Supporting Community Care: Our Mutual Aid Convening in Appalachia

We’re excited to share that the Alliance for Appalachia is hosting a mutual aid convening that promises to be a transformative gathering for our region. With over 55 registrants already committed and 15 workshops planned, the energy and enthusiasm around this event has been incredible. As we prepare for this important convening, we’re seeking additional support to ensure we can make it as accessible and impactful as possible—and we’ll be sharing updates from the event as it unfolds.

Why This Convening Matters

Connecting Communities Across the Region

One of the most powerful aspects of this gathering will be watching connections form between communities that have sometimes been working in silos across Appalachia. We’re bringing together grassroots organizations, community leaders, and folks who are already doing the vital work of caring for their neighbors. These aren’t just networking opportunities—they’re the foundation for lasting relationships that will strengthen our entire region’s ability to respond to crises and share resources when they’re needed most. When FEMA responds to disasters and when agencies and grant money leave after rebuilding, we are still here together—and these connections ensure we’re never truly alone in facing whatever comes next.

Learning from Each Other

Appalachian communities have always been resourceful, developing innovative approaches to mutual aid in response to economic challenges, natural disasters, and decades of disinvestment. This convening will create space for sharing these hard-won strategies—from community-based disaster response models to food sovereignty initiatives and cooperative economic projects. We’re particularly excited about the knowledge exchange that will happen organically between workshops and during shared meals.

Building Stronger Organizations

Many of our mutual aid groups are doing incredible work with limited resources and mostly volunteer power. Through this convening, we’re creating opportunities for these groups to develop skills in areas like volunteer management, fundraising, communications, and program development. It’s an investment in the infrastructure of community care that will benefit us long after everyone heads home.

Tackling Shared Challenges Together

From economic transition away from extractive industries to persistent healthcare access issues and environmental justice concerns, Appalachia faces challenges that cross county and state lines. This convening will help communities develop coordinated approaches to these shared struggles, pooling wisdom and resources instead of reinventing the wheel in silos. We know from experience that external disaster response—whether it’s FEMA, relief agencies, or grant funding—comes and goes. But we remain. Our neighbors remain. The relationships we build through mutual aid are what sustain us through the long recovery periods that extend far beyond the news cycles and official response timelines.

Centering Our Own Solutions

This gathering is fundamentally about amplifying solutions that come from and are led by Appalachian people ourselves. It’s about honoring the wisdom that already exists in our communities while challenging the tired narratives that position outside experts as our saviors. The voices you’ll hear from this convening are those of people who are directly engaged in the daily work of community care.

Building Bridges to Broader Change

Some of the most important policy insights come from folks who are doing direct service work and seeing firsthand where systems are failing their neighbors. This convening will help translate those on-the-ground experiences into coordinated advocacy efforts, connecting immediate community needs with longer-term structural change.

What’s Next

As we move toward the convening, we’re working to ensure this event reflects our values of community-led solutions, solidarity, and regional resilience. Your support helps us keep registration fees low, provide childcare, offer travel assistance, and create the kind of welcoming, accessible space where real connection and learning can happen.

We’ll be sharing stories, insights, and updates from the convening as it happens, so stay tuned to see the incredible work that’s already happening across Appalachia and the new collaborations that emerge from this gathering. This investment in mutual aid networks will create lasting infrastructure for community resilience and cooperative action across our region.

Want to support this work?  Click the link to donate today and be a part of the change

Micah Bazant is a visual artist and cultural organizer who works with liberation movements to reimagine the world. They create art inspired by struggles to end white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism, and transphobia. The ongoing process of developing ethical models for collaboration with grassroots community organizations is a large part of Bazant’s work.