Approximately 250 AmeriCorps members serving in West Virginia were told to stop serving by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. This included all twenty-two members serving at twenty historic sites within the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia’s Preserve WV AmeriCorps program - the statewide national service initiative where AmeriCorps members helped main streets thrive, cultivated cultural heritage tourism, and preserved beloved West Virginia history. Grant funds were used solely to pay members' service stipend. Donate today to help Preserve WV AmeriCorps members finish their service years!
For the past 12 years, the Alliance coordinated the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program to assist the state’s nonprofits and public agencies charged with stewarding and preserving their community’s cultural resources, as well as providing cultural heritage tourism opportunities and educational services. Many public agencies have been expected to care for our historic buildings and artifacts for decades with minimal budgets and no staff making it extremely challenging for them to meet their missions and provide educational programs to local community residents and cultural heritage tourists. By facilitating the placement of AmeriCorps members, these agencies could bring in skilled, motivated individuals from within the community or from as far away as California, to ensure the state’s historic resources were cared for to the best standards while also engaging community residents of all ages and tourists from around the world to learn about our state and local history. Now, the state’s historic sites, ranging from Matewan to Charles Town, Wheeling to Lewisburg and many places in-between, must figure out how to maintain historic resources and continue providing services despite the sudden loss of AmeriCorps support through Preserve WV. Sites are having to adjust quickly while also experiencing additional loss of income from grant funding from important agencies like the West Virginia Humanities Council. Thomas Jude of the Matewan Mine Wars Museum, where one member was serving through Preserve WV, explains “The unexpected loss of our AmeriCorps Member (Candace) immediately reduces our capacity to host student tours. Newly announced education programs she was set to lead now face cancellation. Her departure forces staff to absorb critical project work, stretching our already limited capacity. Community-service projects coordinated with the Town of Matewan will likely be cancelled as well.” Preserve WV had already planned to reduce its program in the coming year from 22 to 15 members in order to align with the new administration’s goals, selecting sites that were severely limited in capacity and available resources. Of the 15 entities proposed to be site sponsors in the coming program year, one site was entirely volunteer-managed, five had 1 paid staff, three sites had 2-4 paid staff, four sites had 5 paid staff, and two were state agencies with 6 or 8 paid staff members. Collectively, over 50 historic buildings are in their care, and one agency, where multiple members were expected to serve, manages thousands of acres with numerous undocumented historic structures not currently counted. Since these sites are heavily dependent on community volunteers, an often aging and shrinking population, and public funding with varying degrees of reliability, AmeriCorps members provide more consistency for sites to engage with their community members and leverage resources and preservation incentives. With no other mechanism to support these organizations other than the Alliance, they are limited in their abilities to deal with deferred maintenance of significant resources leading many entities to want to demolish resources for perceived practicality. However, demolishing historic resources in rural communities signals decline and can lead to further disinvestment through the erosion of unique character, disruption of the streetscape, loss of heritage tourism and adaptive reuse potential, as well as loss of embodied energy. While preservation, on the other hand, offers long-term benefits by stabilizing property values, creating economic opportunities, and fostering community pride. Kara Gordon, site supervisor at the Cockayne Farmstead in Marshall County, served with Preserve WV for two terms prior to becoming their full-time site manager. As Kara explained, “The Marshall County Historical Society has hosted Preserve WV AmeriCorps members since the program began in 2013. Before we could employ permanent staff members and were working solely with volunteers, AmeriCorps members helped to establish the farmhouse as a museum in so many ways, cataloging the collection, doing outreach to the community, and pioneering many of the programs we continue to this day. This year, we were excited to have two amazing AmeriCorps members, one at the Cockayne Farmstead and one at our other facility, the Marshall County History Museum, which previously was only sporadically volunteer-operated. The improvements he had been making at that site were incredible, and, above all, established consistency there for the first time since its opening. The extremely sudden loss of our AmeriCorps members will drastically stunt the capacity of our organization. We will have to immediately reduce the number of programs we offer, the number of hours we are open to the public, and the progress we had made in digital content creation in hopes of opening other avenues to continue to sustain our sites and reach a wider audience.” Faith Walker, director of the Great Bend Museum said on the issue, “We rely on AmeriCorps for critical staffing needs. Without it, we will have to find a way to get by on a reduced capacity, which means fewer public programs and exhibits, longer waits for research assistance, and potentially reduced open hours. We depend on AmeriCorps to help us meet our mission; we simply won’t be able to sustain that loss for long without noticeable effects on our operations and programs.” “Not only will the sites and communities suffer from this unexpected and sudden loss of AmeriCorps members, but the individuals serving in these positions are hurt as they no longer are receiving their modest stipend they received during service, as well as a critical workforce development opportunity for