Deep Roots, Deeper Commitment
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) defines Appalachia as the 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. 42 percent of the Region’s population is rural, ARC reports, compared with 20 percent of the national population.
According to ARC, Appalachia has come a long way in recent years. Appalachia’s overall poverty rate decreased from 14.3% in 2013–2017 to 14.5% in 2018–2022. This was a decline of two percentage points across the region. However, 77 counties in Appalachia saw their poverty rates remain the same or increase during this time. “Appalachian Kentucky fares the worst,” according to Bellarmine University. Of the commonwealth’s 120 counties, 54 fall under the purview of the ARC. “In 2021, only three of those counties are considered ‘transitional,’ meaning they are moving toward economic parity with the rest of the United States. Thirteen of the counties are considered ‘at risk,’ meaning they rank between the worst 10 percent and worst 25 percent of all counties in the United States. Most of Kentucky’s Appalachian counties—38—are considered ‘distressed.’ They fall in the lowest 10 percent of counties nationwide.”
The Jones family has deep roots in rural Kentucky and Eastern Tennessee and has experienced firsthand the abject poverty and hopelessness endured by many families in the rural Appalachia towns and countryside from which their families first came. As a result, the D Jones Family Charitable Foundation has created a special gifting initiative intended to provide support to organizations that are actively working to improve the lives and well being of the people of Appalachia.