On the Road
A Lack of Transportation in Kentucky
In Lawrence County, many children and adults don’t have the means to leave their homes
In late August, Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist for Children Incorporated, and I traveled to Lawrence County, Kentucky to visit Louisa Middle School and Lawrence County High School. The two schools are located in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field region in a very rural part of the state. The county is one of the largest in the state, meaning the distances between stores, homes, schools, and businesses are vast. There is no quick trip to […]
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 […]
The Long, Hard Summers
Summertime is more difficult for families who struggle to afford food
I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I looked from the practically empty refrigerator before me to the precious little girl standing by my side. I was on a project visit in Eastern Kentucky with one of our volunteer coordinators, and she had arranged for me to see first-hand the conditions in which many of the youngsters in her school are forced to live. On this particular day, we accompanied a beautiful little […]
Repairing a Smile and Self-esteem
Our Hope In Action Fund steps in to fix a student’s teeth
It goes without saying that our Hope In Action Fund, which allows Children Incorporated to provide for sponsored children and their families in emergency and special circumstances, comes to the rescue quite often. Whether funds go to purchasing cleaning supplies after families have been affected by flooding, or to replacing a pair of eyeglasses when a child falls and breaks them on the playground, Hope In Action is such an important part of how Children […]
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 […]