| Submitted by Tony Richards
Project MOVE is designed to assist people in west-central West
Virginia who are trying to move from welfare to work and self-sufficiency. Trained as family mentors, the
AmeriCorps members are assigned to 80 families. The AmeriCorps Members assist the staff and the
agency's clients by providing direct services.
Direct services include improving life management skills,
developing housing opportunities, and improving employment skills and education levels. The AmeriCorps
Members, on a daily basis, interact with clients to identify and access resources that will remedy
homelessness, increase the possibility of long-term employment and fully utilize available community
resources.
Our AmeriCorps members also provide transportation service to at least 160 low-income or
unemployed people in Calhoun and Roane counties so that they can gain access to needed services and
obtain jobs. In addition, members assist in the operation of accessible rural resource centers in Community
Resources, Inc.'s 11 county offices, which give community members an opportunity to learn life skills.
Project MOVE has already made a serious impact in our communities. We have Mentored 178 families.
Operated Resource Centers at county sites where 1,650 people have used information and equipment to
improve skills. Have developed and operated a new public transit system in rural Calhoun and Roane
Counties, which resulted in 9,602 people regularly accessing essential services.
Originally funded by the West
Virginia Commission for National and Community Service for a two year project, we were granted a waiver for
a third year due to our success with Project Move, as we move to the end of this funding period the WV
Commission recommended our program for funding at the national level to continue our work.
September
2002 would have been the end for Project Move, except that the Corporation for National Service still believes
in our ability to deliver a quality program. They have awarded us $322,400. Even with this three-year award,
we still needed to come up with "Matching Dollars".
We would like to thank the McDonough Foundation, the
Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fund, and the Benedum Foundation for their continued support and
confidence in us. With their commitment to our community and their unwavering generosity, we are pleased to
announce that we will be able to continue to provide these valuable services to our region.
Community Resources Inc. is the lead agency for this project. We are a not for profit organization, dedicated to
helping low income people become self-sufficient while ensuring that their basic human needs are met. We
serve Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wetzel, Wirt and Wood
Counties. Our mission is "The improvement of the lives of low-income people".
Our primary goal is twofold:
providing services which help the poor obtain basic necessities, and developing means of change to those
systems which cause poverty. During 2001, we helped 33,022 families and 85,642 individuals. These
numbers reflect the actual unduplicated count of families and individuals served during the year
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