Community Development

The mission of Southern’s Office of Community Development is to create an environment that supports rural development through comprehensive planning, a shared vision, and civic engagement. The Office of Community Development coordinates five leadership community capacity-building programs. These include APPALREAD, Southern’s Youth Leadership Academy, Rural Leaders, Southern’s Faculty Fellows, and “Get Up and Go!”

APPALREAD places AmeriCorps members in schools and Head Start centers across Southern’s service region. In exchange for a living allowance and educational award members’ agree to provide 1,700 hours of service tutoring young children identified as at-risk in literacy. Individuals interested in serving with APPALREAD should check Southern’s website for applications deadlines.

Southern’s Youth Leadership Academy offers area high school students the opportunity to identify their personal values and in turn develop their individual leadership style and skills. High school juniors attend weekly seminars, engage I hands-on learning activities, and identify and meet a need within the school community. Rural Leaders creates opportunities for community members, including parent organizations, teen groups, and senior citizens to lead by example, by working together to make a difference in their community. Teams of local residents attend leadership development training sand apply what they learn in the classroom to address a local need. Teams receive mini-grants to support their efforts.

Southern’s Faculty Fellows Program supports community-based learning through service and civic engagement. Faculty members and students participate in planning and guiding Southern’s efforts to civically engage college students within the communities they live. “Get Up and Go!” is a day long seminar designed to help students make simulated business residents attend leadership development training sand apply what they learn in the classroom to address a local need. Teams receive mini-grants to support their efforts.

Southern’s Faculty Fellows Program supports community-based learning through service and civic engagement. Faculty members and students participate in planning and guiding Southern’s efforts to civically engage college students within the communities they live.

“Get Up and Go!” is a day long seminar designed to help students make simulated business decisions while working in a small group environment. “Get Up and Go!” has five learning objectives. To introduce high school students to entrepreneurship as a career option; to help students develop insights into management decisions that result in positive employee characteristics; to introduce students to factors involved in owning and operating a business; to encourage students interest in an entrepreneurship education course; and to provide a realistic business situation for students to practice group decisions making and problems solving techniques.

Southern’s Community Development Office is also available to assist organizations with long-term strategic planning, grant writing, board development, team building, and evaluation systems. For more information about any of the above mentioned programs email paulines@southern.wvnet.edu .