Hard Decisions for Parents in Eastern Kentucky

When it comes to paying bills and feeding their children, parents in Martin County have to choose

In May, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visited Martin County in Kentucky, where she met with many of our sponsored children at our affiliated schools, as well as at some of their homes. The breadth and depth of the poverty in Martin County is staggering. Over the many years that Renée has been visiting Eastern Kentucky, she has seen the homes of the impoverished on the sides of main roads; but it still […]

Visiting Counties in Need in Kentucky

Kids in Kentucky face similar challenges with poverty in Martin and Magoffin Counties

In May of this year, Renée Kube, our Director of U.S. Programs, and Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist, traveled to Kentucky together to visit two counties that Children Incorporated serves. Once they arrived in Kentucky, they split up – Renée in the direction of Martin County, and Shelley to Magoffin County. Both counties are close to each other in proximity, east of Lexington, and are two of the poorest counties in our nation. In Martin […]

A Future for Children in a Kentucky Without Coal

With the loss of jobs in Eastern Kentucky, many families worry about how they will support their children

Nobody’s better at wearing a brave face than a kid — whether they know it or not. If you drive around Eastern Kentucky, you’ll see children at school playing outside and laughing. At first glance, it’s not likely that you’ll truly understand the impact that increasing poverty is having on their families. It’s coal country here, with mining dominating Kentucky’s industries since 1820. The Western Coal Fields, part of the Illinois basin, and the Eastern […]

Back to School in Eastern Kentucky

Supplying children with education and supplies

“Back to school” is a phrase that, to many of us, conjures up images of shopping for a new pair of jeans or a new backpack, and getting as much as we can out of the last days of summer. To retailers, it means a jump in consumer spending on clothes and supplies. But for the 15 million children living in poverty in the United States, the phrase “back to school” is just another reminder […]

From Kentucky to Kenya

The universal truth of children

“I don’t know who gave us these bikes, but tell her I love her!” The boy’s words keep echoing in my mind as we make the eight-hour trek from Kentucky back to Richmond, Va. Over the course of the last several weeks, we’ve met with so many children I’ve nearly lost count, but their faces and words stand out in my memory. Kentucky and Bolivia are worlds apart, but there are many similarities between the […]

Virginia Woman Sends Help and Gifts to Young Kentucky Friend

Sponsors have special bonds with their sponsored children

We arrived in Jackson, Kentucky on Wednesday and caught up with some of the kids at LBJ Elementary School. The children here seem like typical kids. Some are shy, some are rambunctious, but each has faced incredible hardship in their short lives. Jackson is one of the poorest cities in the state. Several have lost one or both parents to the rampant drug epidemic in the region and live with a single parent, grandparents or […]