Westside Together in Action!
In addition to their own initiatives, Westside Collaborative partners are working together on projects to support Westside residents including:
Westside Collaborative orgs are planning a year round Westside event series. The series includes regular community events hosted by Collaborative partner organizations. Check out the Events page to stay connected
20 young adults from the Midian Leadership Project and Step by Step, Inc. (most of whom are Westsiders) spent a week this past school year at Westside Middle School providing social & emotional support for students and extra support for staff and teachers. The work catalyzed a Congressional Earmark request for $200,000 to support the growth and sustainability of long-term mentor initiatives at Westside Middle.
10 Westside homes received no cost critical home repairs this Summer including roofs, siding, porches, ramps, insulation, floors, drywall, plumbing, and electrical through the work of Appalachian Service Project. Home improvements were supported through Westside Together funding as well as the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.
9 Westside youth were hired this summer to work at Westside organizations including Phat Daddy's, Midian Leadership Project, New WV, Aspire Achievement Project and Restoriative Actions. The initiative included Friday meet-ups that provided the kids opportunities to connect and to learn financial management and job skills. The effort is being reviewed as a model to extend the City of Charleston’s summer youth employment program into Charleston’s neighborhoods.
A year-round series of Westside Clean-ups is being planned and coordinated by the Westside Neighborhood Association. Stay tuned for more details!
Westside Together includes the work of the Westside Collaborative and the Westside Outreach Team
The Westside Collaborative is a growing network of community partners and resident leaders working together to provide increased opportunities for families, youth and small businesses on the Westside.
Organizations serving Charleston’s Westside have long sought opportunities to gather, network, learn, and collaborate towards improving quality of life on the Westside. Drawing from the energy, enthusiasm and experience of numerous local groups, the Westside Collaborative includes a broad and diverse mix of community champions invested in a shared mission: to bring together change-makers to positively impact life on the Westside now and for generations to come.
The Collaborative coordinates existing community partners to better serve the needs of Westside residents, connect residents to existing resources and to take a more organized approach to attracting additional resources for the community. The Collaborative serves to catalyze outcomes that can support the Westside in the near-term as well as systems level changes that will be necessary to create long-term sustainable outcomes.
These are just a few of the initial partners participating in the
Westside Collaborative. The Collaborative will continue to grow and
gain partners as efforts continue.
