Benjamin Duvall-Irwin served with the Elkins Depot Welcome Center and assisted in Elkins based events, tourism capacity building and put his efforts towards creating a grant-supported concert of local musicians.
Heritage
This project began one day as I was sitting at my desk, looking around the museum. It suddenly struck me—there wasn’t a single mention of women lumber jills in our collection. That moment sparked a deep curiosity and led me to begin researching the role of women in the timber industry. Fittingly, my lumber jill display came together just in time for the 60th anniversary of the woodchopping festival in my town Webster Springs. The display will be featured in the upcoming Lumber jill documentary set to be released next year.
Heritage
Each summer the Upshur County Historical Society cordially opens the doors of its History Center & Museum inviting the public to a new rendition of its annual summer exhibit. This year’s exhibit, Stories Told and Retold, highlights a selection of the county's key photographers, woven and quilted handicrafts, memorabilia, and industry, with stories drawn from UCHS’s vast and diverse artifacts collection.
Heritage
Spring has arrived at the historic Sites Homestead, and our Heritage Garden is off to a great start. Everything we grow in the Heritage Garden connects back to our mission: to keep the history of this land and the people who lived here alive. We hope you’ll come by, take a walk through the garden, and see how it’s growing. There’s always something new to discover!
Conservation
Get ready for some outdoor fun! Discover Nature Day is an annual family-friendly event hosted by the USDA Forest Service at Seneca Rocks Discovery Center. People of all ages are welcome to get out and explore our natural world. This event will be held on Saturday, June 7th, from 10 am-3 pm and will be taking place rain or shine.
Community Development
Part of my scope of service as an AmeriCorps member serving the Foundation is to aid in the expansion and outreach within our serviced communities. With a small staff and a large rural region to cover, maintaining personal connections with individual communities remains challenging—something that technology alone cannot fully address. The major project I recently completed consisted of eight nonprofit information sessions designed not only as a 101 course to community foundations and applying for grants, but as regenerative networking opportunities for volunteers and staff in the nonprofit sector who often experience isolation and burnout.
