STAY Project’s work is to provide opportunities for young people in Appalachia to gather, connect, play, share skills, and challenge each other so that together we can challenge systems of oppression and envision the world we want to build in Appalachia and beyond. Our programming is where we make our vision a reality, by bringing youth together across the lines that would divide us, and deciding together what we want to do to make our region a better place.
Have an idea for an event or program you'd like to see STAY do? Want to organize a STAY event in your community? Reach out to us-- we always love hearing from our members and friends!
Have an idea for an event or program you'd like to see STAY do? Want to organize a STAY event in your community? Reach out to us-- we always love hearing from our members and friends!
The STAY Summer Institute (SSI)
Want to learn more about this year's SSI? Check it out here!
Since 2011, STAY has been hosting an annual Summer Institute in one of the five central Appalachian states in our region. At SSI, we build autonomous youth space, empower young leaders to share their skills and passions through workshops, and connect with our members around what they're experiencing in their communities across the region. What we do and learn and make at SSI informs the rest of our programming, ensuring that it's grounded in the needs and wants of our members.
Since 2011, STAY has been hosting an annual Summer Institute in one of the five central Appalachian states in our region. At SSI, we build autonomous youth space, empower young leaders to share their skills and passions through workshops, and connect with our members around what they're experiencing in their communities across the region. What we do and learn and make at SSI informs the rest of our programming, ensuring that it's grounded in the needs and wants of our members.
Political & cultural education
STAY recognizes that as young people living in Appalachia, we are the experts of our own experiences and we have a lot of knowledge that is not always acknowledged or appreciated in other places we exist in. We also recognize that there is a long history of people who came before us and made our work possible and that it is important to know and honor them. In STAY young people teach each other about the people's history of Appalachia and about the current political, economic, and social systems we live in to build a political analysis that is rooted in the liberation of all people.
Curious about our educational programming? See what we're up to here!
Curious about our educational programming? See what we're up to here!
Support & Amplify youth work in Appalachia
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There is a narrative both within our communities in Central Appalachia and in the national media that both erases young people, especially black and LGBTQIA young people, while blaming them for leaving. STAY was founded on the belief that it was important to recognize that there are young leaders in Appalachia who are already creating change. We do this by sharing the work young people are already doing through our networks and social media as well as providing resources and support to our members.
In 2019 we launched the member support fund which provides small stipends (up to $200) to support the work our members are doing in their community. |
STAY members pose outside the Wild Fig in Lexington, KY after an outreach event in 2016
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