Tag Archives: kentucky

Shelley Callahan | En Español

We couldn’t do what we do without the help of our partners. At every one of our projects, whether it is an orphanage in South Korea, a community center in Costa Rica, or a school in New Mexico, without our affiliated projects or the volunteer coordinators who oversee our program at each location, we would not be able to provide support for some of the poorest children in the world. One of our most important partnerships here in the United States is with the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSC) in Kentucky, where we have 2,294 sponsored and unsponsored children currently enrolled in our program.

The Family Resource Center at Owingsville Elementary School is stocked full of supplies for students.

The Family Resource and Youth Services Centers were established as a component of the historic Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990. The mission of these school-based centers is to help academically at-risk students succeed in school by attempting to minimize or eliminate barriers to their learning – a similar mission to our own here at Children Incorporated: we strive to give impoverished kids the basic necessities they need in life so that they can go to school and learn. Schools where at least twenty percent of the student population is eligible for free or reduced school meals can receive FRYSC funding, which means that many schools in Eastern Kentucky, where some of the poorest counties in the U.S. are located, qualify.

Each of our affiliated schools in Eastern Kentucky has their own FRYSC in a separate and private room for students to go to confidentially, without embarrassment, when they need clothes, shoes, school supplies, hygiene items, or food to take home after school. Each center coordinator, who works full-time to offer support to every child at the school, also serves as the Children Incorporated volunteer coordinator in the schools with which we affiliate in Kentucky. The centers have established a record of success based on improved student performance on class work and homework, as well as healthier peer relations, according to research conducted by the state. Parents also benefit from the assistance they receive through nutrition and parenting classes, holiday meals, and even emotional support from coordinators when they need to talk about the daily struggles of living in poverty.

Without our affiliated projects or the volunteer coordinators who oversee our program at each location, we would not be able to provide support for some of the poorest children in the world.

The evolution of helping in the community

Owingsville Elementary School was one of the first schools in Eastern Kentucky to receive its Family Resource and Youth Services Center, which has been ably run since 1992 by Michele, our volunteer coordinator, along with her assistant, Barbara. Michele said that when the centers were first established, many included a component for a daycare that was run by the school. Over the years, however, as the needs of the community evolved and resources became scarcer, many schools have closed their daycare centers.

Owingsville Elementary School has kept this service in place for its families, though. Michele works very closely with the Daycare Director, Willie Mae, who has maintained this position for over 25 years – and on a shoestring budget. Michele and Willie Mae collaborate on many outreach efforts, such as home visits. In this way, Michele can get to know the parents and guardians of the youngest children, who will eventually become school children served by the FRYSC.

On a recent visit to Owingsville Elementary School, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, met with Michele, who showed her around the resource center. Michele had set up a shoe and clothes closet, as well as a food pantry. She explained that there are two retired sisters who are former county administrators that hold food drives at their churches and through their other contacts. These sisters take food to the center on a regular basis, and every Friday, Michele sends small bags of food home with kids who otherwise might not eat on the weekends.

Food is just as important for children as clothes, shoes, and school supplies.

Michele said that the greatest need at the FRYSC includes ongoing help with food; hygiene items, which include buckets and mops for home visits; and additional funds for her collaboration with a special program through Morehead State University and AmeriCorps called “Build-A-Bed,” which helps families who do not have enough beds, or any beds at all, in their homes. With additional support, Michele feels that she could do a lot more; but she told Renée that she is incredibly grateful for our sponsorship program – for what it does not only for the children, but also for the entire community.

Kids who love their sponsors

After Renée met with Michele at the resource center, they took a tour of the school, where Renée had the opportunity to meet some of our sponsored children. Michele introduced Renée to Courtney*, whose sponsor, Robert, had recently sent her a package with pretty, new clothes. Courtney, who is in the fifth grade this year, was so happy with her gifts because they made her feel special. What’s more, the gifts really helped her and her family. Courtney’s parents both work; her dad installs drywall when construction work is available to him – but it is not regular, steady employment. Her mom works at a fast-food restaurant, but only part-time. Their wages are low, and they receive no benefits.

