Our Work In West Virginia In partnership with the West Virginia Development Office, ARC is supporting 50 projects in West Virginia totaling $33.3 million in fiscal year 2021. These investments have been matched by $66.9 million and are attracting an additional $20.7 million in leveraged private investments in West Virginia.

Governor Justice is a native of Raleigh County, West Virginia. After graduating from high school, he attended Greenbrier Military School and then earned both his bachelor’s degree and his M.B.A. from Marshall University. He joined his family’s agriculture business in 1976, and in 1977 founded Bluestone Farms (now Justice Family…

Jennifer Ferrell currently serves as the Director of the Community Advancement and Development (CAD) division in the West Virginia Development Office. The CAD division administers state and federal grant programs which are designed to improve the quality of life to the citizens in West Virginia. Through these grant programs, the…

What started as an after-school urban gardening program has since blossomed into Grow Ohio Valley (Grow OV), an operation with around 50 employees working toward a single mission: improve the health and economic future of Wheeling, West Virginia through local food. It’s a great mission…

In West Virginia, Libera, Inc. is working to help women and teens embody the state’s beloved motto, “montani semper liberi,” or “mountaineers are always free.” Named for the feminine form of the word “liberi,” Libera envisions a Mountain State where every woman and teen is free…

This story is one of several "Stories of Change" highlighted in a new evaluation of ARC's POWER Initiative.

WVFFC provides statewide leadership in local food so farmers and agriculture businesses can thrive, ultimately nourishing and strengthening their communities.

Sprouting Farms grows Southern West Virginia’s local food systems through education, resource sharing, land access, and food production.

EdVenture is driving educational change and empowering Appalachian students.

Every Appalachian state has ample trail opportunities, from the Tanglefoot Trail in Mississippi, to South Carolina’s Swamp Rabbit Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Trails are incredible gateways for attracting outside visitors and increasing quality of life for community members. ARC partners have long worked to establish trail systems that…

ARC investments help communities and entrepreneurs sustainably leverage this incredible asset.

West Virginia, though improving in many measures, has the most drug overdose deaths per 100,000 people of any other state. Fortunately, the Mountain State also has an incredible host of ARC partners, local leaders, and community members committed to overcoming this challenge. This list includes West Virginia University Research Corporation and the Institute for Community and Rural Health (WVU…