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Stories written by Shelley Callahan

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Sending Rebecca to Prom

A local community in Leslie County, Kentucky steps up to help low-income students have a special night

Founded in 1878, Leslie County lies nestled in the rural foothills of Kentucky’s Eastern Coalfield region. Despite its wealth of natural beauty and proud history, this region suffers from widespread poverty and deprivation. Once bolstered by the area’s booming coal and lumber industries, the county’s economy is now deteriorating. Between 2013 and 2015 alone, Leslie County suffered a loss of 700 coal-mining jobs, with no foreseeable recovery in the coal industry. The resulting unemployment left […]

Fitting In with the Crowd

Our program has kept one special student from feeling different from other kids

Situated in the hilly rural Eastern Kentucky Coalfield region of Appalachia, Leslie County is an area of stark contrasts. Its breathtaking rugged beauty and veins of coal drew its first residents there more than a century ago; and for generations, coal mining served as a primary source of employment for its residents. With the rapid decline of that industry, however, employment opportunities have drastically diminished, resulting in the need for many families to move away […]

Dressing the Part of a Professional

Buckhorn School helps seniors prepare for future job interviews

Buckhorn School is located in Perry County in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. This region is known for its lumber and coal industries, which sustained the people of this beautiful, very rural and isolated part of Appalachia for generations.  Unfortunately, however, those industries are now waning, and there are few businesses in the area today. High unemployment and transportation problems are also major setbacks for most residents. Founded in 1902, Buckhorn School has a dedicated […]

Creative Learning in Buenos Aires

Montessori education is helping impoverished children at Casa Del Niño - Maria de Nazaret in Argentina

The second-largest country in Latin America, Argentina’s borders envelop a full spectrum of topography: rugged, towering mountains, tropical lowland, arid steppes, plateaus and frigid tundra. Nestled along the estuary where the Rio de la Plata meets the Atlantic Ocean, the sprawling Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires is the second-largest metropolis in South America and home to the slum neighborhood, Villa Ballester, where our affiliated project Casa Del Niño – Maria de Nazaret is located. Typical of […]

A Father Bringing Up Kids on His Own

In Hazard, Kentucky, a single dad needs help supporting his four children

Roy G. Eversole Elementary School is located in Eastern Kentucky in the small city of Hazard. With a population of less than 5,000, Hazard is the county seat of Perry County. This region of Kentucky is known for its lumber and coal industries, which sustained the people of this beautiful part of Appalachia for generations. Originally founded as a settlement in 1790, Hazard received its name in 1854 in honor of American naval hero Commodore […]

Easing a Delicate Heart

Our Director of U.S. Programs talks about helping a special family through an emergency

Hear from our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, about her visit with our volunteer coordinator and a sponsored child and his mother at our affiliated project Johns Creek Elementary School in Pike County, Kentucky: “I arrived on a cloudy afternoon; and even though it was April, spring had not yet reached the higher mountain elevations. The trees had buds, but no leaves. “I was welcomed warmly by long-time Family Resource and Youth Services Center […]