Afterwards, Renée met Melanie*, an adorable and outgoing little girl. Melanie and her brother and sister are being raised by their grandparents, who are disabled and can no longer work. They depend on social services assistance to care for their grandchildren, but they struggle with the everyday expenses involved in raising rapidly-growing kids. Michele said that Melanie visits the FRYSC almost every day. As a second-grader, Melanie loves having a sponsor who has been part of her life since kindergarten. Her sponsor’s support is helping her to be a healthy and happy child who is able to do her best in school.

Lastly, Renée met Connor*, who had also just received a package from his sponsor, making him incredibly happy. Connor is an active first-grader who lives with his parents and three siblings. His parents are among the families who are trying to stay in their community, so they work on small farms, because all the other jobs around them have disappeared. They don’t have much land, and they try to maintain a few beef cows and a little tobacco. Their income is very low. Thankfully, however, Connor, along with our other sponsored and unsponsored children at our 87 affiliated schools in Kentucky, have the Family Resource and Youth Services Center to rely on, as well as our wonderful volunteer coordinators, like Michele, to help them get what they need.

*Names changed for children’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Bath County Middle School is located at the end of Main Street in Owingsville, Kentucky, where residents have experienced economic decline, unemployment, and poverty in an otherwise picturesque region of the United States. On a recent trip to Owingsville, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visited with our Volunteer Coordinator at the school, Kaye, to find out more about how Children Incorporated is helping kids enrolled in our program get what they need so that they don’t fall into a pattern that is all too common for students living in poverty:

Exterior shot of the school

“Our biggest problem is the students who drop out of school before graduation,” says Kaye. “Our goal at Bath County Middle School is to encourage students to graduate from high school and go on to some useful post-graduation training or higher education.”

Meet the Andrews

Bath County Middle School serves 471 children in grades six through eight. The Family Resource and Youth Services Center at the school provides the primary support for kids in need. While talking with Renée, Kaye said that she works hard to provide simple things to the children — usually items that we don’t think about going without, like toiletries, clothes, and shoes.

Kaye mentioned the Andrew* family, who Renée had met the day before while visiting with our volunteer coordinator at Bath County High School. Kaye described the Andrews, a family of six with two children living at home, as one of the neediest families that she works with. Although the parents are incredibly loving, they have a hard time finding steady employment due to their lack of education and skills. The father picks up odd jobs, but is unemployed more often than not. The mother is disabled; she has some health conditions that affect her greatly, and she is plagued by cataracts and extremely poor vision.

“Our goal at Bath County Middle School is to encourage students to graduate from high school and go on to some useful post-graduation training or higher education.”

Recently, when their landlord sold the small house they were renting, the Andrews became homeless. Thankfully, they were able to stay with another family temporarily; but the transition only caused this already impoverished family to struggle more than ever. Kaye was able to help them by providing them with soap and shampoo — things that the Andrews couldn’t afford – thanks, especially, to the Children Incorporated program. With two sponsored children enrolled in the program — a son at the high school and a daughter at the middle school — Kaye says it has been a blessing for the Andrews’ children to have sponsors to help them while their family tries hard to get back on their feet.

Kaye continued to praise our sponsors and what they do for the children at her school. She said it is an incredible feeling, at times when she is trying to figure out what to do to help a child who is really struggling, to receive an additional monetary gift for that child from a sponsor, or a package or caring letter or card from the sponsor. Kaye said that the sponsors’ interest in and devotion to these kids are transformational for them.

Overwhelmed by the need

Renée with the Andrew Family

When Kaye first started working at the resource center, then became our volunteer coordinator, she felt overwhelmed by how in need the students at Bath County Middle School are. Over time, she has established many methods and systems through which to care for them, one of which is stocking her supply closet full of the important small items that help kids out a lot. Donations of school supplies and food come from local churches and school staff members here and there, but Kaye relies mostly on the support of sponsors for purchasing clothes and shoes for kids.

