Troubled by the issues that face Appalachia, I established a community-service orientated group of youth, Restoring Our Appalachian Respect (ROAR) in an attempt to identify and resolve issues in my own community.

Now I realize that these issues extend beyond my community to include vast regions of Appalachia. Together, we can establish support, generate ideas, and develop lasting bonds.

We can create a network of youth from different communities who are interested in making a better Appalachia through:

P Showing each other support;

P Learning more about the issues at hand;

P Planning and working on environmental and community projects;

P Demonstrating unified youth dedicated to restoring our Appalachian culture;

P Working on strategies that can be applied in our own communities to become involved.

Together we can formulate bonds and ideas that will permit us in the future as adults to address the problems facing Appalachia today.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in, send an e-mail to roar-and-be-heard@hotmail.com.