CHARLESTON W.Va. (Hinton News) – The West Virginia Community Development Hub (The Hub) is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of Accelerate WV. The program, run as part of the Appalachian Climate Technology (ACT) Now Coalition, is looking for ten community teams to participate in the second cohort.
The Hub, along with our partners at Advantage Valley, AFV Educate, WV Brownfields Centers at Marshall University and West Virginia University, and The WV Hive, part of the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), will work alongside the selected communities over the next two years. Through 2026, Accelerate WV will work in 16 selected communities in Southern WV to support local leadership teams as they advance their communities’ revitalization goals.
“With the launch of the next round of Accelerate WV applications, I’m excited to work with 10 new Southern West Virginia communities who are passionate about transforming their communities as we navigate shifts in the energy sector,” says Brianna Hickman, the CBRI Project Director at The Hub. “Competitive applications will have strong, diverse teams that are reflective of their communities and illustrate a strong desire to work together to identify priority areas in resilience planning, as well as build community capacity to leverage additional resources and opportunities.”
Accelerate WV communities will have access to professional coaching services to support diverse leadership teams, predevelopment services for sustainable green development projects, entrepreneurial development + training services, brownfields site assessments, and so much more. These resources will be used to help each community create its own economic resilience plan and determine how it can best adapt to a shifting energy economy.
Communities eligible to apply for Accelerate WV Cohort 2 must be located in one of the following 21 counties: Boone, Logan, Pocahontas, Cabell, Mason, Putnam, Clay, McDowell, Raleigh, Fayette, Mercer, Summers, Greenbrier, Mingo, Wayne, Kanawha, Monroe, Webster, Lincoln, Nicholas, and Wyoming.
Community teams are already working together to move projects and planning forward to transform their towns and neighborhoods. Through the partnerships in Accelerate WV, community teams have access to the tools they need to create a better future for their neighbors.
“Our team has been working to create a strategy to further develop our tourism, recreation and hospitality industries in our area,” says Park Ferguson, a member of the Wayne Accelerate WV team. “We just had a community engagement meeting where 60+ people packed the house to hear our ideas. Several of those attendees plan to join our team and divide into task forces to carry out the initiatives and tackle the issues.”
Over the last year, we have seen teams identify ways to move forward youth leadership, outdoor recreation, workforce development, and tourism to boost local economies. Communities throughout southern West Virginia have been focused on adapting to changes in the energy sector. Accelerate WV empowers communities by connecting them to resources they need to create the future they want to see.
“Community members are the subject-matter experts in what their towns need, so equipping them with professional coaching services, entrepreneurial resources and support, and brownfields site assessments services is providing them the tools they need to create the future that works for them,” says Hickman. “Utilizing this 3-pronged approach, teams will create economic resilience plans that are tailored to their community, created by their community, that will prepare them for long-term planning and investment.”
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