Melody Pickens

Why West Virginians in coal country are turning to beekeeping Leisa Moten has a stable job as a church administrative assistant in West Virginia, but like some others in her town of Pipestem, which has a population of 846, she is living below the poverty line, earning $15,800 a year. Where she lives in southern West Virginia, the poverty rate reaches as high as 28 percent in certain areas, and unemployment in some counties is more than twice the national average. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beekeeping- an alternative for West Virginia Plagued by poverty and unemployment due to the decline in the coal industry, West Virginia is looking to reinvent itself. Beekeeping just might be the answer. Appalachian Beekeeping Collective is a new nonprofit in southern West Virginia teaching those affected by the plummeting coal industry a new trade. With the help of locals, they are hel...

Author Info: Name: Melody Pickens Date: 01/24/2019 Considerations Goal: To raise funding for research into stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in hopes of finding a cure. Situation: Audience: My priority public(s) are people who have been affected by breast cancer, people who are interested in furthering research on stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, and people who believe in finding a cure to breast cancer. So what? Because 1 in 8 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and 1 in 3 turns metastatic. So, the majority of people have been affected by breast cancer either themselves or through a loved one. Objective: My primary objectives for this piece are to bring awareness to METAvivor and the research that they fund. I also want to encourage more donations. Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer receive little funding despite the fact that so many families are affected by it. Key messages: ·       Necessity of funding for research into stage 4 m...