Last year you generously helped support striking teachers and other workers who were fighting for better pay during the historic statewide teacher’s strike in West Virginia.  We are so grateful for that support. Together we raised over $330,000 and with an all-volunteer effort we distributed 100% of it back to over 950 school employees! You can read some of their stories in this article. Thank you, again.
Today, we’re writing again to ask for your help.
 
This week, West Virginia school personnel and teachers were forced to strike again. Will you donate to support the brave bus drivers, cooks, and other service workers of Putnam County, WV who stood up for the future of public education in West Virginia?
 
PLEASE DONATE AT:  www.wvstrikesupport.com
As you may know, our teachers and school personnel went on anther historic back-to-back strike this week to defend against a wildly unpopular education overhaul bill that could drain money from the public education system, authorize charter schools, make classroom sizes larger, and weaken school employees’ ability to fight back through strikes.  

AND WEST VIRGINIA WON!

Worse yet, the bill bundled together these negative policies with a new pay raise that had been promised to teachers by legislative leaders. After last year’s strike, this bill was a vindictive move by legislators who seem determined to take revenge on our entire state’s education system.

Teachers and personnel went on strike statewide this week because they refused to be bribed into weakening our public education system. 54 out of 55 WV counties closed their schools in solidarity with teachers.  Only Putnam County’s superintendent officially kept schools open,causing school personnel in that county to lose pay and risk being penalized.  But Putnam County workers stood in solidarity. On the first day of the strike most Putnam teachers were in the picket lines, and not a single school bus departed.

On Strike Day 2, the buses remained parked and the picket lines were strong – even in downpours of rain and snow across the state.

THIS FUNDRAISER, in direct coordination with the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association, will raise funds to thank the Putnam County bus drivers and school personnel who stood up to anti-union and anti-public education forces. We have an ambitious goal to help cover the lost pay for two-days of work for Putnam County service personnel who held the line. We are communicating with and supportive of both the AFT and and the WVEA, and will expand our goals as we are able and as needed.

If the strike continues, this fundraiser will also support costs for other personnel around the state who are striking and/or losing pay. If this fund outperforms our goals, we will be able to support more service personnel and teachers who held the line in 2019!
 
PLEASE DONATE TODAY!  www.wvstrikesupport.com

Who we are:

We are a group of West Virginia parents, community members and current/former school employees who want to do what we can to support the educators and school service personnel who serve our children every day. When WV teachers went on strike last year, we raised over $330,000 and with an all-volunteer effort we distributed 100% of it back to over 950 school employees. None of the funds we raise online are used to pay for administration — all of it goes directly to school personnel who’ve requested funds, once we verify their identity and their need.

Like last year, the funds are being managed through Rise Up WV, a community organization based in Charleston. Rise Up WV is an unincorporated nonprofit 501(c4) association registered as a charity in the state of WV. Every dollar raised (except for Gofundme’s administrative fee) will go directly back to striking school employees in the form of direct financial support, appreciation gift cards, lunches, etc.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
THE WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOL PERSONNEL STRIKE FUND COMMITTEE

Brendan Muckian-Bates, West Virginia United steering committee member

Britt Huerta, Volunteer and Former School Personnel

Ryan Frankenberry, WV Working Families Party

Cathy Kunkel, Savanna Lyons, Ric MacDowell, and Paul Dalzell, Rise Up WV