BUCKHANNON – Appalachian Impact continues to search for people to join its mentoring program.
The founder of Appalachian Impact, Justin Bowers, and program coordinator for Appalachian Impact, Julie McCourt, came to the Oct. 10 Upshur County Commission meeting to provide a status update on the Hampton Community building the nonprofit organization has been using for the last three years.
“I think we’re close to three years of having our agreement with the Hampton building through the county, and it feels like it’s been just a great process that’s starting to gain some momentum,” Bowers said. “As you all know, Appalachian Impact’s vision has been to build hope for at-risk students, and we’ve done that through a lot of programs that you’ll hear about in just a minute.”
Bowers said their programs have been tested by challenges in the Upshur County community, including the state takeover of the Upshur County School System and Board of Education.
“As you look around our county, you see the frustrations that exist with the school system, you see things we’re trying to heal, so we carry that pretty intentionally, and for me, as the director of this program, it’s felt like the past two-and-a-half years have been just building a foundation,” Bowers said. “It took us a good year-and-a-half to really get the building where it needed to be and then to try to build some infrastructure around that.”
McCourt reviewed a few of the programs Appalachian Impact offers at the Hampton building and other places around the community.
“We have an after-school program that just runs on Thursdays, and we have 10 students now, plus five students already signed up for a second semester starting in January — so that’s five more students already on board to join us then,” she said. “We meet on Thursdays after school from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the service scholars at the college set up partnerships with groups on campus.”
“They’ve had their sign language professor come and do some sign language with the kids; we’ve walked over to the Parish House and done some things with them, and we also just started getting into a little bit of tutoring and homework help,” McCourt added.
Appalachian Impact is currently working with two work-study students, one to help with the after-school program and the other to help advertise Appalachian Impact.
“We also met with a teacher who’s teaching at the middle school, and she’s interested in expanding our Adventure After School to the middle school,” McCourt said. “She seems very passionate about it; she is willing to volunteer her time, so we’re in the process of trying to see what that could look like.”
Other groups are invited to use the Hampton Building.
“Girl Scout troops are using it every other month; they have service unit meetings, so all the Girl Scouts in the county get together, and there are two church youth groups that use it – one on Wednesday evenings and one on Thursday evenings,” McCourt said. “Starting in January, we’re hoping to solidify a collaboration with Shannon Hooper. She’s going to do some art clubs once a month for an elementary age group, then a middle school and high school age group, so that will be on Saturdays once a month at the Hampton Building.”
Bowers emphasized that the nonprofit organization is always looking for new mentors to join its program.
“We are always looking for more mentors, so anybody that has a lunch available once a week to go into a school, to come spend time at the after-school program, to build a relationship with a student, we have found that is the singular thing that will help kind of build hope in a student’s life,” Bowers said. “If you know anyone or have connections, we’re happy to reach out to them.”
The Appalachian Impact annual fundraising gala is coming up on Oct. 26, and tickets are available online and at the Daily Grind.
