According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, NCCP, there is around 15 million children in families across the United States that have incomes below the poverty line.  These are families struggling to make end meet, and their children are being impacted in many ways.  Poverty isn’t just a issue of struggling to find food and shelter it also plays effect in children social, emotional, and cognitive health.

When you hear poverty, you may first think of third world countries, but this is an issue right out our back doors.  You can make a difference:

• Tutor/Mentor: see if you can volunteer at a local school or church to tutor a child in a subject area. Tutors give that one-on-one attention that kids strive for and a bond to help them learn at their level.
• Donate: You can donate food, clothes, and even money to different local programs to help families right in our own area. (Open Doors, Hamilton County Youth Assistance Program, White River Church Food Pantry, Third Phase, Prevail)
• Volunteer: Volunteer your time to local youth programing and community events. There are plenty of events our community puts on and need volunteers to make run smoothly.

We love our community and want the very best for it!

Resources used: http://youthassistance.org/westfield/ , http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html