Community Strong
A Vision for Southwest Virginia's Future
For generations, Southwest Virginia has been a cornerstone producer in America's coal industry, which shaped the region’s economy and identity. But as the industry declines, communities across the region are forging new paths forward. At Appalachian Voices, we believe that the people who call these communities home should be at the forefront of shaping their future.
Community Strong is led by our New Economy team, which works alongside local residents to identify community priorities, facilitate planning and provide technical assistance for project development. Our work focuses on five communities — Clinchco, Dante, Dungannon, Pennington Gap and Pound — to create locally driven initiatives that strengthen economies, address environmental challenges and improve quality of life.
Our work is made possible through collaboration with local leaders, funding partners and community members. This page provides updates on listening sessions, project developments and opportunities to get involved.
What’s happened so far?
At the first meeting for each locality, community members brainstormed common themes, issues and hopes for their communities, collectively forming a long-term vision. These initial ideas were narrowed down into the top three most common themes for each locality. At the second session, attendees chose which theme to pursue for their chosen project in an anonymous vote.
What's happening now
We are holding a third round of listening sessions for each of the five communities to refine plans to put the ideas generated in the first two meetings into action.
Everyone is welcome and we want to ensure that everyone in the community can participate fully. If you are in need of translating services, have questions about accessibility, or have other reasonable accommodation requests in order to participate, please contact New Economy Program Coordinator Emma Kelly at emma [at] appvoices.org.
Clinchco
April 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Dante
March 11 at 5:30 p.m.
Dungannon
March 18 at 6 p.m.
Pennington Gap
March 25 at 5:30 p.m.
Pound
April 1 at 5:30 p.m.
Here’s where things currently stand in each locality:
Pound: The old People’s Bank building downtown is currently undergoing demolition. In its place, community members and leaders are planning a monument to labor and pocket park. We are currently working with the Town of Pound to pursue third-party funding for its construction.
Pennington Gap: We are currently working with the town on plans for the demolition of the former Cas Walker supermarket building beside the Powell River along the Greenway. Upcoming meetings will focus on redeveloping the space into a recreational area that will also serve as a flood-mitigating barrier along the Powell River.
Dungannon: We are working with the community to purchase land to create a flood-mitigating wetland education area and recreation space near the historic Dungannon Depot, which currently serves as a community center.
Dante: The community is working on revitalization of the Dante Depot to be used as a central hub for community resilience.
Clinchco: We are currently working with the community to build resilience against flooding while working on plans to repurpose unused town-owned property
Investing in Community-Led Solutions
Our New Economy team helps communities design and implement projects that support long-term revitalization and resilience. We provide technical assistance, grant support and planning expertise in four key areas:
- Disaster Preparedness – Strengthening infrastructure to mitigate flood risks and other hazards.
- Energy Deployment – Supporting clean energy solutions that reduce costs and improve resilience.
- Environmental Reclamation & Cleanup – Revitalizing land impacted by industrial activity.
- Green Space & Outdoor Recreation – Creating parks, trails and other outdoor assets that attract visitors and businesses while enhancing public spaces and improving quality of life.
Through these efforts, we aim to strengthen communities by increasing access to funding opportunities for long-term community success.
News Coverage
- Connecting the future to the past through five special places
- Revitalizing Pennington Gap: Clean energy and economic investment in Southwest Virginia
- Building collaborative communities in Southwest Virginia
- Homecoming: Why rural community economic development matters
- Communities identify priorities during first listening sessions of multi-year project
- Building energy-resilient communities in far Southwest Virginia
- Investing in what matters: Federal funding to kick off community-led resiliency projects
Contact Us
For more information about the Community Strong project, fill out the form below and we will be in touch!
Some of the initiatives described on this page were funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving grant until Feb. 22, 2025. EPA funding for these activities ceased on that date. Appalachian Voices is continuing the listening sessions with alternative funding sources.