What a beautiful week for Appalachia as several events took place, helping better our region through broadband, healthcare careers, and bringing different generations to connect with one another throughout our region!
SOAR hosts third Healthcare Career Fair in Pikeville
It was another successful event as we hosted our third Healthcare Career Fair, presented by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Kentucky Hospital Association at the Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, Ky on March 16.
19 schools were registered from five counties in our Eastern Kentucky region and more than 600 students were signed up to attend the event!
It was a jam-packed day filled with lectures from local healthcare providers, one-on-one networking with hospital workers, and educational advice from college leaders giving students the chance to seek advice and assistance from people who live and work in their region.
We want to thank Pikeville Medical Center for providing students with their lunches.
We also want to thank the City of Pikeville Police Department, Pikeville City Fire Department, and Appalachian Wireless Arena for organizing and helping get students safely in and out of the building from their school buses!
You can see pictures from the event on our Facebook Album.
Appalachian Nursing Academy
We are partnering with the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Office of Health Equity and the University of Pikeville to host the second-ever Appalachian Nursing Academy!
Thirty incoming junior and senior high school students in the Appalachian region will be chosen to be a part of this unforgettable summer program. The Academy will be held from July 9-21 at the University of Pikeville.
Our FREE two-week academy offers:
- Housing at the University of Pikeville
- Three meals a day
- Interactive programming with workshops, presentations, shadowing, mentorship, tours, etc.
- $1,500 scholarship to further your education
- Trips to see and experience regional attractions and activities
We are also currently looking for chaperones for the summer program as well!
Do you know the Coolest thing ever made in Kentucky?
Imagine an online voting, bracket-style tournament to let Kentuckians pick the 2023 Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky from among the thousands of world-class products manufactured in our state.
Well, that is exactly what is happening as the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance are currently accepting nominations for the 2023 Coolest thing made in Kentucky competition!
Do you think you know the coolest thing ever made in Kentucky? Make sure to nominate that item by Sunday, March 19!
You can make a nomination HERE.
Zugunruhe is back!
Red Oaks Forest School will, once again, be hosting Zugunruhe!
Zugunruhe is an invitation to connect with ourselves and our community through time in nature.
Zugunruhe participants will help raise both awareness and much-needed funds to increase opportunities for communities in need in Central and Eastern Kentucky to spend time in nature, and elevate the conversation around access to nature everywhere that people participate.
Red Oaks hope the event allows participants to make time for creativity, get more exercise, spend time outside, commit to restorative self-care and spread the word about the importance of access to nature for everyone.
Check out this video from last year for some quick info on what Red Oaks are up to!
You can register for the event HERE.
Local Eastern Kentucky student becoming a leader in Cancer Research
Magoffin County High School senior Ashton Long is already making great strides in the cancer research field, even before graduating high school.
For the last two years, in addition to her normal classwork and all other school-related obligations, Ashton has been working with two research science mentors, meeting virtually with them weekly for status updates, learning how to code and how to put in a data set for cancer research, and eventually developing her own algorithm, which is what she is presenting at various science fairs through Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and International Science and Engineering Fair.
Ashton received a research grant through the U.S. Army Research Lab, which was generally for Ph.D. candidates, but gave her access to normally expensive programs and the U.S. Army Research Lab database, which launched her project even further.
The title of Ashton’s project is A Computational Method of Utilizing Genetic and Epigenetic Information for Predicting Mutations in Colorectal and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cancers.
Ashton will be competing in the Kentucky Science and Engineering Fair, and then in ISEF in Texas in May. After graduation, she plans to go to the University of Kentucky, majoring in biology, with the goal of becoming a doctor and continuing in the research field.
A Hotel is being added to Corbin
A Marriott franchise hotel with a covered walkway attached to the Corbin Center is what is planned for the future of Corbin.
The City of Corbin is selling a portion of the Corbin Center property to Hotel Ventures LLC for $1 million for a flagship hotel.
