Tag Archives: kentucky

Shelley Callahan | En Español

“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 two.

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View from La Paz, Bolivia

Eastern Kentucky is one of the poorest regions in the United States. Unemployment is high and children grow up in run-down trailers, far from main roads and more importantly, social services and public facilities like libraries and community centers.

It’s not unlike the mountain towns of Bolivia, which have a much larger population but a similar situation for impoverished children who live in dilapidated homes on the outskirts of town with no transportation and no access to public services.

There are other parallels, including the songs,  hobbies and games children play. Separated by 4,000 miles, the children of Bolivia probably never realize that their counterparts in Kentucky are also playing soccer behind the school in the afternoon. Their cartoon-character t-shirts and tennis shoes, gifts from sponsors, are interchangeable — even their pets.

Cats and kittens

Three days ago, I met Allison in Jackson County, Kentucky. The 7-year-old lives down a logging road with her underemployed parents, her sisters and her cats. When her sponsor asked her what kind of gifts she’d like, her main request was for cat food.

Just like Efrain. The Bolivian fourth-grader lives in a one-bedroom home with his mother, two siblings and three kittens. Efrain politely answered our questions about his schoolwork, his home and his new donated shoes, but it was the kittens that he really wanted to talk about; he couldn’t wait to show us the spot where they sleep next to the bed he shares with his brother.

Kentucky and Bolivia are worlds apart, but there are many similarities between the two.

Constructing a better life

The construction projects aren’t that much different either. In Bolivia, Children Incorporated donated materials and volunteers helped renovate an entire school about 25 kilometers outside Montero. In Kentucky, we didn’t have to build the schools but we did build a ramp at the home of 11-year-old Dennis.

The fifth-grader and his two siblings live with their elderly great-grandparents, who are struggling to care for three children while their own health is failing. Gail, Dennis’ great-grandmother, couldn’t climb the front steps anymore so Children Incorporated donated building materials and the local high school vocational students all got together to build her a ramp.

Skipping a generation

That underprivileged children live with aging grandparents is another ubiquitous truth across nations. In Kentucky, it’s largely caused by the rampant drug use that has swept the region, leaving parents dead, incarcerated or incapable of raising children.

In Bolivia, parents often depart for other countries to find work, leaving children with their grandparents. Regardless of the reasons, this missing generation is especially hard on families as the already-impoverished elderly struggle to care for growing, hungry children.

And in both countries, Children Incorporated sponsors send in food, clothes, shoes and school supplies — and cat food.

Next stop: Kenya

As we near Richmond, it’s time to turn our attention to the next trip – it’s 8,000 miles to Kenya and we’ve got several days before we begin. I have no doubt that once we arrive, we’ll find that just like in Bolivia and Kentucky, the children there need clothes and food but love sports and cats.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

Nothing is close in eastern Kentucky. Schools are an hour apart, and each one can easily be an hour away from the children who go there. Walmart – the only place to buy a bike in the entire region – is an even longer drive.

In a rented pickup truck, we trekked out to Walmart on a mission: to pick out and purchase bikes for underprivileged elementary and middle school children. The bikes would be a gift from Claudette Gurley of New Hampshire, who raised money for children’s bikes in honor of a cross-country cyclist friend who recently passed away. 

A surprise at school

DSCF7641Ten bikes were slated for elementary and middle school children in Wolfe County, Kentucky. Wolfe County has a population of about 7,300 and is ranked 14th on the list of Poorest Counties in the United States. The median income for an entire household is less than $26,000 here – about half the national figure.

Virtually every child in the region would qualify as “underprivileged” to outside observers, so schools are staffed with resource coordinators who help them get assistance from outside agencies and non-profits like Children Incorporated.

At Campton Elementary School, the resource coordinator is Susan Lacy, who helped pick out several children to receive bikes. She said that one of her biggest challenges is ensuring that the students have enough to eat when they’re at home. The kids get one healthy meal each school day through free or reduced lunch at Campton, but on weekends and holidays, many go hungry.

Getting after-school snacks is a big deal for these kids – getting a bike was going to be unfathomable.

Susan called in the two students at Campton who were receiving the bikes so they could be the first to see their new wheels. Their shy but appreciative faces said it all – they were overwhelmed by the new presents and were clearly eager for the school day to be over so they could try them out.

After they’d had a few minutes to absorb the news, we loaded the bikes back into the truck to deliver them directly to their homes.

Living conditions

“One of her biggest challenges is ensuring that the students have enough to eat when they’re at home.”

-Susan Lacy

The next stop was Rogers Elementary, also in Wolfe County. Susan is the coordinator here as well, although the two schools are about an hour apart.

