The Cowan Community Action Group is a nonprofit, tax-exempt community service organization which serves children and families in an economically distressed area of east Kentucky. Our mission is to provide educational and cultural experiences for the entire community. At the Cowan Community Center, we operate a year-round program of after-school activities, music classes, day camps and tutoring for low income and at-risk youth. In 1964, the Cowan Community Action Group established a community center in an abandoned schoolhouse. The Center’s programs are directed by the Cowan Community Action Group which continues to be made up of local volunteers who are deeply invested in providing a positive, safe environment for their own and their neighbors’ children.

Mission Statement

The mission of Cowan Community Action Group, Inc. is to provide educational, social, cultural, and recreational experiences for the entire community in order to strengthen and sustain a wholesome and healthy life-style that encourage intergenerational relationships.

Description of Organization

The Cowan Community Action Group, Inc. (CCAG) is a nonprofit, 501 ( c ) (3) tax-exempt community service organization that serves children and families in the Cowan and surrounding communities here in Letcher County.

The centerpiece of the Cowan Community Center’s arts programming is the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School (CCMMS), held each year during the last full week of June. The school offers a week of intensive instruction in traditional fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, singing, square dancing and storytelling for youth ages 11 through adults. Instruction ranges from absolute beginner to advanced levels and focuses on the east Kentucky repertoire. Students, including beginners, learn to play in groups during daily faculty-led jam sessions and are encouraged to participate both as dancers and band members during the evening square dances. The student’s appreciation of the east Kentucky tradition is further enriched by classroom visits and recitals by recognized masters such as Lee Sexton, Paul Smith, Bruce Greene and the Tri-City Messengers. The school’s artistic excellence is demonstrated by its faculty roster which has included Dirk Powell, Art Stamper, Roger Cooper, Randy Wilson and John Harrod.
Staff:

Stacy Dollarhide, Program Coordinator sdollarhide@tvscable.com

Contact Information:

Cowan Creek Mountain Music School cowancreekmusic@tvscable.com

Address:
81 Sturgill Branch
Whitesburg, Kentucky 41858
Telephone & Fax #: 606-633-3187