Try This added 21 new projects to the list in 2023, getting communities across the state moving and eating healthier!
2023-2024 MINIGRANTS:
BERKELEY
Cooking Connections for Young Adults (June)​
A collaboration between Childlaw Services, the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program, and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Eastern Panhandle is getting transitional youth ready to support their own health as they become independent. In support of their goal to continue to empower and support at-risk youth into adulthood, Childlaw Services provides life skills classes using the Teen Cuisine curriculum, led by a WVU Extension Nutrition Educator. Over a 6-week period, 6 participants between the ages of 17 and 20 will meet weekly at the Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle for instruction that includes meal planning, budgeting, shopping for healthy ingredients, and meal preparation.
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Project Lead: Clare Chesnavage, panhandle.childlawservices@gmail.com
BOONE
Community in Motion (FEBRUARY):
This ambitious and generous team is helping make fitness accessible throughout the year by putting up activity signs, hosting mini sports camps, and having healthy Saturday events across the community. 12 bodyweight activity signs will be posted around the walking tracks in the Wharton and Twilight communities by members of The POND group. The POND will also install a Storybook Trail at the Van Community Park in the fall. This trail will feature local and state authors and have activities at each marker, with the goal of getting families active and literate. The project team will also work with local coaches to host a diverse set of mini camps spread out over the year targeting young people from 5-17 in: flag football; basketball; dance; and volleyball. The goal of these camps is to inspire interest and support of local youth leagues. And if that isn’t enough, this team will also facilitate a total of 6 healthy Saturday events offering free health screens, access to healthy food and health education events in partnership with the WVU Extension Office, Boone Memorial Hospital, Boone County Commission, QRT, and more.
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Project Lead: Amanda Turner, acrawford.1120@gmail.com
Hedgesville Community Harvest Market (JUNE):
The goal of the Hedgesville Community Harvest Market project is to build a vibrant, successful, community-driven farmers market in the Hedgesville, WV area. This market will open weekly at an outdoor venue and connect local producers with consumers, offering them access to local, healthy food. Partnering with the WV Department of Agriculture & GWTF (Grow with the Flow), the project strives to recruit more vendors and to involve the larger Hedgesville community to participate in growing food systems that meet the needs of all people.
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Project Lead: Leslie Hotaling, panoramaleslie@gmail.com
CABELL
Soul Line Dancing Huntington (FEBRUARY):
Watch Huntington women get healthy through this dancing, tai chi, and healthy food opportunity. This team will offer monthly meetups that feature free dance lessons from a local dance instructor that makes dancing accessible by focusing on low impact exercises. They will also offer weekly tai chi instruction to the community. Lastly, a nutritionist will help participants to have a better knowledge of healthy meals and menus by offering healthy food after local church service once a month, as well as offering healthy snacks and recipes for each dance and tai chi event.
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Project Lead: Cassandra Woods, cassandra.woods@paac2.org
HAMPSHIRE
Springfield Community Walking Track (JUNE)
The Springfield Community Walking Track project will provide a much-needed safe place to walk for members of the community. Led by members of the Springfield Ruritan Club, the group will create a walking track on Ruritan property around an existing playground that is used regularly by local families. The 0.2 mile oval track will be 6 feet wide and graveled, with a future goal to have the track paved for more accessibility.
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Project Lead: Sara Phillips, sarabethwv@hotmail.com
JACKSON
​Movin' It Outdoors! (JUNE):
The Movin’ It Outdoors program combines three established groups in Jackson County: Jackson County Runners and Walkers, Bike Ripley, and Mill Creek Water Trail. This program builds on the momentum of the successful Movin’ In May 2023 initiative by promoting ongoing events, increasing collaboration and shared resources between groups, and providing incentives for continuing participation. The goal of Movin’ It Outdoors is to increase the visibility of each group’s activities, expand community participation, and promote the inclusion of all three groups in the municipal and county planning processes, thereby building systemic and environmental changes that will improve the overall health and well-being of Jackson County. Each group has committed to organizing and promoting a minimum of 9 events throughout the 2023/2024 year, including floats, bike rodeos, and the Try-A-Tri mini-triathlon for kids.
