Calhoun County Community Center Phase 2 Support

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit 1982 Foundation, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

Our team has made great progress in 2023, and we are gearing up to complete the balance of the work in 2024/5. The project is a $9 million mixed use community center that will support 7 of the poorest counties in West Virginia (one of the poorest states in the nation). It will include a new day care center as there are only 2 others in these 7 counties which precludes parents from working. It will also include a private non profit K-12 which will focus on STEAM. The Entrepreneurship Zone will provide for opportunities for our local craftsman, artists, bakers, food preservation, and various other recreational and economic development businesses. Our Recovery Zone will provide a safe place for those in recovery to fellowship and meet as they heal their lives and return to the workforce. The center is a self funding operation that ultimately be funded by rental units, a restaurant and nano brewery.

Major achievements this year include:

Completion of Historic Tax Credit & New Market Tax Credits that will provide 45% of the needed funding for construction

Completion of Phase 1, a $1 million swimming complex

Completion of all engineering drawings and site prep

Designation as a historical landmark on the National Historic Registry

Set up of operational team

Recoginized as the runner up as. the Best Non Profit in West Virginia in our second year of operation

Continued progress in our Bootstraps Program which is exactly what it counds like...pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

On a related note, unfortunately we did not get the two major grants we applied for were not awarded to us. Some of our learning in the process has been that there was concern that our project was not as much economic development as it was continued social support for the poorest county in the poorest state in the union. This could not be further from the truth. I take full ownership of this failure to convey the right message and we are learning how to be successful.

We have rallied the best team of supporters, donors, volunteers, entrepreneurs, prayer warriors, and kids at the grass roots level. This is our biggest success to date, and this is what will ultimately make us successful. For those of you who know me, know that I am too old and too ugly to start failing at ventures now. This will be a success and we will show the whole country what we are made of in central WV......determination, resilience, and grit

I hope you will join in helping us as we go into 2024. We will be successful with your help. Thank you kindly. Your friend, Crystal