CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Over the course of last year, West Virginia American Water managed to provide more than $845,000 supporting a host of organizations that dedicate their time in helping others.

American Water’s Charitable Foundation recently announced its end of year total in charity donations for 2023.

The company provided over $459,000 through grants, contributions and programming support to nearly 127 organizations across the Mountain State. In addition, the foundation gave $386,200 in grants and employee matching gifts that further helps communities West Virginia American Water serves.

In a statement, West Virginia American Water President Rob Burton said that supporting the community in more ways than providing them with clean water is an extension of what the company is about.

“At West Virginia American Water, our work extends beyond providing safe, clean, and reliable water and wastewater services to our customers,” Burton stated. “We are also committed to supporting organizations that make our communities a better place to live and work for our customers and employees. That’s why we’re proud to collectively provide over $845,000 in funding to benefit the well-being and safety of our customers and communities.”

Some of the 2023 American Water Charitable Foundation grantees in West Virginia included:

. $164,520 to support The Huntington Children’s Museum and its new ADA accessible Sensory City exhibit

. $30,000 to The American Red Cross Central Appalachian Region in their efforts to help victims of flash flooding across Kanawha, Fayette and Clay counties

. $25,000 to fund Mission West Virginia’s Bridge Program, a mentorship initiative that focuses on at-risk youth, including those in foster care and homeless teens

. $25,000 to First Lady Cathy Justice’s Communities in Schools Program supporting its Steps to Student Success Program

. And $19,820 to the West Virginia Manufacturers Association Educational Fund to enhance its Explore the New Manufacturing Program with an aim to bolster careers in the manufacturing industry

American Water employees also engaged in a philanthropy initiative of its very own after it raised over $37,000 for 73 state non-profit organizations through the American Water Charitable Foundation’s volunteer and matching gift program.

This study involves a computer-based task. Sessions take one to three hours and multiple sessions may be required. 

Participants will join sessions via Zoom on their laptop or desktop computer with a functioning webcam, speaker/headphones, mouse or trackpad, and high speed internet from any location.

Participants can earn monetary compensation.

For more information, email ep00042@mix.wvu.edu.

Kathryn Kestner, principal investigator, can be reached at kmkestner@mail.wvu.edu or 304-804-7411. 

The West Virginia University Institutional Review Board has approval of this study on file.            

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Republican politicians in West Virginia are showing their support for former President Donald Trump as he prepares for the 2024 Presidential Election following an assassination attempt at a rally last week.

State Senator Jack David Woodrum, of Summers County, says the assassination attempt, that saw a bullet strike Trump’s ear in Butler, Pennsylvania, has changed the tone of the country.

“The attempt on a president’s life, I think, changed the tone and changed the way people are thinking right now, which I think is going to end up being a good thing,” Woodrum said.

Riley Moore, West Virginia’s State Treasurer, traveled to Milwaukee for the Republican Nation Convention, and said the assassination attempt set a different tone for the event.

“That terrible assassination attempt on Saturday, I think, has set a totally different tone here,” Moore said at the convention. “It’s really brought people together in a manner which I’ve never seen before.”

Trump spoke Thursday night at the final evening of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee for the first time since the assassination attempt. On Wednesday night, Trump was seated at the Fiserv Forum, taking in speeches from his son Donald Trump Jr., granddaughter Kai Trump, and his running mate J.D. Vance.

Woodrum says, by the look of him, Trump has had an emotional week.

“He seems to have been humbled by this whole experience,” Woodrum said. “It’s been, I’ll say, a little bit emotional, just looking at his face for him. There’s been really an outpouring of love from the people that have been here for him.”

Trump made his speech late Thursday night, saying, “We rise together, or we fall apart.”

Moore said he has never seen the Republican Party as unified as it is now.

“I have never seen this party so unified in my entire life, my entire time in public office, or outside of it,” Moore said. We are very fired up to get out there, all these delegates from all over the country, to go out and get that vote out and go win.”

Woodrum, too, spoke on unity, but from a national perspective. Woodrum says he wants to see America come together and hates seeing it so divided.

“I hope the country unifies and starts to come together,” Goodrum said. “I hate to see the nation divided and I think we need to get back together.”