Despite receiving help for the more than forty kids she now has enrolled in our program, Kaye says that her greatest need is more funding still for the purchase of hygiene items like sanitary napkins, deodorant, and laundry detergent. Kaye washes a lot of clothes for students in a washer at the resource center that was purchased years ago with Children Incorporated funds. The children bring their dirty clothes to her in the mornings, and she cleans them and returns them to their book bags before the school days are done, ensuring it is done discretely so as to not embarrass the kids she serves. The students also need more food to take home on the weekends, because oftentimes they don’t receive food outside of the free meals they receive at school.

It all adds up; these small things that don’t cost a lot really add up and become expensive when the need is so great. Renée told Kaye that she was impressed that she is able to accomplish so much for the children on the small budget she receives for the resource center. Kaye returned the compliment to Renée, telling her that without a doubt, Children Incorporated is her favorite program and her best resource to help kids get the little things they so desperately need.

*Name changed to protect the family.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org or click the link below:

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Bath County, Kentucky is known historically for the mineral and medicinal springs from which its name was derived. Unlike many other counties in Eastern Kentucky, Bath County is not a coal-producing area, and the main cash crop there used to be tobacco. This crop provided small farmers with a decent living with the help of the federal Tobacco Price Support Program, in which the government purchased surplus tobacco from farmers to ensure a yearly income for them.

“Sponsors give these teens hope and a window into a bigger world,” said Cindy. “The clothing and shoes received through sponsorship funds give these kids a sense of dignity and pride.”

When the Tobacco Price Support Program ended in 2004, small farmers were no longer secure supporting their families by farming tobacco, so they began to seek out other work opportunities. As a result, most tobacco farmers in the county switched to raising cattle, which does not require nearly as many laborers as tobacco farming does, so many jobs were still lost.

Unfortunately, the loss of farming jobs in Bath County isn’t the only thing that negatively affected the local economy there. Most of Cave Run Lake, built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1973, is located in Bath County – another potential source of income for families could come from tourist dollars generated by use of the lake; but all of the boat ramps, marinas, small restaurants, and gas stations around it are nestled on either the Rowan County side or on the Menifee County side. A path that was bulldozed on the Bath County side of the lake shows the start of construction; but many years after it was first blazed, subsequent work has yet to be done – and even Bath County residents have to leave the county to access the lake.

When parents aren’t being parents

On a recent trip to Bath County, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visited the only high school in the county, Bath County High School. Sitting on a large complex, the school has 589 students in grades nine through twelve. Seventy-four percent of those students qualify for free breakfast and lunch every day, which is a reflection of great poverty in the county. One in five Bath County citizens are living in poverty; and 29 percent of the children there are living below the poverty line.

When Renée arrived at the school, she met Cindy, our Volunteer Coordinator, in the school’s Resource Center, along with Cindy’s assistant, Sandy. Both Cindy and Sandy work very hard to help the children in their care to get basic needs, as many of them come from neglectful households. Cindy told Renée that she thinks the children are having to grow up too fast – some of them have to fend for themselves completely.

Their parents or guardians are absent from their lives in different ways – sometimes physically, sometimes mentally or emotionally. In some cases, they are away from the home a lot, working minimal-income jobs; in some instances, they are disabled and unable to do much to support their children. Some caretakers, tragically, due to a serious drug problem in Bath County, aren’t looking after their kids as a result of their addictions. Last year alone, there were fourteen overdoses of parents of Bath County High School students.

According to Cindy, many of these families can’t even begin to imagine another way of life for themselves, and they teach their children to think no other life is possible for them, either. This fostering of this negative mentality is one of the many reasons why Cindy and Sandy value the Children Incorporated program as much as they do. “Sponsors give these teens hope and a window into a bigger world,” said Cindy. “The clothing and shoes received through sponsorship funds give these kids a sense of dignity and pride. Being sponsored is encouraging for the students to stay in school and achieve their diplomas.”

It is important for these impoverished kids that Cindy and Sandy see the value in our program, and what sponsorship does for those children. When teens live in poverty, but are expected to get their schoolwork done and take care of themselves with little to no support from family, it is invaluable for them to have sponsors. It helps them to not feel alone, and to receive the positive motivation they need to keep working hard, so that they can have better lives once they graduate.

Going above and beyond for kids

Sponsorship helps children in Kentucky.

