For more than 15 years Tucker County Warm the Children has operated on the very simple premise of literally “warming children” by means of providing local children with warm, brand-new clothing to wear for the long winter months.
“We haven’t had a winter like this one in a long time, and warm winter clothing was an absolute necessity for so many children. I am happy to say that we were fortunate to have enough funds to provide clothing to 135 local children in 2014”, stated April Miller, Executive Director of the Tucker County Family Resource Network.
Miller stated that the families served via Warm the Children live in Tucker County and are ages 18 and under, receiving their clothing in November and December of 2014. The children were matched with volunteer shoppers and given anywhere from $50-$90 to spend at K-mart, who also provided a nice discount to make the money go even farther.
The program is a collaborative effort between The Parsons Advocate, K-Mart of Elkins, the Family Resource Network and Family Resource Center, Parents As Teachers Program, North Central Community Action, Tucker Community Foundation, Tucker County Schools, St. George Clinic and local faith based and social service organizations.
Robert Burns, Executive Director of the Tucker Community Foundation stated that even though donations were lower than in years past, the program still served the majority of children who were on the list.
“The amount of contributions tend to vary from year to year and as many children as possible are served with what is available. Donations were down slightly, but we hope to work on promoting the program throughout the course of the year in an effort to increase our funds for 2015”, stated Burns.
“We came close to not being able to serve the majority of the children that were referred to the program, but luckily our community came to the rescue with the Rotary Club of Tucker County making a very generous donation to support the program”, Miller stated. “Donations are accepted year round and we ask that everyone consider making a contribution and spreading the word to get the donations flowing so we can be ready for next winter.” stated Miller.
For more information about making contributions to WTC contact Mikie Dumire at The Parsons Advocate at 304-478-3533 or the Tucker Community Foundation at 304-478-2930.