PROJECT 1: Youth Leaders of Summers County (YLSC)
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​Project Purpose: To lower youth drug usage and crime rates by 25% within 4 years by offering fun alternatives for living.
Project Details: The objective of the YLSC is to offer an array of invaluable and fun opportunites for young people in the Summers County Area. The program will be based around what young people find engaging (through surveys and questionnaires) and will give them a chance to develop their characters by perfecting life skills like leadership, self-confidence, patience, cooperation, perseverance, discipline and commitment. Don't forget that the YLSC is intended to be FUN and will offer programs for mentoring, anti-bullying, county wide art contests, field trips, cooking classes, opportunities to learn about law enforcement and hands on training activities. Through these and similar alternatives the YLSC seeks to lower teen drug usage and crime rates by 25% within 4 years. Please let us know if you would like to contribute with an idea, as a volunteer, financially or by using one of your skills (photography, arts etc) to lead a seminar for the YLSC.
Final Thoughts: A club will be established hopefully with the assistance of teachers, Summers County Schools, parents and most importantly the young people. YLSC members will assist as volunteers for local events like Railroad Days and Water Festival and they will be eligable to participate in extracuricular activities mentioned above.
PROJECT 2: Mountain Gold Ginseng Cultivation & Festival​
Project Purpose: To provide an outlet for a new economy of ginseng farmers that would bolster the stagnant local economy of Southern West Virginia.
Project Details: Native to the Appalachian Mountains, Ginseng is a powerful plant coveted especially in the Asian market for many different medicinal purposes. Wild ginseng sells anywhere from $400-1,000 per dried pound. Wild-Simulated (Ginseng grown in it's natural habitat without the use of fertilizers or pesticides) fetches the second highest price at $300-900 per dried pound.
Festival Details: The project consists of creating an Annual Ginseng Festival where growers could market their crops to buyers from multiple markets. It would attract a large crowd which would not only profit the farmers but also local businesses. The festival could have its own date or be attached to an already existing festival such as Train Days.
Why/how you should participate: Be a part of transforming your community! You can participate in a number of ways. Be a grower. HHF is currently working to raise funds to provide FREE seeds to prospective growers. If interested in growing then please email to get on the waiting list and download the 3 page grower's guide below. Don't want to wait on FREE seeds? Then you can go online to Wildgrown to purchase them. Simply plant your seeds every year and within 4-6 years you'll be a fully sustainable grower with an income. Don't want to grow? There are other ways you can participate. Email to find out how!
PROJECT 3: Summers County Cookery
Project Purpose: To create an industry centered around agricultural production, food processing and online sales of final products.
Project Details: An industrial grade kitchen, production line and distribution center would be created in the Hinton area. All fresh fruits and vegetables use in production would be locally sourced providing agricultural opportunities for local farmers. A contest for edible goods would result in the selection of local recipes bought for the purpose of nationwide distribution. Each food product would have the name of the person from whom the recipe originated, a photo of that person, and a blurb with minor details about the history of the recipe. Distribution would occur mostly through an online store which markets the products as Appalachian Fair Trade goods and target the Northeast US and West Coast. Distribution opportunities also include specific grocery chains.
Final Thoughts: This production facility and distribution center would provide job and financial opportunities for local labor in the agricultural, production, marketing and sales sectors.
PROJECT 4: Your Project IDEA here
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