Fall means for many children new backpacks and shoes, as well as the excitement of another school year. Appalachia covers 205,000 square-miles and is home to children from the region of southern New York, northern Mississippi, and other parts of the country.
America’s most vulnerable people are not being noticed as the economy is difficult. However, those who were in extreme poverty during the economic boom now face severe hardship. Appalachia has 23.6million residents. Many families don’t have health insurance and are unable to access adequate food or indoor plumbing.
Appalachian kids have enjoyed the simple joys of childhood for decades thanks to charities. Americans Helping Americans (AHA), a Christian Relief Services affiliate, launched its Bare Feet program for Kentucky. The program allows schoolchildren, who cannot afford new shoes, to visit a shop and purchase new shoes. AHA’s efforts last year made it safer for over 1,212 kids to walk to school.
In Appalachia, only 49 percent of ninth-graders graduate high school. Teenage pregnancy rates reach a peak of 69 percent in some parts. AHA creates safe and positive areas for teenagers after school. AHA donated $1,000 in sports equipment to Harlan, Ky., to create a recreational area for 400 Appalachian teenagers.
AHA provides basic school supplies for teens through donations of backpacks containing pencils, rulers sharpeners, sharpeners and scissors. It also includes glue, paper and erasers. AHA cannot accept donations. This means that AHA must cut back on or suspend its programs. Children will be left without shoes, school supplies, and after-school activities. AHA accepts donations that are not in cash.
For more information, please visit www.helpingamericans.org.