the state,” said Danielle Parker, Executive Director of the Alliance. Preserve WV was a launching point for over 240 individuals pursuing careers in the public history or community development fields, as well as retirees wanting to continue providing meaningful service where they live. Many of these members now have successful careers as the directors of historic sites, working for state agencies like the State Historic Preservation Office, and working in archives like at the State Museum. One example of one young person who stayed in the state because of the AmeriCorps programs is the Alliance’s own preservation manager, Jamie Billman. After serving two terms in the AmeriCorps with the Preserve WV program, Jamie started as the Preservation Manager in 2021 and has been working since then to help AmeriCorps members have meaningful experiences like she had. Billman loves working one-on-one with members to make sure they receive educational opportunities during their service.. “I don’t know what I’d have done without the Preserve WV AmeriCorps Program,” Billman said, “I graduated with my Master’s during Covid and not many places were hiring, and the Alliance gave me a foot in the door into the field I wanted to work in. I am forever grateful for that.” The road ahead for the Alliance and the sites they have assisted for over a decade is a difficult one, but they do remain hopeful and committed. Parker explained, “Many communities already recognize the impact these cuts are going to have locally, and they are responding to try to figure out ways to keep the positions intact in some way. Members are trying to find other jobs, but some are hoping to volunteer for the time being while searching for work to continue the programs they had planned. Although public funding that nonprofits rely on is being cut in all directions, including AmeriCorps and the Community Development Block Program, we are mobilizing and strategizing. Our local residents and businesses recognize how important our work is, even if the new administration does not agree. We are working together to figure out how to rise above this.” The Alliance is saddened by the cut of not only our AmeriCorps members but all 32,000 that were cut nationwide. The long-term ramifications of this decision by DOGE will be felt in every state, particularly in vulnerable communities and sites that relied on these services. Currently, over two dozen states are engaged in legal battles against the DOGE decision. Although West Virginia declined to participate, the organizations whose grants were terminated hope they can at least finish out their program year, scheduled to end in December. Then they could plan for the future in a more measured way. The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia is the grassroots, statewide nonprofit dedicated to historic preservation. It has also successfully administered other programs funded by the federal government including its Saving Historic Places Grants and the Fund for Historic Schools. Learn more at www.pawv.org. ### A full list of current Preserve WV AmeriCorps site sponsors affected by this program termination are: 1. Arthurdale Heritage (Preston County) 2. Clarksburg History Museum (Harrison County) 3. Cockayne Farmstead (Marshall County) 4. Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex (Marshall County) 5. Great Bend Museum (Jackson County) 6. Greenbrier Historical Society 7. Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission 8. Main Street Ripley (Jackson County) 9. Marshall County Historical Society 10. Monongahela National Forest Heritage Department 11. Monroe County Historical Society 12. Morgantown History Museum (Monongalia County) 13. National Coal Heritage Area 14. Northern Appalachian Coal Mining Heritage Association (Marion County) 15. Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (statewide) 16. Ritchietown Renaissance (Ohio County) 17. Rivers to Ridges Heritage Trail 18. West Virginia Humanities Council (statewide, based in Kanawha County) 19. West Virginia Mine Wars Museum 20. World Scouting Museum (Kanawha County)
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During the past year, I made several trips to Ronceverte to help organize the city museum at its new location on the second floor of the Clifford Recreation and Community Center, following the sudden passing of Doug Hinton, the long-time curator of the museum. My primary objective was to inspect more than 50 boxes of artifacts and documents and prepare a computerized catalogue of the contents, which I completed. In a random box, I discovered an incredible, priceless piece of West Virginia history: a 1796 land deed from the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia to Alexander Robison of Greenbrier County! It was folded firmly and stored in an envelope for many years, and I refused to harm a 200+ year old document by attempting to unfold it. Instead, I found a donor and researched a firm that could safely unfold, flatten, and frame the deed. I found a professional artifact restoration firm in Ohio, Old World Restorations in Cincinnati. They did an amazing job of safely unfolding the deed document, flattening it, and framing it in archival glass. I was proud to hand-deliver the framed deed to Mayor Smith in Ronceverte in April 2021. I discovered many other gems in the Ronceverte Museum’s collection. Highlights from the 50+ boxes include the following: 1. 3 body tags with wire attached with notes from coroner; two have no date, but one is marked 'found May 23, 1963.' 2. 1880 Two small original photographs of West Virginia native Pearl S. Buck's parents Reverend Absalom Sydenstricker and Mrs. Caroline Stulting Sydenstricker in 1880. 3. "Good for 5 cent" tokens, five total. Rare. Often called trade coins, they were especially used after the Civil War as a substitute medium of exchange instead of nickels; they had limited use and were often issued by a private company, group, association or individual. 4. 1890s-1902, Set of funeral home or cemetery plot records in delicate, damaged condition. Interesting look into what people died of in Ronceverte in the late 19th and early 20th century. One page has a record of a black man who was killed, but he was not given the dignity of his name, age, date of death and location like the white West Virginians on the other pages.. 5. 