Save the Children continues to provide much-needed assistance to children and families severely impacted by the historic floods that hit West Virginia last week.
A rapid response team is providing blankets, pop-up cribs and car seats to families in and around the communities where Save the Children has long offered educational and health programing, including Nicholas, Roane, Calhoun, and Kanawha counties.
Country music superstar Brad Paisley, along with West Virginia Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, toured the hard-hit town of Clendenin. Along with Save the Children they toured the town’s Herbert Hoover high school, which was under as much as 10 feet of water during the height of the storms. “My thoughts and prayers are with the people in my home state of West Virginia,” Paisley said. “The towns and schools we’ve visited today have been devastated by these floods. I pledge to do all I can to help my fellow West Virginians and have set up a GoFundMe account so others can join me.”
“The scale of the destruction is hard to put into words, but the people of West Virginia are strong and I am confident that we will rebuild,” Senator Manchin said. “I am grateful to Save the Children for their long-term work helping our children succeed in school and for being on the front-lines today, helping vulnerable children and families in the wake of such terrible flooding.”
Anna Hardaway, Save the Children’s West Virginia State Director said of their visit: “We have seen entire towns destroyed and children without basic necessities such as clothing, diapers and cribs,” said. “We will continue to provide emergency items and do all we can to make sure that children, teachers and districts have what they need to start school in August.”
In a new video message, actor Jennifer Garner, a Save the Children Trustee and a native of West Virginia, is also continuing her support of flood victims: “In my home state of West Virginia, children have lost everything—their homes and even loved ones,” Garner said. “Save the Children’s caring experts work in these disadvantaged communities every day. They know these families, and right now these children are especially vulnerable.”
Save the Children currently partners with local schools to serve nearly 2,000 children in the state. Programs support mothers during pregnancy, provide home visits to families of infants and toddlers, and help young children get ready for school, stay healthy and succeed in school and beyond.
To donate to Save the Children’s West Virginia flood response, visit: SavetheChildren.org/WestVirginia.
