Participating in the grand announcement of the 1982 Foundation’s newest addition to the Avalon Campus was: Foundation President Crystal Mersh, Commissioner Eric Lupardus, Connor Boggs, Minnie Hamilton CEO Steve Whited, Speaker Roger Hanshaw, WV Treasurer Larry Pack, Senator Ben Queen, Mark Sarver of WV Water Development Authority, Senator Jim Justice’s representative: Randall Reed- Smith, Senator Capitos Representative:Tom Smith
ONWARD UPWARD: UNDER ONE ROOF, NO DEAD ENDS
GRANTSVILLE, W.Va. – A rural healthcare workforce accelerator is coming home to Calhoun County. The 1982 Foundation has been awarded the full $5,757,080 it requested from the U.S. Department of Labor to launch Onward Upward, a program that will train 600 certified healthcare workers across 14 West Virginia counties over the next three years.
The award comes through the Department of Labor’s Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) program, Round 7, where the project was submitted as the Alpha & Omega Rural Health Workforce Accelerator. It is backed by $15 million in private capital: the debt-free Avalon economic hub in Grantsville, where every classroom, lab and support service will sit under one roof.
The promise is simple. No one who starts down this path should hit a dead end.
Built to last
For Crystal Mersh, President of The 1982 Foundation, the work has always started with children.
“I believe there are only two ways to have a long. term, meaningful impact on childhood development into adulthood,” she said. “First, real economic development that improves the circumstances and stability of the family; and second, a personal relationship and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.”
That belief shapes the Foundation’s mission: to facilitate economic growth and development designed to improve the lives of children in the community. Mersh founded the organization in 2021 after returning home to Calhoun County at the end or a torty-vear career in science its central conviction is that improving the region’s economy is the most direct way to improve children’s lives.
The proof is Avalon, a $15 million historic transtormation in Grantsville built without debt. Avalon is designed to drive growth through many levers at once: education, childcare, recreation, tourism, entrepreneurship, dining and event space.
It already houses the Appleseed pre-school and childcare center and KOIOS, a K-12 STEM academy.
Onward Upward adds one more element to that portfolio: adult education and portable credentials in healthcare. It will serve as Avalon’s primary economic anchor.
“A community-driven idea brought to life by The 1982 Foundation, our partners, our supporters and our prayer warriors.”
“I am honored and delighted to announce a new addition to our economic hub, Avalon, ” Mersh said.
“Created in collaboration with Eric Lapardus and Steve Whited, this economic growth driver is a community-driven idea brought to life by The 1982 Foundation, our partners, our supporters and our praver warriors.
Because the building is already paid for, federal dollars go to people rather than to construction: wages, instructors and equipment.
Ready to grow
The need is real. Ten of the 14 counties are rated distressed or at-risk by the Appalachian Regional Commission. All 14 sit inside federal shortage areas for primary care and behavioral health. West Virginia’s labor force participation, 54.6%, is the lowest in the nation.
Three barriers keep people out of good healthcare jobs. Families can’t give up a paycheck to train. There is no interstate or public transit to reach distant schools. And childcare has collapsed: three of the six core counties have no licensed childcare center at all.
Onward Upward is built to remove all three at once.
Training happens in four new classrooms at Avalon, each with its own instructor, so several groups can learn at the same time.
Each pathway is a ladder. A student can earn a first credential in 10 to 16 weeks, start working. then climb. Every step leads to one of three places: a job, a Registered Apprenticeship or a college degree. That is what “no dead ends” means.
Students are paid to learn. Fast-track students receive a $2,000 stabilization stipend, and those moving up to nursing, lab or paramedic training receive $6,000 a year. In all, $2.4 million goes straight to participants: $1.8 million in earn-and-learn stipends and $600,000 to help parents pay for childcare at Appleseed, just down the hall.
Over three years, the program aims to enroll 700 people, see 600 earn a recognized credential, start 120 on a nursing apprenticeship and place 400 in local healthcare jobs.
Poised to lead
No single organization could do this alone, and Onward Upward was never meant to.
On the workforce side, the Workforce Development Board Mid-Ohio Valley handles outreach, intake, eligibility and case management. CommuniCare Health Services registers apprentices with the U.S.
Department of Labor on a ladder from nursing assistant to LPN to RN. The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council manages the grant’s finances and federal reporting. Dwyer Workforce Development provides wraparound support, and the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at West Virginia University will independently track results.
On the education side, the Foundation leads training at Avalon with its ONWARD UPWARD curriculum. Calhoun-Gilmer Career Center provides career-technical training, and Glenville State University, WVU-Parkersburg and Marshall University offer the next steps toward nursing and lab degrees. An accredited EMS partner supports the paramedic program. Calhoun County Schools and KOlOS STEM Academy let high school juniors and seniors start on healtecare tracks early.
Eleven healthcare employers have committed to the effort: Vandalia Health, WU Medicine, Roane General Hospital, Roane County Family Health Care, Minnie Hamilton Health System, Community Care of WV, Elizabeth Community Care, Integrated Health Centers of West Virginia (Ritchie Primary Care), Coplin Health System, the Mid-Ohio Valley Rural Health Alliance and the Roane County Emergency Squad.
The plan is also built to outlast the grant. Hospitals and EMS agencies can contract with Avalon for ongoing staffing support, continuing education and recertification. Avalon will seek approval as a testing site for nursing assistant, phlebotomy, EMT and CPR certifications, creating steady revenue. And as results come in, stipends and tuition can move onto permanent state programs such as WV HEAPS and the Mountain State Care Force fund.
The 14 counties served are Barbour, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Jackson, Lewis, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Upshur, Wirt and Wood.
His Thoughts. His Plans. His Timing.
Mersh closed with a message for everyone who will walk this road.
“The journey may be long. It will be challenging. In the end, it will be worth it.
“Gain knowledge. Get involved. Give back. Encourage one another. What one does not have, someone else does. Don’t compete… cooperate, and then collaborate. A rising tide does float all boats.
“Learn about government. Learn about economics. Learn about strategic planning. Learn. Grow. And build something to last the next 100 years. And I am not talking about a building of stone, but something far more important: those who carry our names and our grit, grind and grace.
“May it all be rooted in our Lord God Almighty. May He continue to support His people wino are built to last, ready to grow and poised to lead.”
Foundation’s Bible verse moving forward:
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.”
ISAIAH 40:31(KJV)
EVENT ALBUM:
