Together for Hope Appalachia

Newsletter - June 2025

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TFH National Annual Meeting

The TFH National

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Welcome to the Coaltion

Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency (UETHDA)

Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency (UETHDA) provides critical services through nine centers in an eight county region, including Johnson County, one of our TFH Counties of persistent poverty.

They secure basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, utilities and other emergency needs. The Neighborhood Service Centers’ staff and Family Engagement Specialists work daily with clients to relieve the hardships they face. Their service team offers specifically targeted services from emergency assistance to more long term paths for self-sufficiency.

They Empower Individuals & Families, changing lives by supporting each individual through asset building with financial literacy, education, ensuring school readiness for our children, and helping home owners save energy by focusing on the strengths of each individual and family.

They work together with partners and programs which develop and promote pathways to long-term economic stability giving hope for the future.

Through determination and with the assistance of UETHDA, Martha Dixon, rose out of poverty to become UETHDA Community Services Team Leader. Listen to her inspiring story here: Martha Dixon: UETHDA Staff Success Story

TFH Appalachia is proud to partner with Martha Dixon and UETHDA in the fight to alleviate poverty in mountains of East Tennessee.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Tennessee

Partnership with TFH Appalachia and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) Tennessee is nothing new. Soon after beginning his work with TFH Appalachia, Keith visited with Rick Bennett, CBF Tennessee Field Coordinator. Keith came out of that meeting with a map of Tennessee counties, filled with handwritten notes—listing pastors, staff members, nonprofit organizations, mission centers, and other community connections. Keith continues to refer to that map. CBF Tennessee churches are scattered throughout Appalachian regions of the state, serving their communities, counties, and the region. Their commitment is evident in long-standing support for Olive Branch Ministries, led by TFH friend and partner Scarlette Jasper. That support has included financial gifts, hands-on service projects, Christmas boxes for Appalachian families, and opportunities for Scarlette to speak and share her work with congregations. Olive Branch Ministries, along with Samaritan Ministry, is also supported through the The Volunteer State Missions Offering.

TFH is Happy to formalize a partnership with CBF Tennessee as a TFH Appalachia Coalition Member and looks forward working together in the future.

Regional Intergovernmental Council (RIC)

TFH Appalachia looks forward to working with our new coalition member, The Regional Intergovernmental Council (RIC). The RIC was established in 1968 as a voluntary organization of local elected municipal and county officials in Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Putnam counties. It was the first regional planning and development council in the State of West Virginia. Overall, the goal of the RIC is to promote intergovernmental cooperation, and to maximize the opportunities for local communities and public service agencies to secure federal assistance for economic development and infrastructure. In other words, the organization helps serve as a critical connector between government resources and the communities they serve.

Laurel County African American Heritage Center and Heritage Farms

TFH Appalachia welcomes Wayne Riley and the Laurel County African American Heritage Center and Heritage Farms to the coalition. When you meet with Wayne Riley, you’re likely on the move—stretching out a fence to make room for more livestock at Heritage Farms or surveying the many fascinating artifacts at the Cultural Center. He’s usually wearing his cell phone headset, ready to respond to the next call for help. Wayne stays busy collecting and distributing resources for his London, Kentucky community and across eastern Kentucky. Whether he’s renovating the Cultural Center, planning events, feeding the food insecure, or advocating for racial and social justice, Wayne lives out the Center’s motto: “Celebrating Our Heritage – Serving Our Community.”

The Laurel County African American Heritage Center works to preserve African American history in Laurel County, Kentucky. Founder and Director Wayne Riley was raised in Laurel County, spent much of his adult life in Washington D.C., and eventually returned to his hometown in 1999.

Wayne Riley started LCAAHC in 2004 when the church in which he was raised was condemned and slated for demolition. Riley worked with community members to eventually save the church and turn it into the LCAAHC.

The Center has grown in mission and operations since that time. Today, LCAAHC operates the Center, a working and educational farm, a commercial kitchen, and a Farmers’ Market. The Laurel County African American Heritage Center is a non-profit entity devoted to assisting those in London, KY increase their self-reliance and take greater control of social and financial aspects of their lives.

