Together for Hope Appalachia
Newsletter - July 2026
| | Welcome our New Director of Programs & Partnerships | | |
We're thrilled to announce that Rev. Dr. Kristy Bay is joining Together for Hope as our new Director of Programs and Partnerships for Appalachia, starting July 1, 2026!
A native of Chicago, Dr. Bay relocated to the South for her education, earning two Bachelor's degrees in Music and French from Belmont University in Nashville, TN, a Master of Divinity degree in Academic Research from Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology (2011), and a Doctorate in Higher Education in 2023, focusing on rural college students and technology addiction.
After meeting her husband (Zach) in seminary, getting married and ordained, the Bays relocated to rural Southeastern Kentucky and settled into life and ministry in Appalachia.
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Dr. Bay brings deep roots in the Appalachian region and extensive experience in higher education, nonprofit work, and community development.
A former TFH Appalachia coalition member herself, she's passionate about asset-based community development and has co-directed an Appalachian Immersion Program designed to dismantle stereotypes about the region.
During her time as a coalition member, Dr. Bay often displayed information alongside TFH and attended TFH network meetings.
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"The mountains are in my blood!" says Dr. Bay. "I'm thrilled to walk alongside the fabulous folks doing the hard work of combating poverty, breaking cycles and stigmas, & transforming communities."
Rev. Dr. Jason Coker adds: "Kristy's rootedness in the area perfectly accompanies her extensive education in a way that will exponentially strengthen TFH's transformative impact in Appalachia. She's ready to go on day one!"
Welcome home, Dr. Bay! We can't wait to see what we'll accomplish together in Appalachia.
| | TFH 25th at CBF General Assembly | |
TFH 25th Anniversary Celebration
at CBF General Assembly
Jacksonville Florida
25 Years of Gifts
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Keith Stillwell represented TFH Appalachia at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Jacksonville, Florida, June 17-20 with the TFH team: Jason Coker, President; Natalie Aho, Chief Development Officer; Harold Tessendorf, Senior Advisor on Housing and Social Enterprise; Rachel Gunter Shapard, Vice-President for the Black Belt; Breana Patterson, Director of Programs and Partnership for the Delta; Cory Peacock, Four Corners Regional Manager; and many other partners and friends.
Twenty-five years ago, CBF launched Together for Hope, as a bold initiative to alleviate rural poverty.
Highlights for Together for Hope at General Assembly included:
TFH partners and friends led learning sessions: Together We Build with Harold Tessendorf, Rachel Gunter Shapard, and Fuller Center for Housing and Pushback from the Table: Tightening the Spiritual Belt to Food Injustice with Cora Jackson.
Worship participation with Jason Coker, Cora Jackson, and Rachel Gunter Shapard.
Exhibiting with lots of information, products from some of our social enterprise partners, and cool TFH swag.
The Together for Hope 25th Anniversary Banquet.
Get the full story: Together for Hope marks 25 years by asking, “How do you write the future?”
| | Extreme Build: CBF Kentucky Celebrates 20th Home Build | | |
Twenty homes. Twenty families. A Miracle of Partnerships. A powerful testament to what's possible when a community commits to showing up, year after year.
In June, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Kentucky, in partnership with Highland Housing and many dedicated volunteers, completed their 20th home in McCreary County, KY. Twenty families who otherwise could not have afforded a home now hold the keys to their own, and with them, the chance to begin building generational wealth in a place they call home.
Behind every one of those homes are hundreds of volunteer hours, countless donated materials, and a steady conviction that safe, stable housing isn't a luxury, it's a foundation for everything else a family hopes to build.
Many thanks to our TFH Appalachia partner, CBF Kentucky's Extreme Build, for two decades of showing up for McCreary County families and proving what long-term commitment to affordable housing can accomplish.
| | Meeting with Students on a Service Immersion Trip - Auxier Center | | |
Keith was invited to be part of a conversation Sunday evening with students and faculty from Malden Catholic High School, visiting from Massachusetts on an Appalachian Service Immersion trip, along with Jeremiah and Cindy Littleton — at Hand in Hand Appalachia's Auxier Center in eastern Kentucky, a TFH Appalachia coalition member.
Jeremiah, a native of the region and a civil engineer, offered the group an insightful overview of the social, economic, and political history of Appalachia. He was authentic, knowledgeable, and honest about the strengths and challenges the Appalachian people face in these mountains he loves and calls home. He is building bridges in, out, and through Appalachia — literally and figuratively.
Jeremiah and Cindy own an experimental lavender farm, Whippoorwill's Holler, formerly a tobacco farm. For them, it is an effort to explore whether lavender farming could be a viable agricultural alternative for other farmers in the region looking for new ways to work the land.
