In 2016, The D Jones Family Charitable Foundation selected Dewitt Elementary School—located in the Stinking Creek Community of Knox County, Kentucky—as the recipient of its inaugural Appalachian Initiative grant.
Like many rural communities in Appalachia, the people of Stinking Creek face challenging social issues such as poverty, domestic abuse and violence, substance abuse, substandard housing and more. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), 36.4% of the people in Knox County from 2007 to 2011 were below the official poverty line and the county still ranks as one of the poorest in the state and nation.
Several years ago, the State of Kentucky put Dewitt Elementary School on a “to be closed” status which stopped its normal funding. The locals in Stinking Creek, however, many of whom had attended Dewitt Elementary themselves, believe the school is vital to the community and are fighting to keep it open. According to Dewitt School Principal Marcie Walker, the school receives approximately $100 per student for books and teachers, but there is no general fund for many of the school’s necessities including classroom supplies. Through the hard work and ingenuity of Walker and her staff, Dewitt is currently meeting its classroom needs with items sourced through rummage sales, closed businesses and local donations. The school also advances the welfare of its students and families by offering a program in which students receive a backpack every Friday that is filled with food, hygiene items, books and other miscellaneous donated items. Additionally, the students are provided vouchers to Good Will for clothes and shoes. During the holidays, the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree provides the few Christmas items the children receive—including a meal and one toy.
As part of its 2016 Appalachian Initiative, the D Jones Family Charitable Foundation was able to provide DeWitt Elementary School with new matching chairs for three of its grades (K-2), replacing all of the broken and salvaged pieces the school has been using for the last seven to eight years. Additionally, the Foundation is supporting a project currently underway within the school to provide each student with a Chrome Book to assist them in staying current in today’s world. So far, the Foundation has provided 35 Chrome Books, with a plan to provide more in the year ahead.
Scroll through the Picture Gallery above to see Dewitt Elementary School students enjoying new classroom furniture and Chrome Books.