Renée and Cindy in the Resource Center

Cindy and Sandy do more than just help kids in our program receive basic needs – they also do a lot to prepare them for being on their own, as many of them practically already are. There is a washer and dryer in the Resource Center for the students to use to wash their own clothes, because many of their parents don’t do it for them. There is also a shower for the kids to use to clean up when they don’t have a usable shower at home.

Cindy also takes the students that she feels need extra attention on field trips, because she knows that many of them never leave their homes other than to go to school. She takes groups to a ropes course at Morehead State University for team building. She also takes some to a cosmetologist for haircuts and conversations about appearing professional for job interviews. She takes some teens to a restaurant – for some students, for the first time in their lives – where they can practice table manners.

It’s hard to think about what these children have to endure while they are still so young, with little to no guidance at home. Even before they graduate, some Bath County High School students are kicked out of their homes when they turn eighteen years old, because at that age, their parents stop receiving welfare checks with which to support them.

Now homeless, those kids go to school hungry and desperate. Thankfully, however, each school year, Cindy and Sandy help these scared and overwhelmed teens move into tiny public housing apartments, and they teach them to apply for welfare in their own names, so that they may receive that assistance until they graduate from high school; and our sponsors are there to provide additional support for these kids who are forced to grow up too fast when they really need it the most.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Ron Carter | En Español

Growing up in a fairly average middle-class American family, I never went without food or decent clothing, and I always received birthday and Christmas gifts. My parents weren’t particularly wealthy, yet they were able to pay the bills; we had a solid roof over our heads and a sturdy shelter to protect us from the elements. I, like so many raised this way, took it for granted that everyone was provided for — that all children had toys with which to play. Then, I started working for children’s causes, and I discovered that my beliefs were badly flawed.

I am thankful, also, for caring people like you, who are right by my side on a journey to improve the lives of others.

Eyes opened wide

I will never forget my first visit to an underdeveloped country, where I witnessed incredible deprivation for the first time. The sight of thousands of tiny make-shift houses constructed of cardboard, wooden sticks, plastic tarps, and discarded pieces of metal and tin dotting the side of a barren mountain still remains as clear in my mind as when I first experienced it two decades ago. Likewise, I can still clearly see the face of the precious little girl from Eastern Kentucky whose ramshackle home I visited going on ten years ago now – her big, expressive eyes, the dirt on her cheeks, her disheveled hair, and the beautiful, heartbreaking smile she gave me, even though in reality, she had very little to smile about.

A life forever changed

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful, not for these deplorable situations, but for the fact that I had the opportunity to see them firsthand; and as a result, my life was forever changed. The poverty, hunger, and suffering that I had only heard about became very real to me when I saw these conditions in person; and I knew then and there that I would spend my life in service of others.

I am also thankful that I, personally, do not have to deal with being cold and thirsty and uncared for. I do not have to worry where my next meal will come from, or if my dwelling place will withstand a simple rain or wind storm. I do not have to question whether my children will have decent clothing to wear to school, or if I will be able to find transportation to my place of employment.

I am thankful, also, for caring people like you, who are right by my side on a journey to improve the lives of others. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we are strong. Together, we can change the lives of children and families all around the world, and offer them hope for their futures.

I am thankful in so many ways, and I am truly blessed.

From the heart,

Ronald H. Carter

President and Chief Executive Officer

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD THROUGH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can sponsor a child in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child who is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

After two days of visiting our affiliated schools in Lawrence County, Kentucky, U.S. Projects Specialist Shelley Oxenham and I traveled about an hour south to Floyd County to meet with a new Volunteer Coordinator, Scott Shannon, as well as to visit with a long-term coordinator, Sharon Collins, who had recently been transferred to a new school.

Although Scott was brand new to the Children Incorporated program and Sharon was not, since they were both new to their respective schools this year, each of them was meeting the children for the first time, many of whom they found would greatly benefit from having a sponsor.

With newly enrolled children, new sponsors are needed.

Scott is the Resource Center Coordinator for both James A. Duff Elementary School and Allen Central Middle School, which share the same building. The elementary school classrooms are on the first floor of the building, and the middle school classrooms are on the second floor.