The Malden Catholic students and their faculty leaders were deeply engaged throughout the conversation. They had clearly done their homework preparing for the trip, and their intent to treat the people and land with genuine respect was evident in the way they went about the work of repairing homes and building relationships through the Auxier Center. Their curiosity didn't stop when the formal conversation ended. The students lingered well into their free time, continuing to ask Jeremiah and Cindy questions about their work and about all things Appalachia.
Keith was grateful for the opportunity to be part of the experience, and to share a little about TFH Appalachia's role in partnering with nonprofits and other organizations across the region.
| | United Methodist Church KY Conference | Keith Joins the United Methodist Church KY Annual Conference | | |
TFH Appalachia appreciates the work of The United Methodist Church Kentucky Conference and Central Appalachian Missionary Conference. They are actively engaged in eastern Kentucky in a variety of ways. Keith visited the UMC Kentucky Annual Conference in Louisville and heard reports from many of them during the session, then connected with them at the Missions Fair.
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United Methodist Mountain Mission operates eight Opportunity Stores across eastern Kentucky (Jackson, Barbourville, Irvine, Harlan, Hazard, Pineville, West Liberty, and Burkesville) making quality donated goods available at affordable prices while providing employment for more than 70 people in the region. Their trucks pick up donated goods at locations throughout Kentucky and southern Ohio on a regular schedule. (If you have items to donate, see pickup schedule and locations here: https://www.methodistmountainmission.org/truckschedule).
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Red Bird Mission has served the mountains of southeastern Kentucky since 1921, addressing the interconnected challenges of poverty through five program areas: education, health, housing improvement, outreach, and economic opportunity. The Mission also operates a clinic, a K–12 Christian school, and a range of community programs including food assistance, home repair, a farmer's market, and early childhood development.
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Aldersgate Camp & Retreat Center, located in Ravenna, Kentucky, is a ministry of the Kentucky Annual Conference offering summer camps, retreats, and service opportunities — a place, in their words, "set apart in God's beautiful creation" for people to experience community and faith.
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The Wesleyan at EKU is the United Methodist campus ministry at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. It was good to catch up with Evan Rowe, a friend and the new campus minister, and to hear about the work being done among EKU students.
The United Methodist Church's work in eastern Kentucky extends well beyond what Keith had the opportunity to encounter at this conference.
Thank you United Methodist Church Kentucky Conference and Central Appalachian Missionary Conference!
| | Hands at Work in Casey County | | |
Hands at Work in Casey County
On one Monday each month, something remarkable happens in Casey County at Dunnville Christian Church's Outreach Center. Dozens of volunteers gather around an assembly line at the Food Pantry, and in a little over an hour, somewhere between 800 and 1,000 boxes of food are packed, sealed, and made ready for families across the county.
Keith recently joined the effort, adding handfuls of dried cranberry snack bags as boxes rolled down the line, one small contribution among many. Around him, other volunteers added cans, bags, and boxes of shelf-stable food. Each family receives two boxes: one packed by volunteers that day, and a second provided by Feeding America Kentucky Heartland.
The operation runs smoothly because of careful preparation. Food Pantry Director Sharlet Salyers and Dunnville Christian Church Executive Pastor Matt Loper had the contents organized and the plan clearly communicated before the first volunteer arrived, so that anyone who showed up could step right in and get to work.
Tuesday through Friday of that same week, residents who have signed up for the program drive through to receive their boxes. This food distribution is one of several food programs provided by the church, which also includes emergency food assistance, a supplemental food program for senior adults, a school backpack program, and a food rescue program.
Learn more about all of Dunnville Christian Church's food programs here: dunnvillechristian.churchcenter.com/pages/casey-county-food-pantry
| | This October, Together for Hope marks 25 years. Members, partners, and supporters will gather in Jackson for three days of workshops, celebration, and time in the communities at the heart of this work. Several events are open to the public and to supporters who want to experience the gathering up close. | | Together for Hope has spent 25 years organizing grassroots communities across the Delta, Black Belt, Appalachia, and Tribal Nations — working alongside more than 150 member organizations to abolish persistent rural poverty in America’s most underserved places. This October, we gather in Jackson to learn together, celebrate what’s been built, and recommit to the work ahead. The good people are already there. Come be part of it. | | | The TFH Appalachia Coalition | | The TFH Appalachia Coalition at Work | | West Virginia Mine Wars Museum - Matewan | |
Courage in the Hollers!
www.facebook.com/WVMineWarsMuseum
"Let's do it again!
Our first round of Courage in the Hollers community meetings went great last month; plan to join us in July!
