As co-founder of Girls Supporting Girls, Buffy poured her heart into mentoring and uplifting young girls, helping them realize their worth and potential. Through the Social Enterprise Accelerator, she pursed her dream of opening The Village Christian Preschool Academy, a childcare center created to serve families in Eastern Kentucky. Her vision received state approval to begin building and was rooted in her desire to create a safe, nurturing space for children.
Our SOAR Innovation team is grateful to have walked alongside Buffy and supported her vision. She reminded us the entrepreneurship, at its best, is about more than launching a business. It's about investing in people, creating opportunity, and leaving a community stronger than you found it.
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Today at 12pm: Level up your marketing with AI
There's still time to log on today (Feb. 25) at 12 p.m. to learn how to level up your Marketing and Social Media with AI – now a virtual workshop! This one-hour session, part of our AI for Startups Sprint Series, will teach you actionable strategies to use AI as a marketing tool, whether you're just getting started or looking to make your current campaigns more effective.
Keep your week going strong by joining us tomorrow, Feb. 26, as we continue our Founders Fit Bootcamp Series with a focus on securing the funding you need to keep your startup running.
During this live bootcamp Zoom session on Funding Fundamentals, our Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Rick West, and a local Eastern Kentucky startup coach will team up to teach you how to prepare a compelling pitch, build a clear funding plan, and pursue a range of funding sources.
What if your analytical skills could help fuel the next wave of startups in Eastern Kentucky? Join our Social Enterprise Accelerator team as a Business Analyst, where you'll blend research, relationship-building, and practical support to help entrepreneurs turn data into meaningful growth.
Connecting talent, opportunity, and community to get 15,000 Eastern Kentuckians to work by 2035.
At Shaping Our Appalachian Region, we believe in the power of community, the value of meaningful work, and the potential of every individual. We're creating pathways to move Eastern Kentucky forward, empowering individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency while contributing to thriving communities: One person at a time, one family at a time, one community at a time.
Shaping our Appalachian Region, 137 Main Street, Ste. 300, Pikeville, KY 41501, United States, 606-766-1160
