On the Road
Working with a Shoestring Budget
At Heritage Elementary School, our volunteer coordinator works hard to make little funding go a long way
The small town of Grayson is located in Carter County, Kentucky and is home to Heritage Elementary School — Children Incorporated’s only affiliated project in this Appalachian county. Missie sorts through donations in the Resource Center. In the 19th century, Carter County was famous for its iron furnaces and thriving clay products industry. Carter Cave — now a tourist attraction — was a significant source of saltpeter during the War of 1812. […]
How Poverty Impacts Academic Achievement
At Beaver Creek Elementary School, students’ test scores lag behind state averages
In our work at Children Incorporated, we often talk about the importance of getting an education. For children in our program, we believe education is the key to finding jobs upon graduation that will enable them to work toward breaking the cycle of poverty from which they come. Unfortunately, statistics show that children growing up in impoverished households often perform less well academically than their peers. The challenges of living below the poverty line
The Hardworking Families of Eastern Kentucky
Generations of parents have struggled to raise their kids in poverty-stricken areas of Appalachia
The Commonwealth of Kentucky comprises five primary geographical regions. Children Incorporated’s outreach is in the eastern third of the state known as the Cumberland Plateau region. As a part of the Appalachian Mountain and Plateau region of the United States, the Cumberland Plateau is characterized by high elevations, mountainous terrain, ridges and deep and narrow hollows. Over the last 30 years, our U.S. Division has focused on working in this region due to its historically […]
Limited Housing for Students in Hazard
Low-income families in Perry County, Kentucky are lacking affordable housing options
Perry County Central High School is located in the city of Hazard in Perry County in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield. Hazard, once a nineteenth-century settlement with a booming coal mining community, is nestled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. The geographic isolation of Perry County has led to deep-rooted preservation of this region’s rich culture; but this has also contributed to economic stagnation over the years. Poverty, drug abuse, and a lack of health insurance are […]
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 […]