Volunteer WV Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal AmeriCorps Funding To Support Service, Education Programs Throughout State

AmeriCorps is sending more than $8 million to five programs across the state as part of its state and national grant program.

The money will fund a literacy mentorship program at West Virginia University, an education and leadership program in Hillsboro, and an opioid prevention program for grade school students in Charleston.

Other programs receiving funding, but not related to education, include supporting the Appalachian Forest Heritage Area in Elkins and a program that addresses diet-related health disparities in underserved communities in Wheeling.

Specific funding for each of the programs include:

$1,724,777 – West Virginia University, Morgantown
$1,154,600 – High Rocks Educational Corporation, Hillsboro
$894,735 – United Way of Central West Virginia, Charleston
$792,000 – Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, Elkins
$310,984 – Grow Ohio Valley, Wheeling

AmeriCorps separately announced $1,610,047 in funding for the National Council on Aging branch based in Wheeling Thursday. It’s set to place 72 senior AmeriCorps volunteers in the Northern Panhandle counties into the workforce by the end of its three-year grant cycle.

Volunteer West Virginia is also receiving nearly $1.7 million. The agency will use the money for more statewide resources during the next few months.

Funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal stimulus bill passed in 2021. It will affect 555 AmeriCorps volunteers working in West Virginia.

W.Va. Veteran & Former Coal Miner Receives President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Volunteerism

A former coal miner and veteran from West Virginia has been honored with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in volunteerism. Wayne McDonald has volunteered over 9,000 hours, over five years, helping fellow veterans through AmeriCorps & VISTA.

McDonald is an Army veteran who served during the first Gulf War. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he returned to West Virginia. The local Ceterans center in Logan County actually helped him find medical care. Later, they approached him about joining AmeriCorps, through their VetCorps Program.

“At first I said no, because I was afraid. I’ve never done anything like this. But they talked me into it,” McDonald told West Virginia Public Broadcasting back in 2015.

Now, three years later, he’s still serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer at the Henlawson Veterans Center in Logan County. AmeriCorps members receive a living stipend and an education award for their service.

This is the first time a West Virginian has received the President’s Service Award.

W.Va. Receives Grant to Support Volunteerism

Volunteer West Virginia announced Friday that it has received a grant of more than $200,000 dollars. The funding was awarded to help the state’s Commission for National and Community Service recruit, manage and retain volunteers.

The funding comes from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and the nation’s volunteer initiatives. The grant will be used to coordinate volunteers on a number of projects, including how to help communities following natural disasters.

The money is also meant to help West Virginia communities find ways to better coordinate volunteers, says Heather Foster, executive director of Volunteer West Virginia.

“One of the things we’ve seen in the recent flooding and the recent years, West Virginians are the first to go out of their doors and extend their arms and offer hope to their neighbors.”

This is the first year West Virginia has received this type of funding from the CNCS, although the agency regularly provides money to help pay for other AmeriCorps service programs in the state.

President Trump proposed cutting funds from the Corporation for National and Community Service.