The 100-room hotel will be ready for guests in a couple of years to complement the future expansion of the Corbin Center and events hosted at the Corbin Arena.
The city has also promised $50,000 of opioid settlement funds to Volunteers of America to start plans for transitional housing in a partnership that also includes Eastern Kentucky University (EKU).
The project will provide housing and educational opportunities for single parents and those affected by substance abuse disorder.
Discussions are talking about the possibility of transitional housing being placed on the 28 acres of land which houses the EKU campus in Corbin.
Introduction to Grant Writing Workshop Available
We are not the only ones offering grant writing courses!
Kentucky’s Office of Rural Health presents two free “Introduction to Nonprofit Grant Writing”.
The first of the two is planned for April 19, 2023, in Pikeville and the second will be at Murray State University on April 28, 2023.
These grant writing workshops will be half-day sessions, and lunch is included.
All organizations in attendance will receive a complimentary two-year membership to GrantStation.com. Membership includes quality grantmaker profiles, searchable databases for grantmakers, powerful grant-seeking tools, and tutorials on how to write winning grant proposals.
For more information, please call 304-397-5955.
You can apply for the Pikeville grant writing workshop HERE.
You can apply for the Murray event HERE.
Learn to Code through <Code> Kentucky
Are you interested in a tech career? You can do so with Code Kentucky, where you can learn to code for FREE.
You will gain the following skills:
- Get skills to begin your career in tech
- Join a community of tech professionals and students
- Multiple free classes
- Training offers great benefits
Again, the program is free and includes resume and job search assistance.
Apply online HERE.
Want to Submit something for our Weekly Round?
Know of a program that needs applicants from our region?
Do you know of a grant opportunity that one of our Eastern Kentucky non-profits could benefit from?
or just have good news from your town?
Email us at: roundup@soar-ky.org
Future events to add to your calendar:
March
- Coffee & Tea Week in Ashland, Ky., March 19 – 25
Coffee and tea enthusiasts unite! Ashland will be hosting a week full of caffeinated events for their first-ever coffee and tea week.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, you can stay updated with announcements HERE.
You can see more Ashland events on their city calendar HERE.
April
- SOAR EKY Gala, April 29
Nomination reviews are in the works!
Curious to know the winners of the 14 awards we will be distributing?
Come find out at our first-ever EKY Gala on April 29, 2023, at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg!
You can register for our gala HERE.
- Morehead Kentucky Proud Expo, April 28 – 29
Mark your calendars for the 2023 Morehead KY Proud Expo!
Kentucky Proud certified vendors from across the state will be on hand featuring woodworking, jams, wines, jellies, and so much more. Open to the public and admission is FREE!
Show times are Friday, April 28, 5 pm-8 pm and Saturday, April 29, 10 pm-5 pm. We
*All vendors must be Kentucky Proud certified. If you’d like to be a vendor, please call 606-780-4342, option 1 for more information.
You can learn more about the event HERE.
May
- 24th Annual Big Sandy Women Symposium, May 2
An action-packed day celebrating women and their accomplishments in the business world, hosted by the Kentucky SBDC.
Register HERE.
June
- Kiss the Goat Trail Race, June 24
If you enjoy trail running or want to train for something challenging, Kiss the Goat is unlike most races. You will be tested to your limits on a roughly 3.77-mile-long uphill course. Besides, what better way to treat yourself at the top of the hill than to blow a kiss to the goat? Yes, a real-life goat.
Don’t think this race is for you? Consider volunteering and spectating; you can even walk this course!
You can sign up for the event HERE.
- Bluegrass Mountain Cup, Perry County Park, June 25
A new and fast-growing trail system just down the road from downtown Hazard, KY, Perry County Park packs a lot of punch in a small area.
A bit of a climb to the top, but well worth the reward that you get coming down.
Creator of the Perry County hiking trails, Ben, and crew dedicated year around countless hours to making these trails some of the best in the state.
If you’ve not been there yet, you have to check this place out.
More details coming soon!
Registration is live HERE.