Black Appalachian Young & Rising is Now an Official STAY Project Program!

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Black Appalachian Young & Rising now a permanent STAY Project Program! We announced this in our last newsletter "We Know This To Be True: The State of Youth Issues in Appalachia" last month, but we wanted to make an announce completely devoted to this news because of its importance. The STAY Project staff and steering committee are deeply honored to announce that we are celebrating Black History in the Making Month by making Black Appalachian Young & Rising a permanent program of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project. We are doing this with the guidance and leadership of the Black Youth Advisory Committee as a way to deepen our commitment to Black youth leadership in Appalachia. The STAY Project knows for a fact that there is no sustainable, inclusive, healthy, and just communities in Appalachia without Black youth in leadership. As a program of STAY, Black Appalachian Young & Rising will receive programming support, financial support, and staff time. We know that our Appalachian Youth Liberation Movement is stronger together and we are excited about how this alliance will grow and enrich our work of supporting and developing young Appalachian leaders. Over the next few weeks the Black Youth Advisory Committee will be rolling out their vision for Black leadership in Appalachia and specific calls to action on how organizations, communities, and individuals can support Black youth in our region. solidarity & kinship, The Black Youth Advisory Committee & The STAY Project Staff & Steering Committee Be sure to check out the article about their work from Expatalachians,Appalachian Ascendant: The Next Generation of Black Regional Activism Donate to Support Black Appalachian Young & Rising Appalachian Love Week & Appalachian Love Fest Earlier this month we celebrated Appalachian Love Week, be sure to check out the radio story about Love Week from WUOT in Knoxville!  Thank you to everyone who donated and shared their #AppalachianLoveStory with us. We plan to keep your love stories in our monthly newsletters!    Earlier this month we celebrated Appalachian Love Week where we asked our members and supporters to make us their Valentine by either making a donation or sharing their #AppalachianLoveStory. Thank you to everyone who donated and shared their love stories with us. We plan to keep your love stories in our monthly newsletters! We closed out Appalachian Love Week with our first Appalachian Love Fest and it was a rousing success, we ere even able to raise $100 for flood relief in Harlan County! Thank you so much to all the artists and vendors who came and shared their incredible talents with us in Harlan last weekend! Thank you to Appalachian Impact Fund, MACED, and Appalshop for sponsoring us! Finally, thank you to the youth from Harlan and from all over Appalachia who came to support youth art and music— thank you for making art, thank you for questioning authority, thank you for taking care each other, thank you for existing! We love you so much! Keep fighting with us for an Appalachia that supports and nurtures young people! Visit our website to see more photos from Love Fest! Donate to the STAY Project Regional Happenings Sexy Sex Ed-- The traveling sex-education workshop that teaches about consent and anatomy in rural Appalachia has created a unique new online map that shows the locations of reproductive-justice-related organizations and health-care providers in the region. The map is online at sexysexed.org People all over the world are mobilizing to combat the climate crisis. It's time to build skills and take action! Join us for 10 days of learning, training, and taking direct action to disrupt the systems that are destroying our climate. We will come together to build on Appalachia's rich history of direct action against extractive industries, which has included tree sits, blockades, and walk-ons to resist mountaintop removal, fracking, and fossil fuel pipelines. After fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline for over two years, we aim to grow the resistance to fossil fuel exploitation and take power out of the hands of corporations and politicians that are threatening our collective future. We are inviting community members, activists, students, and families to learn the skills needed to execute a variety of actions that disrupt the power structures wrecking the environment and contributing to climate change.  The Appalachian Climate Action Camp will be an all ages event hosted in West Virginia along the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for 10 days. There will be both camping space, as well as limited beds and accommodations available on an as needed basis.  Food will be provided and there will be childcare. If you are interested in coming to camp and joining the resistance please email appclimateactioncamp@protonmail.com. Location and more event details to follow upon registration! Southern Connected Communities Project has opened a Cyber Cafe in the Clearfork Valley! Need to print something? Have research to do?  Want to scroll the internet? Need to submit an application? Have a paper to write? Come see us at Clearfork Community Institute (the old Eagan School) Free services available; Scan, copy, print, and laptops Staff available for basic computer assistance  Coffee, lattes, cappuccino and snacks will be sold Beginning August 6, 2019 hours will be Tuesdays and Thursdays  9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call 423-784-0095 for more information Get Involved with The STAY Project! Join our Appalachian Youth Movement! Wanna join the STAY Project? We’ve added a membership form to our website! If you are between the ages of 14-30 and living in Appalachia and want to be a member of the STAY Project, head on over to our membership page and fill out the form. If you are a current member go ahead and fill out the form to update your information. Be a part of a movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia! Did y'all hear that STAY is now offering financial support to members who are organizing projects/events in their communities? We are able to offer up to $200 to support members’ projects that align with our mission and core beliefs. Specifically, we are hoping to support projects/events that further STAY’s work of providing space for young Appalachians to gather, learn with/from, create, and work together. To learn more and to request support, fill out this form! When you give to the STAY Project you are nourishing a grassroots movement by youth and for youth in Appalachia. We could not do our work without the support of a community that believes in us. Thank you for believing in us! Donate to the STAY Project! Share Tweet Forward Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*