$2,000 Award Honor West Virginians for their “Courage to Do What Needs Done”
The mission of WV Can’t Wait is to win a people’s government in the Mountain State, led by the West Virginians who work the hardest and bear the greatest burdens. In addition to a $2000 award, Heroes receive free on-going leadership training and coaching, access to mental health and safety services, and a network of other folks who are making a difference. Each of the 40 Hometown Heroes was selected by a committee of volunteer leaders from around the state, from a pool of more than 115 nominations.
“We honor 40 West Virginia people and organizations that refuse to wait for anyone. These are the mamaws, emergency responders, drug users, artists, ex-offenders, and faith leaders who are out here doing the work that government fails to do,” said WV Can’t Wait Co-Chair Katey Lauer.
The committee used three criteria for selecting each Hero: the lives they changed in their communities, the courage they showed in standing up to the rich and powerful, and the willingness to be led by people who are normally kept out, put down, or criminalized.
Volunteer organization Clay County Community Emergency Response Team has been selected from the Clay County area.
“In one of the most disabled, economically dependent counties with a declining population with few resources Clay County CERT established a small volunteer organization dedicated to making Clay County safer and more resilient. Now Clay County CERT has 70+ local volunteers, a volunteer staff of 22, and 4 divisions working in sections of the community like teen and youth services, community education and outreach, emergency operations, and volunteer services. All of Clay County CERTs mission – helping citizens recover from disaster, collecting essential real time weather info, creating the first ever incident management system for Clay, or establishing an official system for volunteers to find opportunities – is funded by donation.” – from their nomination.
We encourage folks to support Clay County CERT’S work financially at www.claycountycert.org.