CHS Family Support Center hosted Cookies & Cocoa w/Santa today at Pullman Square’s Winterfest 2024. We had such a fun time! Thank you to all the volunteers and the vendors who made it a success!

On October 2nd, CHSWV staff met at the Greenbrier Resort alongside staff from Coke Consolidated to receive a special donation. Team Coke and CHSWV Staff assembled 1,300 hygiene bags for our children in need across the state. Our Lewisburg permanency staff, Terri White, did a fantastic job speaking to the crowd about the work and mission of CHSWV. We are now in the process distributing the bags to our many locations. We thank Coke Consolidated for inviting us to this event.

Many thanks to Fairlawn Baptist Church donating 17 laundry baskets filled with many household items that will benefit our Independent Living program. We greatly appreciate your donation and support!

On Sunday, December 8th, the Romney Children’s Shelter had visitors from the Potomac Edison Valley Region, they brought dinner, gingerbread houses, made cookies with our residents and decorated the shelter for Christmas. They returned with a larger crew from the Augusta Service Center on Monday and got to work. They redesigned our telephone visitation space, making it a cozy space where our kids can be comfortable when speaking to their families and support network, and redesigned and repainted the bedrooms where our kids sleep! We cannot even begin to express our gratitude for their generosity, kindness, time, and labor. They say it takes a village, and we say ours is the best!

The Romney location would like to thank the Keyser Walmart and Brenda Wilson for the 13 boxes of new clothing. Members of the community in need will be able to access the clothing through our resource center.

We are thrilled to share that today marks the arrival of the first of many toy donations from the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital. Their generosity and support this holiday season means so much!

6th Annual Victoria’s Race

 

Local Shell station helping raise money for Children’s Home Society of WV’

HEDGESVILLE — The Children’s Home Society of West Virginia is partnering with Murphy’s Convenience Store Shell in Hedgesville to raise money to help children in need. Through the Giving Pump program, a portion of customers’ purchases through Oct. 31 will be donated to CHS.

Shell started the Giving Pump program in 2021 to support communities and create a unique way to give back. Each year, many Shell stations throughout the country will have a purple pump, where part of the purchase will be donated to a local or national charity. Murphy’s Convenience Store reached out to the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia last year to help fund the work it is doing in the community. This year is the second time the two have teamed up to help make a difference.

Ami Sirbaugh, director of programming at the Children’s Home Society of West Virginia, is excited to continue the partnership. This year, CHS hopes to raise $500 through the event. For her and her team, it isn’t just about raising money but informing more people about what they do.

“Our goal is to just bring awareness,” Sirbaugh said. “We hope the folks who stop to get gas become aware of the needs of our families and what they are contributing.”

The Children’s Home Society of West Virginia’s Martinsburg location offers seven different programs for children and families throughout Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties. This includes foster care and adoption services, Victoria’s House Child Advocacy Center, the Monarch Family Support Center, the Honey Bee Family Support Center, mental health services and wraparound services.

The donations raised through the giving pump will go toward family support groups and parenting classes put together by CHS’ family support centers. Through these six-to-eight-week courses, families can improve their parenting skills and connect with others who are experiencing similar situations.

During each meeting, a meal will be provided for the families participating. Partnering with local businesses to raise money allows the Children’s Home Society to continue providing these services. Sirbaugh believes it also shows that people in the Eastern Panhandle care about their community.

“It’s invaluable,” Sirbaugh said. “It means so much to us, because we’re all very passionate about our work and helping children. Local business owners see that and are willing to help support us. It validates us and the unity in our community. Generally, people care about the community in the Eastern Panhandle. We’re all in it together. Everyone cares about making a difference in the biggest way they can.”

On August 20, Morgantown Home Finders, Brittany McCollam and Skylar Bennett, attended the Watson Elementary Resource Fair. They handed out free school supplies, information on CHS programs, and flyers for upcoming events!