Reflections from the McCreary County Summer Intern

July 26, 2007

By Rachel Parsons

The phrase “build up hope” is often used to describe the work that the Mountain Hope Initiative does in McCreary County. However, when I first began work as the KBF/Mountain Hope intern last summer, I didn’t realize just how literally these words could be taken. Thanks to partnerships with organizations like the McCreary County Community Housing Development Corporation (McCHDO) and Hills and Hollers, as well as high-profile events like Extreme Build, Mountain Hope really is building hope and showing what a difference having a place to call home can make in the lives of an entire family

Working out of the McCHDO office during both of my summer internships, I have had the opportunity to see a lot of building firsthand, and even get in on the action at times. For me, these tangible expressions of caring and support have been the most meaningful experiences I have had with KBF. Having the chance to help my fellow community members has meant more to me than I ever thought that it would. I come from a family that has been living on the same road in southern McCreary County for the past six generations, so I have always felt very connected to my home county. However, working with KBF and its partners has made me more aware of some of the problems poverty has created in my hometown but, more than that, I now feel more empowered to do something about it, which has been, hands down, the best part of my experience. Mountain Hope has shown me what can be accomplished when concerned groups and individuals work together and it seems that the future for McCreary County, and even Appalachia as a whole, is looking nothing less than hopeful.