Filling Up The Pennies Jar: Massey, School Board Add the Final Funds to Build New Marsh Fork Elementary
May 13th, 2010 by admin
Desks and playground equipment, covered with a thin film of chemical-laden coal dust, sit just 225 feet from a coal silo. Overhead looms the Massey Energy Shumate impoundment, an embankment holding back 2.8 billion gallons of toxic liquid coal waste. Welcome to Marsh Fork Elementary School.
Ed Wiley’s granddaughter, Kayla, attended this school nestled in the Coal River Valley near Sundial, W.Va. Kayla inspired Wiley’s campaign, Pennies of Promise, to raise the $8.6 million needed to build the children a new school in a safe location.
Today, that mission is a success. Gov. Joe Manchin held a press conference on Friday to announce that Massey Energy and the Raleigh County School Board would supply the final $1.5 million needed to complete the necessary funding for a new school, matching a $2.5 million grant by the Annenberg Foundation announced on Thursday. Add this to the $10,400 raised by Pennies of Promise, $1 million from the Raleigh School Board, the $1 million promised by Massey energy, and the $2.6 million granted by the School Building Authority.
“The whole movement made this happen, the communities, all the kids collecting pennies across the country,” said local resident Judy Bonds. “This is a victory for everyone.”