Here's the deets:
Mingo County Meeting for Matewan
Monday, July 13 | 6–8 p.m.
Matewan Community Center, above the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum
112 Mate Street, Matewan, WV 25678
Logan County Meeting for Logan
Tuesday, July 14 | 6–8 p.m.
McCoy Station, 405 Highlands Street, Logan, WV 25601
Clothier Meeting
Wednesday July 15 | 2–4 p.m.
UMWA 2395 Union Hall, End of Coal Valley Road, off Hwy 17, Clothier, WV 25183
Boone County Meeting for Madison and Racine
Thursday, July 16 | 6–8 p.m.
Coal Heritage Museum Art & Culture Center, 347 Main Street, Madison, WV 25130
Kanawha County Meeting for Charleston
Friday, July 17 | 6–8 p.m.
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1600 Kanawha Blvd., East, Charleston, WV 25311
What is Courage in the Hollers?
The project shines a light on this hidden history of the coalfields through a mix of large steel sculptures, murals, interpretive signage, and interactive audio experiences—developed through an inclusive, community-informed process.
These works will honor the contributions that unionist miners made to American history, focusing on the route of the Miner’s March to Blair Mountain in the summer of 1921.
If this history is part of your family’s legacy, or of interest to you in any way, please plan to join us in your community.
Learn more: wvminewars.org/courage"
| | Mountain T.O.P. - Grundy County, Tennessee | |
Midsummer Celebration
www.facebook.com/mountaintoptn
July 4
"Happy Midsummer! Tonight our staff celebrated the halfway point of our summer
Tomorrow we roll into the second half of summer with spirits and big expectations with all that God will continue to do in and through us!"
Visit the Mountain T.O.P. website: www.mountain-top.org
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Olive Branch Ministries - Scarlette Jasper
olivebranchministriesky.org
Corbin, KY
Appalachian Gold
www.appalachiangold.com
McDowell County, WV
Appalachian Immersion Experience
fbcmiddlesboro.org/appalachian-immersion
Middlesboro, KY
Appalachia Service Project
asphome.org
Johnson City, TN
BetterFi
www.betterfi.co
Grundy County, TN
Casey County Community Ministries
cccmky.org
Liberty, KY
Community Action Committee - St. Mark & St. Paul
cacsewanee.org
Sewanee, TN
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Kentucky
cbfky.org
Kentucky
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Tennessee
tn.cbf.net
Tennessee
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Virginia
cbfva.org
Virginia
Cooperative Christian Ministry
ccmkentucky.wixsite.com/ccmky
Middlesboro, KY
Economic Development Greater East
edge-us.org
McDowell County, WV
Emma Quire Mission Center
www.emmaquiremc.org
Owsley County, KY
FBC Community Missions
White Flag Cold Weather Relief, FBC Corbin Food Pantry, Mustard Seed Garden
www.corbinfbc.org/community-missions
Corbin, KY
Growing Roots
growingrootstn.org
Grundy County, TN
Hand in Hand Appalachia
myhandinhand.org/immersion-trips/appalachia
Floyd County, KY
Hatfield and McCoy Foundation
hatfieldmccoyfoundation.org
Sarah Ann, WV
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Laurel County African American Cultural Center and Heritage Farms
lcaahc.org/home
London, KY
Lend-A-Hand Center
lendahandcenter.wordpress.com
Walker, KY
Manna from Heaven
facebook.com/MannaFromHeavenInc
Myra, KY
Mountain T.O.P.
www.mountain-top.org
Grundy County, TN
New Opportunity School for Women
nosw.org
Berea, KY
One Voice/One Cup
onevoicewv.org
Wyoming County, WV
Partnership Housing, Inc.
www.partnershiphousinginc.com
Owsley County, KY
Pastors for Kentucky Children
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070478259508
Kentucky
Reid Miller - American Made-to-Measure Womenswear
https://reidmiller.us/
Princeton, West Virginia
Rē: The Rēgenerative School
regenerativeschool.org
Fayetteville, TN
Regional Intergovernmental Council
wvregion3.org
South Charleston, WV
Rural Appalachian Improvement League, Inc. (RAIL)
www.railwv.org
Wyoming County, WV
Samaritan Ministry
www.samaritancentral.org
Knoxville, TN
SEE Appalachia
McDowell County, WV
T&T Organics
tntorganics.weebly.com/about-us.html
McDowell County, KY
Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency (UETHDA)
uethda.org
Kingsport, TN
The Wade Center
wadecenter.com
Bluefield, WV
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum
wvminewars.org
Matewan, WV
Y'All Company
yallsauce.com
Winston-Salem, NC
| | The TFH Appalachia Leadership | | Together for Hope National | | | | |
