Going Above and Beyond for Kids in Need

Our volunteer coordinator at Hindman Elementary School goes the extra mile for her students

As the largest elementary school in Knott County, Kentucky, Hindman Elementary School serves 609 students in grades kindergarten through eight. Not only does the school have high enrollment, but it also prides itself on having test scores that are above the state average. According to our volunteer coordinator at the school, Shana, Hindman Elementary has a higher ratio of children who come from middle-class households compared to the rest of Knott County. Shana believes that […]

Understanding Honduras

What you might not know about poverty in Honduras — and how you can help children in need

Nestled in northern Central America, Honduras was once home to several Mesoamerican peoples — most notably the Maya. This ecologically diverse land — with its rainforests, cloud forests, savannas, mountain ranges and barrier reef system off the northern coast — teems with life. Its wealth of natural resources is equally impressive, including a variety of minable minerals and agricultural exports such as coffee, tropical fruit, sugar cane and lumber. Moreover, its growing textiles industry serves […]

A Conversation with Mary Wilson

Our CEO and President, Ron Carter, catches up with our award-winning sponsor

My mother’s sister operated a record store in our small hometown of Reidsville, North Carolina. During my childhood in the 1960s, I spent a great deal of time there. While other little boys were outside climbing trees, swinging bats and getting into mischief, I was inside spinning records. Music was everything to me, and while I was a huge Beatlemaniac, my favorite music of all was that of The Supremes — Diana Ross, Florence Ballard […]

A State of the Art School

The new Crum PreK-8 School replaces two older schools in West Virginia

Wayne County lies nestled amid the vast natural beauty of the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia and is home to the small town of Crum. Crum was once a bustling community with a vibrant economy, bolstered by the now-struggling coal mining industry. In recent years, mining companies have been forced to lay off workers or shut down altogether, and unemployment in this region has risen dramatically. Like many small towns in this rural part of […]

A Small School with a Family Atmosphere

Jones Fork Elementary School students benefit academically from the support they receive at school

Jones Fork Elementary School — which began as a one-room schoolhouse and was expanded in 1964 to accommodate more children — is located in Knott County, Kentucky in the small community of Mousie. The smallest school in the county, Jones Fork educates just 165 children in grades kindergarten through eight. According to our volunteer coordinator at the school, Deb, children at Jones Fork have above average test scores. Deb attributes this to what she calls […]

Insufficient Food for Growing Kids

Many children at Cannonsburg Elementary School rely on the school’s weekend feeding program

As the name suggests, Cannonsburg Elementary is located in the isolated and rural town of Cannonsburg, Kentucky in Boyd County. Like many of Kentucky’s Eastern Coal Field communities, Cannonsburg has suffered dramatically 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 abject poverty. Illiteracy […]