BECKLEY, WV (WOAY)- The Ball Toyota Family of Dealerships is donating over a half a million dollars to West Virginia schools. They held the third stop of their donation tour at WVU Tech, where they gifted multiple local schools checks for $1500 each. This donation helps 248 schools in southern West Virginia. Ball Toyota President Sean Ball thinks every penny spent is worth it because of the impact on children’s lives.
“We can sit and try to get kids to learn all we want if they don’t have close food, shelter, safety and don’t get a good night’s sleep, they’re not going to learn.
It’s not something we have to be able to meet those needs before we can meet any other need,” stated Ball.
This program is directly working with the department of education and the United Way of Southern West Virginia’s Communities in Schools’ program.
Margaret O’Neal, Executive director of the United Way of Central West Virginia said, “we worked together for a long time, and we’ve talked about the need for children and families and the ball family has worked for years to try to find the right vehicle to support you all and the children and the students that you see.”
WVU Tech was gifted a $50,000 check for scholarships. First Lady Cathy Justice was also in attendance, showing her support for the program.
“They’re really proud. We want the kids of West Virginia to be really proud of yourselves, to know that you can do anything in life that you want to do. I think sometimes we’re stereotyped with this idea that we’re from West Virginia. We’re a little backwards in. We really actually mess with our line. Well, we’re going to overturn that stigma. And I think it’s going right now and going in our country,” exclaimed First Lady Justice. “And that’s what we want. We want every child to know that they can do everything that they want. We want to be proud of them. We want to make sure that they have what they need to be successful. And we certainly are. And I think this is a great program.”
WVU Tech President T. Raymond Stuart expresses what he feels is most important about this program.
“And most importantly, let’s keep working together with the ball now, with k-12, with higher education, so that we can ensure that we meet young people where they are the most important in helping go to places and opportunities going.”
