Generation West Virginia (GWV) announced in a press conference today that their Impact Fellowship program is more than doubling in size in year two. Eleven host companies from across the state have partnered with GWV to offer yearlong fellowship opportunities to 17 Impact Fellows. In 2017, nearly 200 applicants from West Virginia and across the world applied for the first year of the program’s seven positions with five host companies.
“We are proud to be partnering with this innovative group of companies to offer more opportunities for the next generation of leaders to stay, come home, or choose West Virginia for the first time,” said Natalie Roper, executive director of Generation West Virginia. “We know that young people can’t stay in a place without a job and companies can’t succeed without access to a diverse, skilled workforce. The Impact Fellowship program solves this problem from both sides of the equation and, in doing so, works to transform opportunity in West Virginia.”
Host companies participating in year two of the Impact Fellowship are Alpha Technologies, Mylan, Highland Hospital, Core10, WesBanco, Mills Group, The Thrasher Group, PracticeLink, Quality Insights, Buzz Food Service, and EntreEd. “This program has connected Core 10 with talented employees that support our company’s growth in West Virginia,” said Lee Farabaugh, COO of Core10 – a 100-percent, U.S.-based software development company based in Huntington, West Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee that is returning as a host company in year two of the program.
During the course of the fellowship year, Impact Fellows work four days a week for their host company and spend each Friday volunteering at local nonprofit organizations around the state. Through the Impact Fellowship’s unique work week model, the program is both connecting young people with jobs they need to succeed and encouraging a population of change makers and doers in West Virginia. By the end of the program’s first year, the 2017 Impact Fellows will have donated more than 2,000 community service hours helping to enrich the communities they call home and expanding the reach and capacity of local nonprofits to create meaningful change.
“This fellowship has granted me a wealth of opportunity and solid experience in the tech field half an hour from my home in the same city I went to college,” said Jacob Howell, a 2017 Impact Fellow working as a web developer at Core10 in Huntington.
Wednesday’s press conference marked the launch the application period for year two of the program. Prospective applicants can learn more about the Impact Fellowship and must apply by March 18th at WeImpactWV.org
