Preservation Alliance of West Virginia’s AmeriCorps Members Get Things Done!

During the 2017-2018 service year, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia’s Preserve WV AmeriCorps program and its members have volunteered over 10,000 hours at historic sites throughout our beautiful mountain state. However, their service extends beyond their assigned sites. In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, members have completed more than a dozen individually-organized group projects at non-AmeriCorps sites in more than 10 West Virginia counties, including Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Raleigh, Monongalia, and Pocahontas. For these projects to be successful, Preserve WV AmeriCorps members recruited 96 volunteers and raised $5,450 in donations and successful grant applications.  

The concept of requiring AmeriCorps members coordinate group projects originated in 2017 after a meeting between Danielle Parker, executive director of the alliance, Kelli Shapiro, the organization’s program associate, and a Baltimore-based consultant, Cole McMahon, hired to evaluate the organization’s AmeriCorps program and the impact it is making across the state.  With the new group project program in place, AmeriCorps members submitted proposals to alliance staff to be approved as a qualified AmeriCorps project, and then they went to work organizing their respective group projects. Thanks, in part, to the funding received by the Public Welfare Foundation, the results were better than expected, and Preservation Alliance was able to help dozens of organizations and sites throughout the state such as the Dunbar School Foundation, the Harpers Ferry-Town of Bolivar Foundation, and the Winding Gulf Restoration Organization.

The completed group projects were diverse in nature and involved everything from cemetery preservation at Clarksburg to marking trails at Old Hemlock. While most projects lasted only a few hours, a project in Cass took place over the course of five days. Organized by AmeriCorps member, Sharell Harmon, volunteers spent five days painting the company store, walkway, stairs, and handrails. While there, members also spent time participating in the Make it Shine program in which they cleared brush, fallen branches, and litter from the surrounding walkways. The projects in Cass were a great success and the park’s employees have already requested that Preserve WV AmeriCorps members return to aid with another project.

Another group project took place in Arthurdale and involved adding UV film to nine sets of windows, plus small window panes near a doorway, at New Deal era house, E-15. Volunteers first cleaned the windows with a wood-safe solution then applied UV film to individual window panes. The added film will help block UV radiation from the sunlight and control indoor temperatures. It will also help preserve a number of sensitive artifacts displayed in the living room and two bedrooms, including textiles, documents, photographs, and furniture. Upon completion of the project, it was clear that the UV film dimmed and cooled the light entering the rooms while still allowing enough natural light to enter for visitors to see without turning on artificial lights aiding in the preservation of light sensitive artifacts.

In a work day organized by AmeriCorps member, Kyle Warmack, at the Dubois on Main Museum in Mount Hope, AmeriCorps members and volunteers cleaned out the DuBois community garden, including weeding more than half a dozen large planters. Museum exhibition areas were dusted and cleaned. Most importantly, members created a collections list and cataloged 230 museum items, laying the foundation for a future collections database and building a much-needed inventory before the Museum embarks on a large-scale document scanning project. This project served the Mount Hope community and the 150+ remaining DuBois alumni who meet every two years to commemorate their school and its important chapter in African American and West Virginia history. This museum is the only comprehensive repository of DuBois knowledge.

The success of the projects and the gratitude shown by the individuals and organizations who benefitted from them demonstrated a clear need to continue to plan and organize AmeriCorps group projects throughout West Virginia. As a result, these projects will continue to be a program requirement again during the 2018-2019 service year, which begins on August 28. As we enter a new service year, the Preservation Alliance plans to implement even more group projects throughout the state with members reaching out to different organizations and sites who are dedicated to historic preservation throughout West Virginia.  If you are interested in hosting a team of AmeriCorps members for a group project, contact Danielle Parker at [email protected].  All group project sites must be owned by a nonprofit or municipality and be historic in nature. You can also aid in these projects by donating to PAWV.  We accept monetary, supply, and volunteer time as donations. 

    The Preserve WV AmeriCorps is a statewide service initiative where AmeriCorps members help main streets thrive, help communities capture their local history, and preserve beloved West Virginia landmarks.  This program is made possible through a generous grant from Volunteer West Virginia and the Corporation for National and Community Service.