Scott just started his position at the beginning of July. He has had a busy school year starting his new position – as a former football coach in the school system, not only is he learning the ropes as a coordinator, but he is also meeting the more than 600 children that attend the two schools for the first time.

Scott talked to Shelley and me about how many of the children who attend the schools come from families with financial problems, and how many of them are living with their grandparents, because their parents aren’t able to support them. A long-time resident of the area, Scott has seen a lot of people struggle to find work because many businesses in town have closed over the years.

Sometimes new shoes are not enough

When the school year started just a few weeks prior, Scott told us that he had given a lot of clothes away to children – more than he had ever anticipated. He was surprised by just how many kids came the first week of school in old, dirty clothes, wearing shoes with holes and broken flip-flops. He is just getting to know many of them, and is already sending food home with seventeen children on the weekends, because he worries they won’t eat otherwise. Scott says his greatest need right now is for more clothes for the kids, especially bigger clothes for the middle school-aged kids.

Before we left, Scott introduced us to six siblings who all attend the schools – four of the children are currently sponsored through our program, but two, Mark* and James*, are still waiting to be sponsored. Scott said that this family really needs additional support beyond what the Resource Center can provide; he already gave each of the kids new shoes at the beginning of the school year, thanks to a shoe drive held by community members.

He was surprised by just how many kids came the first week of school in old, dirty clothes, wearing shoes with holes and broken flip-flops.

Scott would love to see all of the kids have sponsors because he knows how much it would help them in getting school supplies year-round, and holiday gifts and coats in the winter.

No money to help kids

After leaving James A. Duff Elementary School and Allen Central Middle School, we visited with one of our long-term coordinators, Sharon, at May Valley Elementary School. Sharon was our coordinator at a high school in Kentucky for many years, until she was transferred to the elementary school in May. Although she is an experienced coordinator, like Scott, she is only getting to know the children at her new school.

Sharon told us that when she arrived at the school, she was given very little money to purchase items for the Resource Center, and what she was given had to last the whole year. Once her funds – which were to supply everything from clothes to food, to shoes, to school supplies – ran out, she would have to rely on donations from the community and support from our sponsorship program to get the children the help they need.

She said that the elementary school serves three housing projects in the county, and that even though she gets help from a great partnering organization in town that has a clothing closet and provides book bags at the beginning of the school year and blankets at Christmas, there are just so many more kids that she knows need assistance.

Our coordinators would love to see more of their students get sponsored.

Siblings with a lot of love

Sharon has enrolled eleven children in our program so far, but she wants to add close to twenty more kids – an ambitious and admirable goal. She first started by enrolling a family of five children – three boys and two girls – who all attend May Valley, and whose parents are struggling to support them. Sharon told us that one of the girls broke her glasses months ago, but her parents don’t have the money to replace them – and the girl is still in need of new ones now.

Like the family we met with Scott, these children are also very close in age to one another. But unlike that same family, all five of the children at Sharon’s school are currently waiting for sponsors.

Sharon took us around the school to pull the kids out of their classrooms so we could meet with all the siblings in the Resource Center. We stopped by the youngest boy’s classroom first, and when we told him we were going to get his brothers and sisters, he became incredibly animated. Even though he had seen them just a few hours before, he was so excited to get to see them in the middle of the school day.

As we continued down the hallways, and each child joined us, I could tell that this is a close-knit group of siblings who really watches out for one another. They held hands as they walked, and the older ones stopped to tie the younger ones’ shoes. It was sweet to see them together, and I was glad to know they had one another. Although they were lacking many things they needed, it was apparent they were not lacking in love for one another.

*Names changed for children’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Shelley Callahan | En Español

When Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist, and I met with our Volunteer Coordinator, Brenda Curry, at Fallsburg Elementary School in August, the first thing Brenda wanted to talk about was a very special family that she had arranged for us to visit with that afternoon. Stewart and Carolyn Sawyer* live in a small home in Lawrence County, Kentucky, about a twenty-minute drive away from the school, where their son, Michael*, who is sponsored through Children Incorporated, is in the eighth grade.

Stewart and Carolyn’s son Michael benefits greatly from our sponsorship program.

