May 2019: Register for the 2019 STAY Summer Institute!

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It's Here!! We are excited to announce the 2019 annual STAY Summer Institute July 18th-21st at Hungry Mother Lutheran Retreat Center in Marion, VA! We hope you can join us for what promises to be a weekend full of fun, friendship, collective learning and growth. Registration will close Monday, July 8th,. The STAY Summer Institute (SSI) is STAY's largest gathering and is designed by youth for youth. This event is an autonomous space for 14-30 year old's from Central Appalachia (includes Eastern Kentucky, East Tennessee, West Virginia, Southwest Virginia, and Western North Carolina). If you are not eligible to attend and still want to support this event, we are asking you to make a donation here to sponsor a young person to attend the STAY Summer Institute!No one is turned away from the summer institute for not having the money to attend. The STAY Project provides food, lodging, scholarships, and transportation assistance to all who need it and your donations make that happen! Learn more or Register for SSI Here! Other Announcements! A Gathering for led by and for Black Appalachian Youth coming this November 2019! Click here to find out more about this gathering! There is a $10,000 goal to cover the event and to pay the Black youth who are doing the work to make it happen. STAY is asking you to invest in this important work by making a donation today.  Donate to support Black Futures in 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! Regional Happenings The community of Minden, WV has been suffering from the impacts of industrial pollution and governmental neglect for decades. Since the Shaffer Equipment Company disposed of transformers containing toxic PCB chemicals, hundreds of Minden community members have suffered and died from cancers, neurological diseases, and other various health issues related to the long term impacts of PCB exposure. To this day, PCBS still infect the soil of this small, tight-knit, diverse community in rural West Virginia. Just this past year, in a town of less than 250, 15 Minden residents died of PCB-related illnesses. As a low income community, few people in Minden have the ability to move their families to safer, healthier locations. Today, Minden residents are demanding that the EPA and the US Congress fund remediation and relocation for all residents so that everyone has a chance to live out their lives in an environment that is healthy and safe. Many young people, including high-school students, are key leaders in this struggle and would deeply appreciate the support from peers and comrades across the region. On Saturday, June 8th, Minden residents will recreate a march that took place 30 years ago to demand justice for Minden and commemorate the lives that have already been lost to PCB exposure. The goal is to bring 1000 impacted community members and allies to the march to demonstrate the gravity of this issue. Will you join us in marching for a safe and healthy future for Minden residents? Seedtime on the Cumberland 2019 is officially on the horizon! Appalshop's annual music and cultural festival is a summer staple in these mountains, and this year's will be no exception.   FEAT Hubby Jenkins of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Amythyst Kiah, Cornbread & Tortillas, Lee Sexton, and local greats Nate Polly, John Harrod & Friends, Joan Brannon, Tiffany Williams, John Haywood, Grits & Soul, Larah Helayne, and Sunrise Ridge; plus delicious wood-fired pizza by Smoke Signals Baking and brews by West Sixth Brewing! Be sure to follow the Seedtime site for updates – more to come! http://www.seedtimefestival.org/ #Seedtime2019 Be a STAY Project Member! 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. Come be a part of the movement for youth and by youth that is working towards a just, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia! 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|*