Avery On the national scale, West Virginia isn't looking too good. Where voter turnout and volunteerism are concerned, we rank nearly last. In general, civic health is low. Why? It's not like the state is filled with people who don't want to make a difference: the prevailing belief is that they don't know where to begin. Enter Inspire West Virginia. InspireWV is a non-partisan orgainization founded on the premise of collaboration, leadership, and critical thinking aimed at getting our country back on track, starting with the obvious targets: opinionated, highly connected, young people.
How exactly does it help? Junior and Senior ambassadors in each school are challenged to engage in an "Inspired Year." The first semester of this year is dedicated to voter registration and pledges, while the second is dedicated to civic action projects. The ambassadors are encouraged to register all 18-and-overs in their school to vote. Schools that register 100% of eligible students to vote will receive the Jennings Randolph Award.*
Right now, InspireWV is in 16 high school across West Virginia with 44 Inspired High School leaders. Interested? Apply for the InspireWV Leadership Academy and meet like-minded students at www.inspirewv.org/apply.
*Jennings Randolph was a West Virginia senator and father of the 26th Amendment: the one that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.