In recent years, West Virginia librarians have launched ventures in electronic media that offer library users more options and more hours of access.
Across the state, three consortiums of libraries offer patrons a large number of electronic offerings, which include e-books, e-videos, e-music and e-audio books. The three are WV-READS (Regional Electronic Audiovisual Download Service), WVDELI (West Virginia Digital Entertainment Library Initiative), and Listen Eastern West Virginia.
Today, young readers are used to downloading reading material to their phones and computers. Older readers are now adopting e-readers like the Kindle because they …

Read Aloud, a West Virginia nonprofit with the goal of improving child literacy, is looking for volunteers for its reading program. The group, which has been around for more than twenty years, recruits volunteers to visit classrooms, day-care centers, and after-school programs to read to children.
Read Aloud merges community involvement from authors, local libraries, parents, and schoolteachers. They feature an Author of the Month, and partner with local schools so teacher lesson plans incorporate the author’s work into the curriculum.
Parents can also come to the schools to read a …

Organizers of the Read Aloud West Virginia program are looking for adult volunteers to read to elementary school children in Kanawha County.
Read Aloud is a non-profit group that aims to improve the national reading test results of young students in West Virginia, by having their volunteers read to them and interact with them.
Read Aloud volunteers visit their assigned schools once a week to read to children, usually keeping to a schedule that works for the students and their teachers-in-charge, as well as for the reading vounteers.
For those interested in …

Actress and TV star Jennifer Garner — who grew up in Charleston, spoke on Friday at Ashton Elementary School on behalf of Save the Children. Save the Children is a nonprofit organization that aims to provide impoverished children with quality education, as well as support them through wellness and nutrition programs.
Garner announced that the organization will initiate some of their outreach programs at Ashton Elementary, Beale Elementary and Point Pleasant Primary in Mason County and Geary Elementary, Spencer Elementary and Walton Elementary.
Save the Children volunteers and staff visit …

The YWCA of Charleston will be hosting the first Stand Against Racism event in the greater Kanawha Valley on April 30, 2010. They are inviting like-minded organizations in the community to become a participating site or host their own “stand” on the said date.
There are various ways for organization to do this: it can be a public rally, a demonstration or as simple as observing a moment of silence. Interested organizations must register at www.standagainstracism.org and choosing the YWCA Charleston, WV as the local YWCA that invited your organization. Once …

Artists from 4 to 64 are encouraged to submit their art work with the theme “Racism Hurts Everyone” for a juried art exhibit at the Clay center on April 27 to May 2, 2010. This is in part of the YWCA’s Stand Against Racism Day on April 30.
Artwork can vary from paintings, sketches, posters and photographs, as long as it is no larger than 11″ x 17″, it is eligible for exhibition. The artwork must show the artist’s interpretation of the theme or anything that embodies the message of eliminating …

This is the fourth year for Charleston Stage Company’s Location Plays for Festiv-ALL! Previous productions have included the Bank Lobby Play, the Elvis Play, The Crossing (back this year by popular demand) and the wildly successful Trolley Play.
This year’s play contest, titled “The River Play” will be performed in one of the main cabins on the riverboat that will shuttle passengers between the Levee in downtown Charleston and the ”Wine and All That Jazz” event taking place on the University of Charleston campus on Saturday, June 26, 2010.
The Rules …

Charleston Stage Company took the top prize in the West Virginia Community Theatre Festival held in Morgantown on Saturday, November 7. The company’s production of Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger was awarded first place in the festival that took place in the Falbo Theatre in the Creative Arts Center on the campus of West Virginia University. The community theatre festival is an annual event sponsored by the West Virginia Theatre Conference.
Underneath the Lintel is a one-man show about a Dutch librarian who attempts to track down a …

Manna Meal Soup Kitchen operates out of the St. John Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, WV. To date, they have fed over 1.24 million people, serving breakfast and lunch every day.
Run by a small staff and plenty of volunteers, Manna Meal aims to provide meals to the hungry, no questions asked. The organization is not for profit, and relies soley on the contribution of the community.
On October 10, Manna Meal is hosting The Art of Hospitality and Giving: General Seafood Reunion, a fund raising event. It will be held …

Charleston is located strategically at the the heart of the Midland Trail. If you’re plying the US Route 60 in West Virginia, chances are, you’ll pass through the city. But whether you’re staying in Charleston or just passing through, you’re sure to enjoy the magnificent sites in one of the country’s scenic drives.
Midland Trail Scenic Highway Association has come up with a few driving routes on the I-60, passing through West Virginia’s lush landscape. The route takes you through both natural and man-made attractions, appealing to both nature lovers and …