A Part of a Global Village

An interview with Reverend Eardley L. Mendis

I first met Reverend Eardley L. Mendis in the winter of 2019 in Chicago, Illinois at a  Children Incorporated meet-and-greet hosted by our CEO and President, Ron Carter, and myself. Reverend Mendis with Children Incorporated President and CEO, Ronald H. Carter A long-time donor, Rev. Mendis arrived at the gathering — despite the freezing temperatures and snow-covered streets — holding a small photo album containing pictures of the Senehasa Children’s Home […]

For Our 55th Anniversary, Help Us Reach Our Goal of Raising $55,000

A message from our President and CEO, Ronald H. Carter

Fifty-five years ago, our founder, Jeanne Clarke Wood, aided by her father, J. Calvitt Clarke, started Children Incorporated. By sending handwritten letters and making personal phone calls, Mrs. Wood located sponsors for an initial enrollment of just 95 children. Support for these young people was so generous and effective that many more boys and girls were added in the years that followed. Today, Children Incorporated stands to honor to Mrs. Wood. What she started 55 […]

Attending, Learning and Graduating

Our volunteer coordinator at Boyd County High School works hard to make sure her students succeed

Students in attendance at Boyd County High School in the small rural town of Cannonsburg, Kentucky are fortunate to have their resource center volunteer, Vickie, in their lives. Thanks in large part to Vickie’s efforts, the school has a high success rate — much higher than many other schools in Eastern Kentucky. As of last year, 93% of students at the school graduate within four years, and 65% enroll in some type of higher education. […]

Pride in Her Students

Our Coordinator praises children at Ponderosa Elementary School for giving back

For years, Catlettsburg, where our affiliated sites Catlettsburg Elementary and Ponderosa Elementary Schools are located, was known as “The Gate City” because it was here that barges were loaded with coal to be shipped down the Ohio River to other ports. The decline of the coal industry in Kentucky and West Virginia has severely diminished the city’s economic importance, and commerce is now minimal. Today, this area of Boyd County, Kentucky suffers from high rates […]

Two Schools, One Volunteer Coordinator

At Fairview Independent Schools in Eastern Kentucky, our volunteer coordinator has a large workload

Fairview Independent School comprises two campuses, Fairview Elementary and Fairview High Schools, located just a few blocks apart from each other in the small community of Westwood, Kentucky. Like many communities in Eastern Kentucky, Westwood has suffered significantly from the decline of the coal and steel mining industries that used to dominate this area. At one point, Armco Steel employed the majority of the Westwood workforce and made it a prosperous town. Today, only 1300 […]

Backpacks Full of Food to the Rescue

More than 100 children at Boyd County Middle are part of the school’s Weekend Backpack Feeding Program

Boyd County Middle School is located in the isolated and rural town of Cannonsburg, Kentucky. Like many of Kentucky’s Eastern Coal Field communities, Cannonsburg has suffered significantly from the decline of the coal mining industry. At the height of the coal operations, Boyd County was an essential and active port city for the transport of coal along the Ohio River. Today, many of its residents live in dismal poverty. Illiteracy and high dropout rates are […]