Ritchie County Family Support Center receives $50,000 donation

HARRISVILLE, W.Va. (WBOY) — Aetna Better Health made a significant donation to the Ritchie County Family Support Center on Tuesday as it presented a $50,000 check to it and 56 other support centers across the Mountian State.

Aetna Better Health is giving away this money to enhance family resources across the state. Ritchie County Family Support Center is one of those locations and offers families aid as well as activities to enrich the community.

The support center’s current facility in Harrisville includes a children’s playroom, teen room, and food pantry. Over the previous year, the center organized a number of classes and parties for families, and in the previous month, officials said their pantry had been used by 120 families.

The Family Support Centers website says they offer West Virginian families, “parent education classes, child development activities, parent-to-parent support groups, afterschool academic enrichment.”

“If there is emergencies, anyone with families – children in the household – can come here, and we can offer them help and support,” Director Kelsey Thibeault said.

The Ritchie County Family Support Center plans to use the $50,000 to buy a van to spread its reach throughout the county and give families transportation to and from the facility.

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