Appalachian Volunteers.

The Appalachian Volunteers was one of the most visible and successful War on Poverty projects of the 1960's. It was undertaken in 1963 by the Berea based Council of the Southern Mountains with mostly federal funding and involved the recruitment of college student volunteers to repair school buildings, conduct tutoring programs, and promote formation of grassroots political and economic organizations. The involvement of school boards, parents, and community leaders was promoted as well as that of students. The program operated in communities of eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia, West Virginia and east Tennessee. In May 1966, the project became an independent entity, and established offices in Bristol, Tennessee. Internal conflict and failure to maintain community support led to loss of U.S. government funding in 1968. Offices were then moved to Prestonsburg, Kentucky where with private funding, severely restricted operations continued until 1971 when the organization ceased to exist.