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Project Lead: Jacki Kelley, jackikelley31@icloud.com
KANAWHA
Campbells Creek Market Series (FEBRUARY):
This collaborative effort takes advantage of existing community events at Ken Ellis Memorial Park and adding pop-up farmers markets to the Campbells Creek community to help folks access healthy, locally-grown food. The community will have access to vendors selling fresh produce, canned foods such as jellies, fruits, and veggies, baked goods, farm fresh eggs, and more. At each event, attendees will get food vouchers to use at the market to help with accessibility to these healthier foods. Kenneth Jones (Jonsey’s D&D) will partner with WVU Extension to provide healthy eating alternatives and recipes. The project team, along with the WVU Extension Office and the Capitol Conservation District, will partner to provide educational activities, games and demonstrations focusing on healthy eating, gardening, and sustainable food. Joyce Kilburn with GubbinsWV will make tote bags for the event for the participants to put their purchases and educational materials in. Other nonprofits and local resources will be there to help meet the needs of the community, and by piggybacking on existing community-wide events, this team is meeting folks where they are.
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Project Leads:
KD Jones & Joyce Kilburn, kennethdjones93@gmail.com &
It Takes a Village Too (FEBRUARY):
In 2022, the Regional Family Resource Network partnered with Mountain of Hope volunteers through a Try This minigrant to provide youth in the Marmet and London areas of Kanawha County, WV with outdoor recreational opportunities. They participated in hiking and fishing expeditions and enjoyed special events including a Love and Diversity summer event and a Christmas party. This year's program will provide a more specialized focus on youth in Marmet while another funding source is being sought to care for youth in the London area. Youth will participate in a variety of spring and summer sports by covering registration fees. Certified Mountains of Hope volunteers will take youth in need of transportation to practices and games. At their request, these youth will also continue to enjoy the hiking and fishing expeditions that they experienced last year. In addition, a new wrestling program will be developed by purchasing wrestling mats, hosting regular practice, and involving local families in building a lasting and impactful community for youth. Volunteers involved with the program will refer families in need to local resources including the United Way Shoe Fairy program and local food pantries. Last year the volunteers registered youth for an Adopt-a-Spot area and plan to continue the clean-up efforts during the coming year to ensure a safe place for children to play and live.
Project Lead: Ron Wilkerson, taichicatalyst4change@gmail.com
Morris Memorial UMC Community Garden (FEBRUARY):
The houseless population has been growing in number and in need, and this local church wants to help! The project team will install three benches in different locations along the property, as well as a blessing box provided as an Eagle Scout project, to offer refuge and resources at any time. Fruit trees will grow near these benches to eventually offer shade, shelter, and sustenance to anyone. The team will also install raised beds, which will be tended and enjoyed by local elementary students during school hours. Additionally, the recovery center adjacent to the property will engage gardening into their rehab therapy in the summer months and evening hours. This project and all produce will serve all people as a source of food, gardening education, and purpose.
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Project Lead:
Reverend Ray Stonestreet, rdstonestreet@gmail.com
Summer Tip Off Tournament (FEBRUARY):
With so many young people eager to learn basketball, this team saw an opportunity to support young people without the means to participate. They will start with hosting an open gym every Sunday evening to provide a free space for these 12-18 year-olds to learn and practice skills. This will lead up to a large tournament for youth in the fall. Local resources will be sourced to provide participants with anything they might need to support their success, including water bottles and gear for the games, basic needs referrals, and other community opportunities. All resource providers will be able to set up at the tournament so families of any team can find support.
