West Virginia Kids Count

Champions of Children

By Cathy Bonnstetter

Jennifer Garner, award-winning actress, child advocate and Charleston native, has been named the 2021 West Virginia Kids Count Champion of Children. Garner clings to her West Virginia roots although she now lives with her family in Los Angeles, CA. She began her work with Save the Children, an organization that has worked with the country’s poorest communities since 1932, with a heartfelt plan to impact West Virginia’s children.

From her home in Los Angeles where she virtually accepted her Kids Count award, Garner credits her Mountain State upbringing for her success as an adult. She says the West Virginia lifestyle gives a child room to grow and blossom.

“There is so much about West Virginia that makes it a great place to be a kid,” Garner says. “One of them is opportunity.
In West Virginia you can explore and become yourself in whatever time it takes to become yourself.”

Garner says the sense of community found in the Mountain State encourages children to grow with confidence, whether that community is a neighborhood, church or school. She recalls with fondness her mentors, such as Nina Denton Pasinetti, the artistic director of the Charleston Light Opera Guild, and her elementary school librarian, Annyce McCann.

“You can’t say enough about a community that loves you and lifts you up,” Garner says. “Mentors can help you see sides of yourself that you never would have seen. They can push you to be a version of yourself that you might not have imagined you could be. That is something that is hard to recreate in a big city.”

For many children, West Virginia is a great place to grow up. However, 70,000 children in West Virginia are living in poverty, according to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book. In her travels with Save the Children, Garner has seen families struggling firsthand.

“Kids need help. Moms need help. It doesn’t take much to get underwater and be weighed down by the trauma of poverty,” Garner says. “I have visited young mothers all over the state, and I have seen how few resources there are for moms in all of rural America. These young moms didn’t have mothers like mine who read to me every day all the way through middle school. If you are having to choose between diapers and meals, you aren’t going to be thinking about reading to your child at night.”

West Virginia Kids Count, founded by former West Virginia Governor Gaston Caperton in 1989, provides information for strong policies and effective actions needed to change lives. The Kids Count Data Book’s numbers shine a light on all the state’s children.

“We provide the most trusted source of data about the well-being of West Virginia’s kids, identify challenges, then provide a pathway to progress by putting a spotlight on innovative programs and services, lifting up the people who are already making a difference,” says Executive Director Tricia Kingery.

Garner says she has seen firsthand that West Virginians take care of their own, and that is a strength. She also credits
the state’s leadership, starting with Governor Jim Justice, with a strong commitment to help struggling families. Garner, who has been a Save the Children artist ambassador for more than 10 years and a member of the board of trustees for eight of those years, brought Save the Children to West Virginia with the help of former West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin in 2010.

“Governor Manchin saw the importance of getting to kids and moms early,” Garner says. “Someone needs to just show up for them again and again. Show up with books. Show up with love and become an extra member of that mom’s community. Tell that mom, ‘You are doing a great job. Look at how that baby loves you. Keep talking to that baby. Keep singing to that baby. Keep reading to that baby.’”

Garner says when West Virginia children struggling in poverty start school in remediation, they already carry a label. Early intervention is the key to making a difference for them.

“Those kids go to school because that is where the food is and that is where it is warm, but do they like it? No,” Garner says. “In this state, we have a great pre-k program. That is not available in every state; we are leaders. Here kids have to go to pre-k, but the support has to begin at birth.”

Garner accepted her award from Brad Smith, proud West Virginian, former CEO of Intuit and co-founder, along with his wife, Alys Smith, of The Wing 2 Wing Foundation, a nonprofit that advances support, equality, education and entrepreneurship for underserved communities. Like Garner, he credits his home state with the foundation for his success.

“Anything I have achieved in life is because someone in West Virginia saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and they invested in me,” Smith says. “Being chosen as a Champion of Children has been one of the biggest privileges of my lifetime. Jen’s tireless commitment and selfless sacrifice to serve and support the children in our state is without equal in my opinion. She inspires hope, she role models service-leadership, and she set the example for how kindness and compassion are strengths to overcome obstacles and move mountains—even those West Virginia mountains.”

Save the Children’s West Virginia programs include the Early Steps to School initiative that assists babies and young children with language, social and emotional development. Save the Children has also provided literacy programs throughout the state.

“To be recognized for the work I have tried my best to do, which is small but is done with all my heart, makes me incredibly grateful to Kids Count and my entire community for raising me with a voice, heart and imagination,” Garner says. “I believe in the efficacy of Save the Children’s programs. I believe in the heart behind the people. I believe in the way that money is spent. Poor children don’t vote. We make sure they have a vote. Every child we reach is one we reach. The impact is real.”