Appalachia

I was blown away by Diane Sawyer's hour-long special on the people of central Appalachia, which aired last night on ABC. So many of us are touched by stories of poverty from halfway around the world - what about the extreme poverty that Americans are dealing with right here, on our shores? Sawyer highlighted several children and families in the Kentucky hills who are battling homelessness, joblessness, drug addiction, and poor or non-existent healthcare. There was the young high school football star who chose to live in his truck, rather than dealing with the poverty and alcoholism in his own home. And the young mother who walked SIXTEEN MILES to and from school each day to earn her GED. And the young girl who desperately hopes that her drug addicted mother will kick the habit. I am definitely putting some of these organizations on my own philanthropic giving list.