Appalachian Voices kicks off series of community meetings for resiliency grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2024

CONTACT
Emma Kelly, New Economy Field Coordinator, (865) 585-4939, emma@appvoices.org

Appalachian Voices is partnering with the five Southwest Virginia governments and communities of Clinchco, Dante, Dungannon, Pennington Gap and Pound in a three-year proposal to map, plan and implement community-driven initiatives to build more resilient communities. Resiliency is the ability of a community and its residents to survive and thrive in the face of economic difficulties, climate disasters and other hurdles.

The process will include two rounds of community meetings and an additional community mapping exercise. The first round of meetings are scheduled as follows:

• Dungannon: April 25 at 6 p.m. at the Dungannon Community Center, 18933 Veterans Memorial Highway Dungannon, VA 24245
• Clinchco: May 9 at 6 p.m., location TBD
• Pound: May 14 at 6 p.m. at the Pound Town Hall, 8422 N River Road Pound, VA 24279
• Dante: May 23 at 6 p.m. at the Dante Community Center, 142 Lower Bearwallow Road Dante
• Pennington Gap: May 30 at 6 p.m. at the Pennington Gap Community Center, 41670 W Morgan Ave. Pennington Gap, VA 24277

The second round of meetings and the mapping exercise are scheduled for late summer and early fall. As a grassroots organization, Appalachian Voices recognizes the importance of compensating community members participating in these events and making events as accessible as possible. With that in mind, we are committed to providing a stipend of $25 per resident who attends, as well as a catered dinner for each meeting.