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Project Lead: Macy Withrow, mwithrow@stepbystepwv.org
Tai Chi And Your Recovery (JUNE):
The Tai Chi and Your Recovery project will provide free weekly tai chi classes over a 6 month period, to 15 individuals who are recovering from drug addiction. At the end of each weekly class, the project will provide a free healthy meal, prepared by Tae's Place restaurant. A chef will be on-hand to teach participants how to prepare the meal at home, facilitating their journey to healthy eating. A certified nutritionist will be consulted for meal planning. The participants will be encouraged to practice the art of tai chi daily in order to get the maximum benefit from the program.
Project Lead: Ron Wilkerson, taichicatalyst4change@gmail.com
LOGAN
Taste and Tai Chi (FEBRUARY):
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Logan county is going to get the chance to try tai chi and healthy food thanks to this project. Every other week, the team will be hosting open tai chi instruction throughout the year. On the weeks without tai chi, the team will offer another type of physical activity to the public. At each event, participants will have access to healthy snacks and drinks, as well as recipes to take home and try with cheap and healthy ingredients.
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Project Lead: Rickey French, frenchie0002@yahoo.com
MONONGALIA
Mon Safe Routes (JUNE):
Safe walking in Monongalia County is a priority for this team. The Mon Safe Routes project is an extension of a previous pilot program (Suncrest Safe Routes) which identified and marked the safest routes to walk to school at Suncrest Elementary. The pilot program also educated the public about these routes and increased drivers’ awareness of pedestrians. The Mon Safe Routes project will expand to Star City and in Morgantown, as well as Westover and/or Granville. The project team will identify 15 additional pedestrian crossing flag locations based on upcoming crosswalk improvement projects. After collecting baseline driver yield data, the team will make 100 more pedestrian-safety flags, screenprint an additional 120 “Ped/Bike Route reflective signs, and create 30 more“State Law” signs and multi-color pedestrian/cyclist shirts. They will post flags, routes, and signs, and monitor success through pedestrian counts and driver observations. The team’s final goal is to establish a non-profit to grow their future potential.
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Project Lead: Vaike Haas, vaike.haas@mail.wvu.edu
Year 2: Road Repair (JUNE):
Building on the success of the initial Free Bikes 4 Kidz Morgantown project which distributed hundreds of bikes to the community, the Year 2: Road Repair project will continue to collect, repair, and distribute bicycles to those who need them, as well as instruct youth in bike mechanics. The team will provide youth with their own utility kits for road repairs and teach them how to use them. They will collaborate with the Mon Safe Routes project team to identify and mark the safest neighborhood routes for families to take to school. The Year 2: Road Repair team will build a team of volunteers to lead kids and families on bike rides to familiarize community members with these safe routes.
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Project Lead: Jeremy Blizard, Fb4Kwv@gmail.com
OHIO
Pop-Up Line Dancing/Yoga Project (JUNE):
Continuing last year’s success, The Pop-Up Line Dancing/Yoga project is ready to expand its impact by partnering with WVU Extension Office of Ohio County to come to the Laughlin Memorial Chapel site to demonstrate healthy cooking alternatives once a month to participants in conjunction with their accessible line dancing and yoga instruction. The ultimate goal is to help folks be aware of their health status and identify simple steps they can take to add movement and healthy food choices to their lives. Participants will be surveyed about health concerns and the impact these activities have on their health. The last element of the Line Dance/Yoga Healthy Eating Project is to continue collaborating with the Community Made Serenade Band, which was established with funding from Try This WV in 2018 and has continued to sustain itself as a community band with musical direction from Matt Hill, director of the Dream Big Music Ed program. What a robust collaborative effort to get folks moving and eating healthier in Ohio County!
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Project Lead: Wanda Morgan, morganwanda029@gmail.com
Loveland Community Garden Shed (FEBRUARY):
Grow Warwood Pride will be starting a raised-bed community garden for local residents to grow fruits, vegetables, and learn about gardening with their neighbors. The first year will see 20 beds built and maintained by the volunteer team and residents. In order to keep the space protected from wildlife and weather, the team will build a fence and Try This will support the purchase of a garden shed to provide the necessary tools for all residents to access anytime they come to tend their bed. This will ensure the garden is more equitable and safe for residents who may not have the resources or physical ability to bring their own tools!
