The Clifford M. Lewis, SJ Appalachian Institute

05/01/2026

Last week the Institute hosted an amazing group of young men and teachers from Central Catholic High School Pittsburgh. It was refreshing to host a local group and together, to better understand an Appalachian History many of them were already aware of. This is their History!

04/23/2026

Join us at Summer Policy Institute 2026!

SPI is a free convening focused on policy, where participants learn the ins and outs of policy change, as well as crucial skills rooted in community engagement and grassroots mobilization. Policy sessions equip attendees to focus on defining the problem as a key first step before progressing to proposing solutions. Fully finalized policy ideas that emerge from SPI are directly connected to the people most impacted.

We are excited to announce health care as our policy focus for this year! Participants will learn about policy writing, research, coalition building, power mapping, and other helpful data-driven skills through the lens of health care.

To apply, please complete this Google Form by the April 27 deadline: https://bit.ly/SPI2026Healthcare

04/08/2026

WV's nonprofit workforce keeps things churning without many of us knowing. These nonprofit workers show up early, work late hours, and stretch their dollars to continue supporting their communities. West Virginia Nonprofit Association - WVNPA is collecting stories from the often-invisible nonprofit workers, those doing the ground work, for a project called Work Ethic. To participate and learn how to create and upload your story as a nonprofit worker, check out the flyer on this post.

Through Work Ethic, you’ll hear directly from those who are willing to take home a little less if it means easing suffering or offering a measure of hope. This project invites you to see what it truly takes—and what it costs—to make this work a life’s mission. And what could happen if it disappeared. Here is a reel from West Virginia Nonprofit Association - WVNPAWest Virginia Nonprofit Association - WVNPA to get a feel for how you can share your story: https://www.facebook.com/reel/686302987900948

03/13/2026

My students from Schlegel Center for Service and Justice at Creighton University worked hard and they served many here, but no picture more than this captures how much I simply enjoyed their company! What a special group! These wonderful young folks give me hope for our future!!

03/09/2026

Fantastic week last week with new friends from St. Joe's University and Boston College! The spring immersion season is underway!

01/29/2026

Appalachian Institute Director Tom Breiding was asked to speak at the United Mine Workers of America Special Convention in October about his relationship with Cecil E. Roberts on his retirement as President of the Union.

During the October 28/29th St. Louis Convention, Musician and activist, Tom Breiding had a few things to say about his friend and mentor, UMWA President Emer...

01/07/2026

Hello Friends!

In 2025 The Appalachian Institute hosted nineteen volunteer groups, approximately 228 volunteers in all, who provided more than 4,500 hours of service to our community members in the Ohio Valley.

Our high school and university students had an extraordinary year, as you know, because of the June 14 floods. Our students helped OV Mutual Aid muck and clean no less than eight houses and/or business to varying degrees, and we served all three collection locations at Valley Grove VFD, The Triadelphia United Methodist Church, and on our campus at Wheeling University McDonough Center. Throughout, we continued to serve at Grow Ohio Valley, whose staff was diminished by Federal cuts to the AmeriCorps program, the Seeing Hand Association’s Edelman Garden, The Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, Inc., Appalachian Outreach Inc., Washpaoutdoors, a small project with Catholic Charities, Sisters of Saint Joseph Retreat Center grounds and garden, our own Wheeling University Campus Garden project, and to a few of our individual community members with special needs.

The service hours alone do not tell the whole story. Our groups served at and experienced Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. I cant express my gratitude enough to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for this unique opportunity. Thanks, too, to our friends at WALS Foundation, who hosted many of our groups this year in West Virginia’s first state capitol building!

Each of our guests from across this nation have also learned about the culture, the history, and the heritage of our Ohio Valley home and they will carry with them fond memories of our city and our communities for many years to come. Many of our groups return year after year because they have become so fond of Wheeling and its people.

We look forward to serving you in 2026!

11/16/2025

Our friends at the WALS Foundation were among those who attended the Pastoral Letter Event in Pittsburgh. The The Clifford M. Lewis, SJ Appalachian Institute was proud to be on the planning committee for this Synodal dialogue with 14 Diocese represented, along with countless guests throughout the Eastern United States.

At a dialogue on labor and the environment in Appalachia, Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, lent his support to union-led boycotts to "foster a more just economy, more humane world."

11/06/2025

Friends, I had the most amazing day sharing the Pastoral Letter and the United Mine Workers of America labor history with these incredible young men at Regis High School. I also got to thank those who were there and came to provide flood relief this summer to our friends in Wheeling and Valley Grove.