At Rogers, a brother and sister came out to see their bikes, and their excitement made us glow the whole drive to their home for the drop-off. There, we met their mother, a single mom with five children in a dilapidated trailer, surrounded by other unoccupied and often burnt-out trailers far from the main road.

Susan said this was one of the poorest areas in eastern Kentucky and that the trailers face a continual threat from fire. Even without the ubiquitous cracked and broken windows, the trailers are hard to heat in the winter and families burn huge quantities of firewood in cramped conditions, leaving the trailers at risk for out-of-control fires.

We’re glad that the children’s mother let us come here. It is truly difficult for many of the families to let anyone see their living conditions, and often, they turn down donations if a drop-off is required because they’re embarrassed by their poverty.

But, in this case, the mother beams as the bikes are delivered to her happy children.

‘Tell her I love her!’

At Red River Valley Elementary, we gave bikes to two sets of brothers. The four boys were sweet and excited, and one of them exclaimed: “I don’t know who gave us these bikes, but tell her I love her!”

All of the Children Incorporated children know they have sponsors, but the youngest don’t always understand what that means. They understand that they receive food, clothes, and gifts, but they don’t always connect those items to a specific person who has sent them. Seeing this child understand that a stranger had purchased a bike just for him was one of my warmest memories of the trip.

At the boy’s home, we handed over the bikes to his mother, who has four children and suffers from periodic strokes. Her health keeps her from working or driving, so the children have nothing much to do in rural Kentucky all summer. The bikes are a blessing for the children, who were gifted with the freedom that comes from fast wheels and the wind in your hair on a hot day.

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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 and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Shelley Callahan | En Español

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 other caretakers.

The children here seem like typical kids. Some are shy, some are rambunctious, but each has faced incredible hardship in their short lives.

Genevieve, the family resource director and our volunteer coordinator, is in charge here. She introduces us to a shy, smiling Allison.*

Genevieve remarked on the relationship between Allison and her sponsor, Carol Gaunce, who lives 500 miles away, back home in Richmond, Virginia.

The Fourth Child

Gaunce was retired with three adult sons when she decided to become Allison’s sponsor. In a way, she added a fourth child to the family. 

In addition to the food, clothes and school supplies she needs, Gaunce regularly sends gifts and letters to keep in touch.

“She’s just as cute as she can be. She’s a shy child, a first-grader,” Gaunce beams. “I write letters when I send her little things from time to time.”

Getting Started

Gaunce first got involved with Children Incorporated in 2014 because of her friendship with the organization’s president and CEO, Ron Carter.

“We heard a lot about what he was doing and we wanted to help,” she said. “My husband is from Kentucky and we knew that Jackson County is one of the poorest in the region.”

Gaunce and her husband Jimmie asked to sponsor a child in West Virginia or eastern Kentucky and they were assigned to Allison.

“We didn’t have any specifics,” she said. “We just wanted a child in need.”

A hard life in Appalachia

Allison is in better shape than many of the Children Incorporated kids, she said, because she has two parents and a stable home – the only thing lacking is money.

Allison, her two sisters and her parents live in a trailer up a logging road and her parents both work minimum wage jobs. That they can both find any work at all is a rare thing in the impoverished rural area, where the mining industry’s decline has left the entire region in dire straights.

“They are a loving family unit,” Gaunce said. “I would love to meet Allison and give her a hug but I don’t think she needs that – she has a good family.”

Gaunce provides support and encouragement in other ways. For example, Allison’s parents have a large garden where they grow most of their own food and Allison has a number of pet cats who live outdoors. One of the things she’s asked Gaunce for is food to help feed them, and she obliges.

“She’s very compassionate,” Gaunce smiles proudly.

Boots on the ground

Genevieve administers our program to 28 children at this school. She identifies students most in need and works with Children Incorporated to get them day-to-day essentials.

She also acts as a go-between for sponsors and children. Gaunce sends letters and gifts to Allison through Genevieve, who checks them over before delivering them to the 7-year-old.

“I think that’s a good thing because you don’t really know what people might be sending the child,” Gaunce said. “She can open it up and make sure they’re appropriate. I like that process.”

It’s one of the things that especially pleased her about Children Incorporated.

“They are a loving family unit. I would love to meet Allison and give her a hug but I don’t think she needs that – she has a good family.”

– Carol Gaunce, Sponsor

“Before you even sign up, you know what the program is like,” she said. “It’s very straightforward.”

Children Incorporated uses volunteer coordinators in each location to manage support efforts. The volunteers are locals – school resource counselors in Kentucky or nuns in Bolivia – and already know the children and their families well. That helps build trust among client families and ensures continuity so children can rely on continued physical and emotional support.

