The proceeds from this episode's donation link will all go to the Coda Mountain Academy.
Coda Mountain Academy is a non-profit organization located in Fayetteville, WV, dedicated to equipping and developing young students and their families through unique and outstanding educational opportunities. Their programs not only train students in their particular craft but promote invaluable life skills such as team building, integrity, positive self-image, and outstanding character. Offerings include music, Lego robotics, art, cooking, outdoor recreation, and more.
The story of Coda began to unfold in 2007 when Charles and Esther Morey organized their first summer music camp. This high-caliber residential 2 week camp, the Summer Music Festival, was just the beginning of Coda's many relevant programs reaching a community riddled with poverty, food insecurity and an opioid crisis. The program was established as Coda Mountain Academy, Inc. in 2013, and has since become a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Coda Fine Arts Kidz day camp began in 2010 for young children and became a feeder camp for the Summer Music Festival. It provides music, art and drama to K-11 students.
In 2013 Coda was invited by Fayette County Schools to begin an after-school music program. This free program includes supper and bus transportation. It now serves over 200 students yearly in two schools in music, art and Lego robotics.
In 2016 Coda Explore STEM camps were born. These exciting camps introduce students to the engineering world through hands-on activities, interactive games, and classroom instruction. Activities will include Lego Mindstorm Robotics, project-based learning, STEM activities, outdoor/survival skills, and programming principles.
Coda Community Classes were started that same year to serve students who could not access Coda Inspire after school programs. Parents could take classes with their children if desired. Family Living classes for adults and their families began in the same year. These free classes include painting, cooking, sewing, finance etc. and provide parents and grandparents a positive peer group and place to invest in themselves.
Work with the many at-risk students in Fayette County Schools brought the magnitude of the opioid crisis and related problems to the forefront of Coda's mission. In 2017 the Fayette County Health Department reached out to Coda requesting partnership in drug prevention. That same year the Health Department invited Icelandic researcher Alfgeir Kristjansson, now at West Virginia University, to come and explore effective prevention strategies. Kristjansson is working to transplant in West Virginia the successful Iceland model emphasizing youth engagement in meaningful activities. In 2019 Kristjansson was able to procure a grant from the Center for Disease Control that will enable he and his team to work with the Fayette County Health Department, Fayette County Schools, Coda Mountain Academy and other agencies in an exciting initiative that could become a pilot program for many communities beleaguered with the opioid crisis.
In 2018, thanks to support from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Coda began Coda Excel. This unique tutoring program uses arts integration to teach foundational concepts in math, language arts and social studies. Many struggling students have gained a renewed confidence and love of learning at this fun and engaging program.
In 2020 Coda received the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant. This allowed them to partner with Camp Royal and Active Southern West Virginia to provide 25 weeks of after-school programs 4 days a week that include a meal and bus ride. These free programs are open to all 3rd-8th grade students and include Lego robotics, art, music, skateboarding, scootering, biking, run club, hiking and disc golf.
In 2023 Coda received the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Changemaker Award.
The impact of these programs is tangible. Data indicates significant overall improvement in school attendance as well as a decrease in behavioral referrals with students who are in the Coda Inspire program. Children who have suffered trauma, are failing school, regularly suspended for behavior problems and/or struggle with lack of confidence often exhibit changes in attitude and behavior. Giving youth a place to belong, engagement in meaningful activities, and unconditional love is changing lives. Join us as we run into the storm rather than hide from it.
For more information, visit their website at https://www.codamountain.
Three Sheets to the Wind is a project sponsored by Appalachian's for Appalachia, who share a passion for music, service, and their home state. The filmmakers that are a part of this series share years of experience working professionally within the Kentucky creative community, building a variety of projects and collaborating with many of the integral artists, businesses, and community organizations throughout our region. With this collaborative effort, we have developed a platform which seeks to create artistic, visually innovative performance-based videos of key members of the music community. Each video highlights a nonprofit from the region in order to provide exposure to the important groups who are doing quality creative and community work.