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Project Leads: Jasmine Donnell, jasmine.donnell@gmail.com & Chloe Lefchak, volunteer@growov.org
WLU Fencing Club (JUNE):
The focus of the West Liberty University (WLU) Fencing Club project is to expand the presence and visibility of the art of fencing beyond the club’s current reach on campus by offering free opportunities for people in the community to participate. This skilled group of youth and adults will provide instruction to participants and help to train new fencing safety marshals and inspire a love of swordplay in the community to participants 14 and older. The project team will purchase safety equipment and swords to expand their impact. WLU will support the project by offering the use of the Blatnik Gym for free, printing club materials for public distribution, and providing transportation for participants to off-campus events.
Project Lead: ShannonHalicki, shalicki@westliberty.edu
PUTNAM
BREATHE - A Mindful Movement Program for Kids (JUNE):
This program combines holistic wellness with physical activity, teaching leadership skills, and mindful fitness to children in 3rd-5th grade at Lake View Elementary School in Teays Valley. This is a holistic “couch to 5k” program that focuses on body autonomy, teamwork, leadership, community service, and mindfulness. Meeting twice weekly over 10 weeks, the program includes a nutritious snack, mindfulness instruction components, and running - gradually working towards the goal of running for 45 minutes straight. Necessary materials will be provided to any student with a need, including a healthy snack, running shoes, a team t-shirt, sunscreen, and/or transportation from the after-school program.
Project Lead: Stephanie Legg, therapy.childlawservices@gmail.com
POCAHONTAS
Pocahontas County FARMacy (JUNE):
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Pocahontas County Family Support Center and Community Care of West Virginia will team up for the Pocahontas County FARMACY research project that tracks the impact of fresh food on 30 patients with diabetes. These 30 patients will participate in a 15-week program that provides them with weekly classes about healthy food, nutrition, and cooking. All participants will get weekly $25 food vouchers for healthy food provided by Aetna. The medical team will monitor the health progress of participants through pre- and post-lab work, weekly check-ins, and patient journals. All participants will receive cooking supplies and/or utensils to help them continue their health journey at home. Partners include Pocahontas County Family Support Center, Harvest House Food Pantry, Community Care of West Virginia, Pocahontas County Diabetes Support Group, and Aetna.
Project Lead: Anna Cassell, acassellpcfrn@outlook.com
PRESTON
Health & History: Community Square Dances (JUNE):
Arthurdale Heritage will host five community square dances on their campus through the summer of 2024. These will take place in the months of August, October, February, April, and June. Continuing a program that the organization began in the winter of 2022, this group is seeking to perpetuate the connection between cultural heritage, physical activity, and community by teaching not only square dancing, but the Appalachian roots that keep this activity alive. The dances encourage multi-generational interaction with folks of all ages dancing and learning together.
Project Lead: Elizabeth Satterfield, elizabeth.satterfield@arthurdaleheritage.org
UPSHUR
Enhancing River-Trail Community Connections (JUNE):
This team is building community connections within the Buckhannon River watershed that promote environmental stewardship, clean water, and healthy recreation. They’re making waves by hosting diverse community events such as hosting recreational river floats, a celebratory event for clean water (Buckhannon RiverFest), educational trainings (Save our Stream, water quality sampling days), trash and litter clean-ups/tire collection events, tabling at Festival Fridays in Buckhannon , nature journaling in the county parks, and community listening sessions. The goal is to educate the community on why water quality is important and what a watershed is by bringing people closer to their local water. They are bridging the gap between environmental stewardship and healthy recreation, coining the phrase “kayak-tivism”!
Project Leads:
Mateal Poling & Jessica Byzek, poling.cm@gmail.com & jessica.a.bryzek@wv.gov