“It’s a wonderful program,” Gaunce said. “I have nothing but good things to say about it.”

‘Such great need’

For anyone considering helping children in need, Gaunce has only one piece of advice – go for it.

“There is such great need,” she said. “Don’t hold back. If it is in your heart to do it, do it.”

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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 and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan |

Bolivia is still fresh in my mind as we head out on I-64 to get to our next destination: Williamsburg, Kentucky.

I am joined this time by Shelley Oxenham, who manages relationships with all of our U.S. volunteer coordinators. Shelley has worked for Children Incorporated for eight years. She works closely with our volunteers and has watched many of the children we serve grow up and graduate.

One of the great things about a road trip is that it gives you time to think. In the past, when I thought of poverty in America, I immediately pictured the urban poor – children raised in inner-city slums amid gangs and street crime. But in Appalachia, poverty has a different face. Whitley County with a population of 36,000, is a picturesque mountain community in eastern Kentucky – or it would be, if not for the visible signs of economic decline. The collapse of the coal industry hit the entire region hard, and the railroads have cut jobs as well. In their place, a booming meth trade has sprung up, along with the accompanying deaths, drug addiction and incarcerations.

Shelley and I arrive on a Tuesday morning to meet with Sherry Paul, Children Incorporated’s volunteer coordinator at Whitley Elementary School. Eight children are enrolled at the moment, with a long waitlist of others in need of help.

Where have all the parents gone?

Almost all of the children here live in poverty. The drug problem has left a disproportionate number of children essentially parentless. There are so many grandparents raising children that the school has set up a support group for them.

More than emotional support, what they really need is concrete help. Over 90 percent of the children at the elementary school qualify for reduced lunch prices because of their income and for many, school is the only place where they’re guaranteed a proper meal.

The lack of food at home is particularly a problem during the winter break, when the kids face more than a week without a meal. In the days leading up to Christmas, Sherry makes gift baskets for the children, packing in flour, sugar, butter, peanut butter, bacon, eggs, bologna, hot dogs, bread, Pop-Tarts and oatmeal so their grandparents have something to cook for them.

Aging caregivers – a whole new challenge

One of our sponsored children and their grandmother in Jackson County, Kentucky

Dennis with his grandmother

Two hours up the road from Whitley County is Jackson, where we met with Genevieve, the volunteer coordinator at LBJ Elementary School. There are 28 children enrolled in the Children Incorporated program here, and most are in a similar situation to those in Whitley.

One of them is Dennis, an 11-year-old who, in many ways, is a typical fifth-grader. He’s into basketball, football and riding his dirt bike. But Dennis and his two siblings live with their great-grandparents, who are in their 80s with failing health.

In addition to food, clothes and school supplies, which all of the Children Incorporated families need, Dennis’ family also needed a ramp at the house for his great-grandmother, Gail, who can’t manage the front steps. Genevieve coordinated the project, enlisting the high school vocational students to build the ramp for free with all of the supplies purchased by Children Incorporated.

We met Gail at the school, where she was attending a nutrition class set up for parents, grandparents and great-grandparents trying to raise children on meager incomes (most bring in less than $10,000 a year). The nutrition class helps them figure out how to make the best of what they have, and while they’re there, they can pick up the food and supplies that Genevieve provides thanks to Children Incorporated funding.

Building a new future

Twenty minutes down the road, we visit Wolfe County Middle and High schools, where volunteer coordinator, Connie, takes care of 72 children at the middle school and 52 at the high school. It’s a big enough job that she’s got an intern helping her out because for the teens, the immediate needs of food and clothes are only one concern – their near future looms large on the horizon.

There aren’t many jobs here for kids after graduation, and there are no good ones. The Dairy Queen, Save-A-Lot and hardware store are the best job prospects for graduates who stay in town. Most residents who do have jobs commute to factories or logging sites in other communities.

Along with food and clothes, Connie must also prioritize travel for her high school students. The Children Incorporated funds pay for students’ class field trips to other areas, allowing the kids to at least see other parts of the state. It’s the only time many have ever left eastern Kentucky and for some, the only time they ever will.

Connie’s goal is to get the graduates out of town and on to better lives. She and Shelley are working on a plan to obtain Children Incorporated funds for college or technical school so the teens, most of whom have lost their parents to drugs and jail, can build their own futures.

Reversing the endemic poverty here isn’t an easy or a short-term goal, but Connie and Shelley are determined. One by one it is possible to help a child rise above these challenges and position them for a brighter future. It’s a long process, but each child who graduates is one step closer to breaking the cycle of rural poverty.