Sebrena's Spring

What has Sebrena Been Up to

Over the past months, Sebrena was busy visiting coalition members and partners across the region. After spending time in Tennessee in March, Sebrena visited partners in her home state of West Virginia. On her trip, she was able to visit with coalition members One Voice One Cup, Rural Appalachian Improvement League, and Economic Development Greater East. While in the area, she attended the Hope Words Conference with TFH Board member Travis Lowe. On this trip, Sebrena was honored to see the continued development of solutions in recovery, agriculture, health, nutrition. Towards the end of April, Sebrena attended the CBF Kentucky Spring Gathering in Louisville, KY. While learning about the critical faith based work across the state of Kentucky, Sebrena had heart-strengthening visits with Scarlette Jasper with Olive Branch Ministries, and Appalachian Immersion Experience.

In May, Sebrena spent time learning about disaster relief and crises throughout the region. In early May, Sebrena visited with Coal River Mountain Watch to learn about the negative effects of strip mining in the region and how to combat them. In mid-May, Sebrena attended a community meeting on the current water crisis in Wyoming County. At this meeting, she learned that Wyoming County currently has the unhealthiest water quality in the nation. As a result of acid mine drainage combined with unmaintained infrastructure, the water has become extremely dangerous to residents and wildlife. This crisis also extends into other counties in the Southern coalfields as well, including McDowell. While at the community meeting, Sebrena spoke with Zach Shrewsbury with Blue Jay Rising, a mutual aid organization based in the coalfields that is helping in the aftermath of historic flooding. Around the same time, Sebrena got in touch with Scarlette Jasper to learn about how TFH can help in the aftermath of the horrific tornado that struck Kentucky. As a result of these conversations, Sebrena and Keith are working together to learn and strategize on how TFH Appalachia can help with long term disaster planning.

To put it simply, we are devastated for our Central Appalachian family. Since Helene struck in the fall of 2024, it seems like it has been disaster after disaster, with extreme flooding in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and the unprecedented tornado in Kentucky. But if anything, we know that we will work together to overcome whatever our region faces. Resilience is a word that is often used for our region, or regions like ours-- but we think our region is more than resilient-- we are inventive, ingenious, and very stubborn. Much like the labor rights we helped secure for the nation, we will figure out how to address disaster relief in creative ways that benefit the collective, together. From us to you, we send our support. Please be in touch if there’s any way we can help.

West Virginia Travels

Hope Words Writers Conference

Coal River Mountain Watch

CBF Kentucky Spring Gathering

Matewan Mine Wars Museum

Disaster Relief

DONATE TO DISASTER RELIEF

Keith's Sabbatical

I am grateful that Together for Hope afforded me a three-month Sabbatical of rest and reflection from March through May. During this time, I had the opportunity to slow down and be present—to spend meaningful time with family, enjoy a vacation with my wife, Dianne, run a half-marathon and a 5K, and celebrate our daughter Kelsey’s wedding ceremony in our own backyard. I also carved out space for spiritual formation and personal reflection.

A portion of that reflection focused on how we, both individually and as a network, can thoughtfully engage with today’s political climate while continuing to support our partners. One article that proved especially helpful was Resiliency Strategies for Nonprofits in Times of Political and Financial Instability. Among its suggestions, one strategy that was new to me—microvlogging—stood out as a potentially effective advocacy tool for nonprofits.

I spent some time exploring microvlogging as a strategy and am curious to learn whether our coalition members find it, and other strategies, helpful in navigating the challenges of political uncertainty. I look forward to hearing their insights and learning from their experiences.

The TFH Appalachia Coalition

The TFH Appalachia Coalition at Work

Extreme Build - CBF Kentucky

Extreme Build 2025 is well underway.

Soon the 19th Extreme Build home will be complete and a grandmother and three grandchildren will have a home.

Thanks to CBF Kentucky, Highland Housing, all the donors, and the many volunteer hands that make this wonderful project possible.

The Extreme Build week will include siding, flooring, painting and finish work will take place June. This year, Pre-Build is June 2-7. Extreme Build is June 9-14...

Each year, we pledge $25,000 to help lower the cost of the home for the family that will receive it. We encourage every CBF Kentucky church to make a gift to offset this cost. Some churches regularly contribute $2000 or $1000 or whatever they can. Even if a church is unable to send laborers they can send a contribution to be an active partner in the work.

cbfky.org/extreme-build-2025

Follow the progress on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBFKentucky