By Gina Malone
Board members of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy hope that a newly revamped website will function as a “thought center” for the nonprofit’s focuses: the environment, social justice and the written and spoken word—the core values displayed in Dykeman’s writing and activism during her lifetime. “The decision to update our website from one that primarily posted events to one that offers content and resources to visitors sprang from two sources:” says the Legacy’s president Jim Stokely, “first, our desire to expand our programmatic and educational reach from only in-person to both in-person and digital; and second, our need to move from traditional paper-based publishing into the 21st-century world of online magazines and e-publishing.”
The new site will feature both newly submitted and existing articles on topics such as environmental justice, land use planning, teaching Black history, Latin Americans’ search for sanctuary, Appalachian history and culture, and poetry’s place in our lives. “We foresee the website articles, resources and reader feedback leading to further work on some of the core issues the Legacy represents,” Stokely says, “particularly regarding those issues that elicit a lot of reader interest.”
Legacy board member Becky Stone finds the new website an improvement in many ways, notably in accessibility. “As an older person, I hate going to websites and struggling,” she says. She finds the new site well-illustrated, informative and easy to navigate besides being aesthetically pleasing. “That makes it warm and inviting,” she says. “There is diversity in who is pictured and what they do. That also makes it inviting to me. I see it offering a resource for exploring social and environmental justice in the Appalachian region through the spoken and written word. It is clear that the ‘Legacy’ of Wilma Dykeman is a deep respect and love for this region and its people.”
The Legacy is calling for submissions—from writers, educators, community leaders and others—of around 500 words on a range of topics.
“We hope this more interactive and educational website will become a go-to thought center with no money changing hands but with many thoughts changing minds,” says Stokely.
To check out the new website, visit WilmaDykemanLegacy.org.
