CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Communities in Schools (CiS) programs across West Virginia have reported a "major increase" in requests for basic necessities —including food, hygiene products, and clothing — over the last 45 days, according to Communities in Schools Regional Specialist Emma Damron.

Fortunately, a timely $1,500 donation provided to every school statewide allowed program coordinators to meet the immediate needs of students and their families in their respective communities.

"Typically, our site coordinators know their case load and they break those educational barriers to ensure all students have what they need. But SNAP and EBT issues added a lot of additional students," Damron said.

While exact statistics on the increase in needs requests are unavailable, as site coordinators are n

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