Ground Up Gathering: Celebrating The New Appalachian Economy

The Ground-Up Gathering event is a celebration of the new Appalachian economy developing right here in Central Appalachia! Ground-Up Gathering will welcome employers, workforce and economic development partners, and community members to Coalfield Development’s WestEdge Factory to witness the life-changing work that Coalfield and it’s partners are doing every day.

Not only will attendees have the opportunity to learn about the work Coalfield is doing, but they will get to interface with many of our WRAPS, SEEDS, and Employer partners who are working side-by-side with us to make this change.

By attending Ground-Up Gathering, you will learn about the various programs and social enterprises that are run and/or funded by Coalfield Development. You will also have the opportunity to meet many of our trainees and hear about their first-hand experiences participating in our workforce development programs. Not only will you meet our trainees, but you will have the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and work alongside them in one of our workshop trainings hosted by one of Coalfield’s social enterprises/programs. Our agriculture program, Refresh Appalachia, will host a farm-to-table dinner with a majority of the food grown by our own trainees while the rest will be sourced from our farming partners across the region. Live music from Bek and the Starlight Revue will follow dinner. Ground-up gathering is sure to be a fun and exciting evening celebrating all the tremendous work that is happening in our region!