AmeriCorps Heritage-Related Opportunities in West Virginia

Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) is recruiting for the PreserveWV AmeriCorps program.  PAWV is accepting applications for nine full-time and two half-time AmeriCorps members to serve for an 11 ½ – 12 month period with the expected start date of September 30, 2013.

This statewide service initiative will promote cultural heritage tourism and enhance historic resource re-use and redevelopment projects in West Virginia.  Particular focus will be placed on non-profit capacity building through organizational policy development, volunteer management, and community engagement. 

Members will receive a living stipend and educational award.  Service locations include Ohio, Marshall, Monongalia, Barbour, Preston, Kanawha, Fayette, and Greenbrier Counties.  If you are interested in the program, please send a resume and/or letter of interest to Danielle LaPresta, PAWV Executive Director, at info@pawv.org.  For questions, please email info@pawv.org or call 724-322-8959.

Additionally, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area AmeriCorps is recruiting now for one-year positions starting in September 2013. Opportunities will include heritage tourism development, historic preservation, conservation, and community development projects. For more information visit www.appalachianforest.us

Register for Hazardous Materials Workshop

Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) is giving an instructional workshop about Hazardous Materials in Historic Buildings on Friday, July 26th at Arthurdale Heritage Center from 11am – 5pm.

The workshop is free for PAWV members and WV Endangered Property Site Representatives, and lunch will be provided for a $10 fee.  There is a $15 fee to attend the workshop for non-members.

Read more about the workshop instructor and itinerary...

For membership status and to register, contact info@pawv.org.

Free Federal Tax Credit Webinar, July 11

New Deal Festival, July 13

The New Deal Festival is held annually on the second Saturday in July (this year, July 13) to celebrate the unique history of the nation’s first New Deal Subsistence Homestead Community of Arthurdale.  The event is sponsored by Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., the non-profit organization that formed to “restore yesterday for tomorrow” with the mission of preserving the history of Arthurdale for generations to come.

This quaint 1930s-40s style festival features artisan demonstrations, craft market, children’s activities, new exhibits in the New Deal Homestead Museum, tours of the Arthurdale Historic District, a visit from Eleanor Roosevelt, and much more.

Arthurdale was founded in 1933 as the nation’s first New Deal Subsistence Homestead Community by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. The community provided jobs, education, and modern housing for impoverished, unemployed miners living in destitute coal camps in West Virginia. It also served as a laboratory for new educational, industrial, and farming techniques.  See information about the Arthurdale School Buildings, a 2012 WV Endangered Property HERE.   Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. was formed in 1985 as a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving historic Arthurdale.

Riverside Blues Fest, July 20

The Riverside Blues Fest takes place in front of the Riverside School on River Street in Elkins, WV.  This is the fifth annual blues fest, and it will be held on Saturday, July 20th from 11 am to 10:30 pm.

The Riverside Blues Fest started as a fundraiser to help the Riverside School Association raise much needed funds for the Riverside African-American high school (a 2010 WV Endangered Property) adaptive re-use project for a Multi-Cultural Heritage Center.  Today, the Blues Fest has transformed into a celebration of the Allegheny Highlands Black Roots and an all-around good time for festival goers.

Read about WV Allegheny Highlands Black History & Riverside School HERE.