Photo by Joselyn King Unique Robinson-Murphy, left, Communities In Schools site director at Wheeling Park High School, and student Siyan Lopez explain how many students struggle with having proper shoes, coats and clothing to wear to school.

WHEELING ­– Funding from major donors across West Virginia is helping schools in the state “be present” for students who struggle with having essential needs – be it a coat, a pair of shoes or just a kind word.

Students who receive this support and encouragement, meanwhile, explain it has encouraged them to be more present for school and community.

On Wednesday, representatives from public schools throughout the Northern Panhandle turned out to Wheeling Park High School to collect $1,500 checks through the “Keep The Ball Rolling” campaign.

The goal of the effort is for schools to have the resources to “be present” for students.

It is a collaborative initiative that has donated over $1 million to West Virginia public schools to fund student needs like food, clothing, and toiletries through school pantries.

The program has been spearheaded by Shawn and Angela Ball, owners of L&S Toyota in Beckley. It has received additional financial support from West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack and his wife Lisa through the Pack Family Foundation, and the Wing to Wing Foundation established by Marshall University President Brad Smith.

“Keep The Ball Rolling” partners with the West Virginia Department of Education and the United Way to ensure all of West Virginia’s 611 public schools receive a check for $1,500 to provide essential items for students who need them – such as food, clothing, shoes, coats and hygiene products.

The check presentations have been happening throughout West Virginia this week.

The goal of the effort is for schools to have the resources to “be present” for students.

WPHS student Siyan Lopez said teachers and school officials have been present for her, and this reminds her that there are people in the community who do care for her.

“Being a student in high school who needs support can be overwhelming. It can be dehumanizing sometimes,” she said. “But knowing there are people who are willing to support you and can share a connection is so important.”

And once that connection is made, a student “might just want to go to school everyday,” Lopez said.

Unique Murphy, Communities In Schools site director at WPHS, explained the school CIS liaison/social worker is present to be that person students can go to when they need assistance.

Murphy recalls having one student “who had had a difficult life in more ways than one.”

“Over the four years she has been with me, I have helped her get glasses,” she said. “I have picked her up for school, and I’ve taken her home. I’ve talked her off the ledge. She has spent a lot of her time living in self-doubt.

“I spent time trying to help her rationalize that there was so much more to life than what she was living and experiencing.”

Janel Armstong, CIS site director at John Marshall High School, said she definitely “feels the need to be at work everyday” and present for students.

“We need to double down on the role models for our students,” she explained. “I can’t blame them for not going to school if I’m not going to work.’

Student Kadence Quigley said Armstong has definitely been there for her “during the toughest times of her life,” even bringing food to her house and making sure she had what she needed to attend homecoming festivities.

“Just knowing she was there – it helped a lot,” she continued. “I had someone to go to… I felt like she heard me, and it gave me the response I needed.

“Saying she is proud of me just makes me want to show up. Because she is there I show up more.”

Quigley noted she is now more connected not just to her studies, but also those around her.

Pack explained why he is personally involved with “Keep The Ball Rolling.”

“We know there are needs around the state – broken families and addiction issues,” he said. “We know the public schools don’t have the resources to help kids with coats and shoes and other personal needs.

“The idea that we have the ability to help our students is a blessing. It’s the thing to do.”

He is hoping other community leaders across West Virginia get involved and donate more to the program.

Shawn Ball started the effort because he saw a need across southern West Virginia.

“Being from rural West Virginia makes you see needs you don’t realize – how many kids don’t have shoes or coats,” he said. “These are things we take for granted every day.”

Ball added that he serves on the board of governors at Marshall University, and that is how he came to know Smith.

“He’s the greatest guy I know,” Ball said of Smith. “I’m a big fan.”