CEDAR, Inc. - Future of Work in Appalachia

CEDAR, Inc. - Future of Work in Appalachia Our mission? By nurturing leadership and problem-solving skills, we empower the next generation to take their communities forward. Want to get involved?

CEDAR (Community Economic Development And Revitalization) is a non-profit based in Pikeville, Kentucky that creates, develops, and delivers unique and authentic learning opportunities to K-12 students in order to reshape the Future of Work in Appalachia. 🌟 Hello Appalachian Kentucky! 🌟

We’re excited to introduce you to CEDAR (Community Economic Development and Revitalization) Inc., a 501(c)3 non-

profit based right here in Pikeville, KY. To reshape the Future of Work in Appalachia by delivering creative, non-traditional education programs that inspire K-12 students to make a difference in their own communities. Through our unique programs, students gain hands-on learning experiences that push them to think critically, innovate, and discover how they can help drive change in our region. Last year, CEDAR reached 5,000 students and 100 teachers across 30 schools and 14 districts, giving them unforgettable learning opportunities that sparked curiosity, creativity, and a passion for their future.

✨ This year, we’re rolling out more exciting programs, including:

- CEDAR Teacher Study Unit Program (grades K-12)
- CEDAR Student Fairs (grades K-12):
- Future of Work in Appalachia (FWA) Fair
- Health Care Careers (HCC) Fair
- E-CIP (Entrepreneurial Community Improvement Program) (grades 9-12)
- ARTIMIS-MISSION ECHO: Exploring Community Healthcare Occupations (grades 6-8)
(in partnership with Pikeville Medical Center, ARH, and The Challenger Learning Center of KY)

We’re always looking to grow and create even more opportunities for our students, and we can’t do it without our amazing partners and community. Learn more about our programs and how you can make a difference: https://fwa.cedarinc.org

Let’s build the future of Appalachia together! 💡👩‍🏫👨‍💼

A direct word about our program sponsor. Friends of Coal - Kentucky backs the Regional Coal Fair so students from across...
06/18/2026

A direct word about our program sponsor. Friends of Coal - Kentucky backs the Regional Coal Fair so students from across the region can present their work, talk with judges, and see their own communities in what they study. This year students came from five counties: Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Pike, and Perry. That support is the reason the doors open. Thank you, Friends of Coal.

One thing we love about the Coal Fair: the subject is coal, but the lens is every subject. Science, Math, English/Litera...
06/16/2026

One thing we love about the Coal Fair: the subject is coal, but the lens is every subject. Science, Math, English/Literature, Art, Music, Technology/Multimedia and Social Studies — each had its own section, and students found the coal story inside all of them. Here is the floor, section by section.

The students built some striking things this year. A coal-mine reclamation model with terraced land and hauling trucks. ...
06/13/2026

The students built some striking things this year. A coal-mine reclamation model with terraced land and hauling trucks. A handmade dragline. A board on how coal powers the things we depend on. Swipe through a few of our favorites.

A fair this size runs on the people who show up — to judge projects, set up the floor, register students, and serve lunc...
06/11/2026

A fair this size runs on the people who show up — to judge projects, set up the floor, register students, and serve lunch. Many gave a full day to talk with students about their work and score what they created. To every judge and volunteer who sat at these tables: thank you. Students remember the adult who asked a good question about their project.

That's a wrap on the 2026 CEDAR Regional Coal Fair. Students across the region filled the floor with projects in Science...
06/09/2026

That's a wrap on the 2026 CEDAR Regional Coal Fair. Students across the region filled the floor with projects in Science, Math, English/Literature, Art, Music, Technology/Multimedia and Social Studies — all tied to coal and Appalachian life — and 63 took home top honors. Thank you to our program sponsor, Friends of Coal - Kentucky, and to Pikeville Medical Center for the Health Care Career Fair. Full partner list in the comments.

None of this happens without the students, or without you.

On Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country.The soldier standing at t...
05/25/2026

On Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country.
The soldier standing at the Pike County courthouse is one many Americans would know on sight — the "Spirit of the American Doughboy," a World War I infantryman striding forward, a rifle in one hand and a gr***de raised in the other. Sculpted by E. M. Viquesney in the years after the Great War, the same figure was cast and carved for communities across the nation; versions still stand in courthouse squares and town parks in 39 states, Harlan and other Kentucky towns among them. For a century, places like ours have gathered at his feet to remember their own.
Pikeville's doughboy stands over the names of the Pike Countians who did not come home. Today we honor them — and all who gave everything in service to the country.

05/21/2026

🌲 Thank you to Robin Tillman and Mountain Top News for visiting this year's Regional Coal Fair. 207 Eastern Kentucky students brought their work on the science, history, and future of coal — and a fair that returned its focus to the resource at the center of the region's story. Grateful for the coverage.

⛰️ Drop by and see what the next generation of Eastern Kentucky is working on!
05/21/2026

⛰️ Drop by and see what the next generation of Eastern Kentucky is working on!

A coal seam is an ancient forest pressed into stone — layer on layer of Eastern Kentucky, built up over millions of year...
05/21/2026

A coal seam is an ancient forest pressed into stone — layer on layer of Eastern Kentucky, built up over millions of years into the black band at the center of the region's story. It is the subject K–12 students have spent all week exploring at the 2026 CEDAR Regional Coal Fair.

The fair opens to the public one final time today, Thursday, May 21, from 2:00 to 8:00 PM on the 7th-floor pavilion at the University of Pikeville. Admission is free.

207 projects fill the hall — students from six Eastern Kentucky school districts and three private academies, working on the science of coal and reclamation, its history, and the future of the communities it built, across seven subject areas.

Come spend an hour and see what the next generation of Eastern Kentucky is working on.

UPIKE HPE Building · 7th Floor Pavilion (Kentucky College of Optometry)

🌲 Day two of public viewing is underway at the 2026 CEDAR Regional Coal Fair. The evergreen in CEDAR’s name is the Easte...
05/20/2026

🌲 Day two of public viewing is underway at the 2026 CEDAR Regional Coal Fair. The evergreen in CEDAR’s name is the Eastern Red Cedar — native to these mountains, green through every winter, and a fitting emblem for a fair where students show what they have built.
The fair is open again today, Wednesday, May 20, and once more tomorrow, Thursday, May 21, on the 7th-floor pavilion at the University of Pikeville. Public viewing runs 2:00 to 8:00 PM each day, and admission is free.
207 projects from K–12 students across six Eastern Kentucky school districts and three private academies remain on display, spanning science, mathematics, English and literature, art, music, technology and multimedia, and social studies.
Come see their work.
UPIKE HPE Building · 7th Floor Pavilion (Kentucky College of Optometry)

Address

P. O. Box 2152
Pikeville, KY
41502

Telephone

+16064773456

Website

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