygiene supplies, and food pantries.

Southern West Virginia Health System is a federally qualified health center with 17 locations serving Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, and Mingo Counties. With a focus on family medicine, SWVHS has expanded services to include mental, dental, and urgent care. As an FQHC, it provides services on a sliding fee scale.

Starting Points Centers are community resource providers that offer programs and services that support and strengthen families through interagency coordination and collaboration. These services are easily accessible and located within the counties they serve.

Step by Step Inc. is a grassroots nonprofit organization that has been serving counties across the state of West Virginia for 33 years. Today, it has over 100 people on its payroll and a $1.2 million budget. It provides afterschool and summer programming and mentoring initiatives at over 15 sites across Lincoln, Logan, and Kanawha Counties. Grow Appalachia chapters in Lincoln and Logan Counties are part of a long-term commitment to food security through which it has started over 30 afterschool or summer food programs. In addition, it sponsors over 30 AmeriCorps VISTA and 40 direct service AmeriCorps members each year, both investing in local leaders and bringing new volunteers into the region. Many programs are piloted from the Big Ugly Community Center in southern Lincoln County, founded in 1995.

TEAM for West Virginia Children is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to work with communities and families to promote and advance the well-being of children, making their needs and healthy development a priority.

Try This West Virginia is a statewide grassroots movement to help knock West Virginia off the top of the worst health lists, community by community. It creates partnerships between local people who want to create healthier communities and a coalition of state-andregional-level groups who can help them do that. Mini-grants to pay for community projects are sometimes available.

United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities worldwide to advance the common good. It is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit affiliates. It has 15 offices across West Virginia.

Volunteer WV is the state’s commission for national and community service. It seeks to improve and boost volunteer participation in the state.

West Virginia 2-1-1 is a database that keeps accurate and comprehensive data that individuals and organizations can use to find health and human services to meet the needs of West Virginians. Its database allows you to browse hundreds of health and human services online, learn about specific programs, intake requirements, eligibility, operation hours, and more. This information and referral service is operated by the United Ways of West Virginia.

WV Community Development HUB is a statewide nonprofit organization that helps communities and sectors come together to set goals for their future and connects them to the rich network of resources they need to meet those goals.

WV Family Resource Networks (FRNs) are organizations that respond to the needs and opportunities of the community. Partnering with community members and public and private organizations, the WVFRN members develop innovative projects and provide needed resources for their local areas. Their initiatives demonstrate the network’s commitment to community development in the region.

WV Food and Farm Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to build the local food and agriculture system in West Virginia in a way that provides viable incomes for farmers and local foods businesses and ensures all residents have access to locally produced food. Its vision is that West Virginia will be a place where farmers and local foods and agriculture businesses can make a living working within a robust network to grow, process, distribute, and market their products, and that provides healthy, locally produced food to communities.

WV Health Connection is a collaborative effort led by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease. WV Health Connection is a system for patients to discover community wellness programs that are convenient and accessible. To do this, WV Health Connection links health care providers to local chronic disease prevention services and connects patients to health promotion programs.

West Virginia University Extension Service is an educational and service outreach program of the university and federal, state, and local governments. It has staff serving all 55 counties. The major programs and services are: agricultural education, master gardeners, 4-H and youth development, nutrition outreach, and childcare development.

Wild, Wonderful, Healthy Logan County is comprised of cross-sector organizations working together to create a community health plan. Its vision is to create a culture of health in Logan County to unleash community prosperity.