This year’s Leadership Upshur class has chosen to dedicate its volunteer service project to Appalachian Impact, helping build and develop the organization’s new interactive children’s museum on Main Street.
Leadership Upshur members attended the Dec. 4 Buckhannon City Council meeting to share their plans for Appalachian Impact’s new location on Main Street, in the former H&R Block space. Courtney Luckasevic, an HR business partner at Vandalia Health, said Leadership Upshur plans to help establish the new space through both hands-on labor and fundraising.
“We plan to leverage our volunteer skills and our hard work to help them paint and do some physical labor, but not only that, we will leverage our leadership skills to get them some sponsorships and network within the community that we have to get them some things for the future too,” Luckasevic said.
The group plans to volunteer for two six-hour days of hands-on work and will then focus on raising funds for paint and tools to prepare the new space.
“We’re also looking to add a mini children’s stage so they can have some interactive and imaginative play,” Luckasevic said.
Leadership Upshur is also seeking businesses to sponsor interactive booths to generate ongoing revenue for the children’s museum.
“It’s a sponsorship from the business, but they can have those booths mimic what their business does, so if a hospital sponsors it, the booth could be a nursing station the children can interact with and play with,” Luckasevic said. “There are a lot of STEM opportunities there as well, which I think is really great for the children in our community.”
The work will begin in early 2026.
“We plan to do this at the end of January, so we will be able to get in and network with them and do some of that work,” Luckasevic said.
Mayor Robbie Skinner expressed his appreciation for Leadership Upshur’s efforts to bring new hands-on learning opportunities to the community.
“I think it’s a great idea, and it’s something that perhaps could be a part of an even bigger vision or project later on,” Skinner said. “We’ve had lengthy discussions at Stockert Youth and Community Center board meetings about re-channeling what was going to be a gymnasium across the street into a robust STEM center, focusing solely on hands-on education for not only Upshur County, but in the entire region of our state and beyond.”
If that project moves forward, Skinner said he hopes the city can collaborate with Appalachian Impact’s new museum in the future.
“I think you’re definitely on the right path,” Skinner said. “I applaud Leadership Upshur for taking the steps to lead in a way that would focus on bringing up the next generation.”