Of the nineteen children that are in our program at Fallsburg Elementary, Brenda has the greatest connection with Michael and his parents. They are more than just a family that Brenda has helped to get support when they have needed it over the years – the Sawyers are like family to her. She has known Michael since he was in preschool, and she talked about what a sweet little boy he was, and how he always gave her a hug when he saw her in the hallways.

In the ten years that Brenda has been a coordinator for Children Incorporated, she has grown close to Stewart and Carolyn, too, who live only a few minutes from Brenda and her own family. Brenda described them as amazingly kind, humble, and grateful for everything they have in life, even though they are very poor, and struggle to get by.

Volunteering to show gratitude

Stewart and Carolyn have been together for fourteen years, and Michael, who is thirteen years old, is their only son. Many years ago, Stewart owned a garage where he was the head mechanic; but hard times fell on him, and he lost his shop, and everything he owned. Now he works odd jobs, mostly doing landscaping for local families – and much of that work comes as a result of referrals from Brenda. But the work is inconsistent, and it pays very little.

Carolyn has struggled with health issues for many years, and is unable to work. With only one income to support them, the Sawyers struggle to get by, as do many poor families in Eastern Kentucky. But Brenda told us that, despite the difficulties they face, both Stewart and Carolyn consider themselves lucky, and do whatever they can to give back to the community. They are grateful for Michael’s sponsor because without that support, there would have been many years without a Christmas, and Michael wouldn’t get new school clothes or supplies when times are tough.

Just like his parents, Michael, who doesn’t have very much, has found a way to go above and beyond to give back to others – to say thank you for all that he feels that he has to be thankful for in life.

Because they want to show their gratitude to others for helping them when they need it, Stewart and Carolyn regularly volunteer at the school in order to give back. Stewart often helps out with special events, like directing traffic during the Fall Festival, and helping to set up and break down tables and chairs when the school hosts holiday parties. And Carolyn works with the pre-school children at the school, mostly reading to them and helping their teacher out as best she can.

Feeling blessed through it all

After we visited with Brenda at the resource center, she took us to meet Stewart and Carolyn at their home. Their house sat on a hill along a narrow gravel road, far off of the main highway. When we arrived, they greeted us warmly, and invited us inside. We walked up to their tattered porch, old wooden boards creaking under our feet. It was obvious that the house was in need of repair. Inside, the floors were worn, the wallpaper was peeling away, and the furniture was torn and stained. Stewart and Carolyn had done their best to make this house their home, using what little they had.

As we sat down in the living room to talk, I noticed black plastic trash bags scattered about the floor. Stewart told us they were filled with Michael’s toys, which they had bagged up because earlier in the year, the chimney began to fall, damaging the wall between the living room and the back bedroom. Stewart spent months tearing it down and repairing the wall so they could use the bedroom again.

On top of that, Stewart spent the summer ripping up the floor of their small home to replace rotten boards, because the floor had started to cave in. His next project would be to start replacing boards in the walls between the living room and the kitchen, which were now too short because of the repairs he made to the floorboards.

The Sawyers’ home is in constant need of repair.

It was overwhelming listening to him talk about his endless repair list – but the whole time he spoke, Stewart had a smile on his face, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. Even when he talked about having recently wrecked his truck upon swerving to avoid hitting a dog that ran out in front of him on the road, he and Carolyn giggled at the story of the small, mangy animal not knowing how much damage it had caused to his vehicle.

As we were listening to their stories, Brenda noticed that their air conditioning unit was no longer working, and offered to find a new one for them. She felt confident that she would find someone in the community willing to donate one. Both Stewart and Carolyn thanked Brenda for having the idea, but declined her offer, because they knew there were other people that could use one more than they could – and they instead talked about how blessed they are each and every day.

After we said goodbye to Stewart and Carolyn, Brenda drove us back to the school. On the way, she told us about how Michael always buys her a Christmas gift – something small from the dollar store, like a necklace or earrings – with money he saves helping his grandfather with odd jobs throughout the year. Just like his parents, Michael, who doesn’t have very much, has found a way to go above and beyond to give back to others – to say thank you for all that he feels that he has to be thankful for in life.

*Names changed for family’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.