A million dollars of AmeriCorps support is coming to Kentucky to support the Shaping Our Appalachian Region, or SOAR, project. Federal funds will support 52 VISTA workers for a year.
The announcement came during a meeting of the SOAR Executive Committee at Pine Mountain State Park. National AmeriCorps Administrator Wendy Spencer says these workers will be placed in eleven southeast Kentucky counties. "They're not just imbedded in one county and working out of one county. They're working throughout the region, very strategically located so they can also geographically get to all of the areas," said Spencer.
These AmeriCorps workers are expected to reach more than 25 thousand people in Appalachia Kentucky. Spencer says a half dozen AmeriCorps workers were enrolled during Monday's meeting. "They'll be helping organizations who are aligned with the SOAR initiative, non profits, community colleges, community organizations in job creation, teaching how to build your home garden, healthy futures, education initiatives," added Spencer.
Spencer says it's very likely AmeriCorps will invest further in the Shaping Our Appalachian Region project down the road. ?