1881-1889, book of State of West Virginia court judgements. If you take the time to read the handwriting, it has an interesting look into what was brought to court in late 19th century West Virginia. 6. 1885-1887, three autograph books; two of Nellie Longfellow, one of Laura Forgelson. Very cute entries from school friends and family members. 7. Some kind of Ronceverte athletic uniform from the 1950s-1970s of a top and shorts, jockstrap included! 8. White folder with material relating to petitioning Colonel Clifford of Ronceverte for the Medal of Honor. He served with distinction in World War II and the community center housing the Ronceverte museum is named after him. It is worth noting because not many people know about what goes into the process of petitioning for a Medal of Honor. 9. Register of Hotel Dickson, Ronceverte 1888, including a signature of President Glover Cleveland with a cute notation “and Mrs. C” from October 11th, 1888! During my final visit to Ronceverte at the end of my AmeriCorps term, I cleaned all the exhibit cabinets, window wells, and floor. I compiled all my work and ideas for the future of the museum into a Final Report, which I presented to Ronceverte City Administrator Pam Mentz. The report includes suggestions on how the city can engage the local schools and further preserve their collection. The Ronceverte Museum has great potential, and the Final Report for the next AmeriCorps member assigned to Ronceverte will help them build off of my service. It was my sincere pleasure to work with the city of Ronceverte and discover the jewels contained in its museum. Megan Ksenia bradnerMegan Ksenia Bradner served as a Preserve WV AmeriCorps member with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. ![]() The 2019 – 2020 service year for Main Street Martinsburg was going to be a great eventful year full of different activities and events scheduled throughout the whole year. September through January had mixers at different businesses. November and December were full of Christmas events, such as the Christmas Tree lighting and the Christmas Parade. January kicked off the year with a partnership with Healthy Berkeley for Frosty Family Fun Day. February was a planning month where Main Street Martinsburg was gearing up for the main events of the year to include the Chocolate and Book Festival, a wine festival, Fridays @ Five, and we planned to end the AmeriCorps service year with a large event called Boots & Brews. In March, Main Street Martinsburg came to a screeching stop due to COVID-19. Like so many in the world, Main Street Martinsburg had to alter how to help the community. At this time I began to work with executive director, Randy Lewis, to keep the community informed with the daily changes in both the community and with the many different businesses in the Martinsburg Community. Randy and I both started working from home and kept in touch through emails and text. Randy would send me information to post on the website in order to help the community stayed informed, and I would then post on the Main Street Martinsburg’s website. The postings would include information that residents could use, almost daily updates from the state, and other guidelines that the community needed since they changed so often. I also at that time switched the weekly blog of events that were occurring around town to online events that many non-profits were doing to help people while they were staying at home. These included virtual exercise classes, virtual music shows for all ages, virtually connecting with the library, and updates on any of the other non-profits in the community that were available. In May, Main Street Martinsburg decided to help celebrate all of Berkeley County’s High School Senior Graduates. Main Street Martinsburg celebrated the seniors by partnering with some of the local businesses and the Berkeley County Board of Education and had picture posters made and hung them in all the local businesses on Queen Street. These pictures hung until the end of June. Even though during this time I was not able to work with the many volunteers that Main Street Martinsburg has in person, I was at least able to help Randy Lewis with keeping the website updated and help with the senior posters. This allowed me to share with the community an extension of what Main Street Martinsburg was doing to help the community and with the community to stay in touch with both Main Street Martinsburg and Downtown Martinsburg. Even though many of the great events planned did not occur due to COVID-19, these small gestures, I hoped, helped some in the community. SUSAN CrowellSusan Crowell served with Preserve WV AmeriCorps during the 2019-2020 program year where she was assigned to assist the Berkeley County Historical Society and Main Street Martinsburg. PAWV invites YOU to help 3 preservation nonprofits match their AmeriCorps funding NOW!
What is AmeriCorps and Why are these Matches so Important? As you know, each nonprofit that wants to receive an AmeriCorps member has to raise match money. AmeriCorps members are essential to these nonprofits being able to do what each of them does. AmeriCorps members manage volunteers and take the lead on historic preservation projects. Their service is irreplaceable and vital. All donations are processed through the Network for Good webpage and are tax-deductible. Here’s Where Your Money Will Go!
Scope of Work Goals
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) invites proposals from qualified researchers and consultants to work closely with staff to develop an outcomes-based evaluation plan, process, and tools for the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program based on the program’s theory of change, logic model, and performance measures. The timeline goal is to complete this project and have the evaluation plan and survey tools ready to implement at the start of the 2017-2018 program year, Monday, August 28, 2017. PAWV has existing systems and tools for performance measure data collection, storage, processing, analysis, and reporting, but it is soliciting an external evaluator to improve and standardize these systems and tools, as well as create additional evaluation tools to communicate the impact of the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program with the grantor and general public. |
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