*Names changed to protect the individuals. 

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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 and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

On a recent trip to visit Children Incorporated projects in the United States, our U.S. Sponsorship Manager, Chuck Smith, and our U.S. Project Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, stopped by the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arnett, a couple who has been married for 54 years. They are currently raising their three Children Incorporated-sponsored great-grandchildren, Francis*, Alex, and Tracy.

Mrs. Arnett is in her eighties now, and suffers from a variety of health conditions, including a heart condition. Due to her ailments, she finds herself constantly in and out of doctors’ offices. Last February, Mrs. Arnett had a fall down her porch steps that has complicated her health conditions even further; the fall was so severe that its effects continue to take a toll on her mobility still today.

The ramp has changed Mrs. Arnett’s life.

As a result of her fall, stairs became especially difficult for Mrs. Arnett to maneuver. So Genevieve, Children Incorporated’s on-site volunteer coordinator at the school where Mrs. Arnett’s great-grandchildren attend, requested that Children Incorporated provide the funds necessary to build a ramp for Mrs. Arnett’s porch. If we were to provide the funds, the local high school vocational students would build the ramp, free of charge.

Funds were allotted for this construction from Children Incorporated’s Hope In Action Fund. Through their hard work, the students were able to successfully complete the construction of a ramp at the home, thereby dramatically improving Mrs. Arnett’s quality of life – and ultimately, her ability to raise her great-grandchildren, as she is now able to do so in a less physically strenuous environment.

Through their hard work, the students were able to successfully complete the construction of a ramp at the home, thereby dramatically improving Mrs. Arnett’s quality of life.

Mrs. Arnett maintains regular contact with Genevieve, who has expressed that Mrs. Arnett’s gratitude runs deep, as Mrs. Arnett conveys just how thankful she is each and every time she and Genevieve speak with one another. Thank you, contributors to our Hope In Action Fund, for helping to make such a life-changing impact on this family, and for facilitating the action in this community.

Children Incorporated’s Hope In Action Fund supports children, families, and communities in three primary areas: education, health, and livelihood. Donations from this fund can meet a variety of needs, including the purchase of food, clothing, or other necessities, as well as providing aid after natural disasters or fires, or supplementing weekend and summer feeding programs for children who would otherwise go hungry. Any contribution – large or small – can help to satisfy urgent needs in families like the Arnetts’.

* Children’s names have been changed for their 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 and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | En Español

“Being raised by a single parent is hard nowadays,” Genevieve, the Children Incorporated coordinator at LBJ Elementary School, commiserates.

She is referring to Billy*, a student enrolled in our sponsorship program at her school, who is being raised by a single father.  Genevieve tells us that Billy’s father attends all budgeting classes and parent-night functions. “He always stays after to help me and the other volunteers clean up the gym,” she adds.

But despite the tremendous emotional support Billy’s father religiously provides, he is unable to provide for all of his son’s basic, material needs.

That’s where sponsorship comes in.

Billy trying on his new shoes

“I just cannot express how much the Children Incorporated program has meant to Billy,” Genevieve exclaims.  “Of all the children I have personally selected to be on this program, he is the happiest. It seemed to boost his personal confidence just knowing he had a pen-pal that wants to help him out with extra needed items.”

Recently, Billy’s sponsors helped out even more – contributing an additional gift for Billy’s general needs.  Genevieve immediately contacted us to share the positive impact this act of kindness made:

“Billy needed shoes so badly,” she reports, “and the day I went to buy them, they were on sale, so I had enough money to purchase four pairs.  I cannot express how thrilled the child was upon receiving the shoes, and his father kept thanking me over and over again.”

“Billy is very appreciative and loves knowing he is special to [his sponsors],” Genevieve adds.  As proof, she enclosed a copy of the thank-you letter that Billy wrote to his sponsors, Mr. and Mrs. Dunn:

Never in my whole life have I ever got four pairs of shoes at one time. I thank you so much for doing that for me.  I cannot express how much I thank you. I needed them so bad.  My shoes busted on the bottom and it was cold in the morning.  This program is so good and has made a positive difference in my life.  It’s like having a guardian angel watching over me that likes me no matter what.

Thank you for being my friend,

Billy

“As a resource coordinator,” Genevieve concludes, “there is only so much we can do to positively affect that child’s life, and it is so rejuvenating when the children enrolled are that pleased as Billy expressed in his letter. Children Incorporated is a great program to work with as a collaborative partner. I, too, am thankful to be a part of a school system that participates. It makes you feel good knowing it made a difference!”

*Name changed for the child’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 and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD