The Rockin' Appalachian Mom Project is a charitable organization dedicated to making a difference one family at a time.  Working community-to-community, family-to-family, Mom-to-Mom, and kid-to-kid, we know we can make a difference in the lives of the children and families of Appalachia.

R.A.M.P.'s Guiding Principles provide direction for our work:

1. Improve the nutritional well being of the children of Appalachia
2. Promote the dignity and self-worth of the Moms of Appalachia by promoting self-help and mentoring them
3. Provide resources for enrichment of both Mothers and their children – nutritionally, emotionally and financially
4. Ensure the recipients of R.A.M.P.’s work “pay it forward” by helping other Moms of Appalachia

How We Got Started

It was a news story on ABC's 20/20 that caught the attention of Amy Guerrieri, founder and CEO of Rockin' Water™.  While watching the segment on the "Hidden America," she felt an immediate call to action and she knew she had to get invloved.

In less than 3 weeks Amy rallied her community and collected 11 pallets of donated goods to bring down to the people of Kentucky she had seen on television.

What we've done so far...

Just since March of 2009, Amy and her band of "Mom Brigade" volunteers have gone into action and collected much needed items for the people of Martin County, Kentucky (see Kentucky Trip info on Events page).  Numerous deliveries of school supplies, baby needs, clothing, bedding, furniture, kerosene heaters, winter coats and boots, medical supplies and non-perishable foods have been brought to Kentucky and distributed on a regular basis. 

The good news...

Thanks to all of the wonderful donors and volunteers, R.A.M.P. has already been able to make a measurable impact in eastern Kentucky! Two of the families R.A.M.P. has been working with since March were in need of some serious assistance.  Through the charitable efforts of R.A.M.P., we were able to Make A Difference in these families lives!

Margaret

Margaret is a wonderful, loving mother of four children. Margaret was suddenly widowed earlier this year when her husband had a heart attack (he was in his early 40's). Margaret was left to care for her children and her home. Unfortunately, her home had fallen into disrepair and Margaret didn't know where to turn to for help.  With the help of R.A.M.P., Margaret's trailer underwent much needed repairs, which took place over the summer. The work done to Margaret's home made it a safer, healthier place for her and her children to live. Here's what R.A.M.P. repaired:

• Repaired holes in bathroom floors and walls
• Replaced all floor coverings in whole home (these were damaged with water and mold)
• Attached front porch to mobile home (it was loose, with a dangerous gap between the stairs & house)
• Built a stoop and steps at the rear entrance
• Installed underpinnings to secure the mobile home to the foundation
• Still to be done is the installation of a fence around Margaret's property to provide a safe place for her children to play - she lives on an extremely busy road, and right now, she cannot let her young children play outside without tremendous concern.

Margaret has also lost more than 60 pounds since our first visit in March! She attributes her success to having Amy Guerrieri as her mentor and having R.A.M.P. there to help her. Amy mentors Margaret with weekly phone calls and visits each couple months.

Kathy

Kathy is also a single mother of four children - four energetic and well-behaved boys. Kathy's ex-husband does not provide any child support and Kathy has worked at the local grocery store as a cashier for the past nine years, making $7 an hour. In May, Kathy was laid off from her job. She lives paycheck to paycheck and couldn't afford to pay her rent on her small home and was evicted. When R.A.M.P. was made aware of Kathy's situation, R.A.M.P. was able to provide Kathy with money for a down-payment on a new place to live and enough for the first couple months of rent. Kathy also didn't have any beds for her children and was the recipient of several beds which R.A.M.P. delivered in May. Kathy now has a new job at another grocery store where she works to support her family.  It is still difficult for Kathy to make ends meet and R.A.M.P. has stepped in again this fall to help Kathy pay some of her electric bill.  It is R.A.M.P.'s hope that through mentoring, donations and job training, Kathy will be self-supporting soon.

We hope to continue these good works until each family in Martin County is able to sustain themselves.  Then will move on and help another community!

Here's How to Help:

R.A.M.P. is currently in need of financial support to help fund its programs.  Here's how you can help!

• Kids - host a School fundraiser for the "Backpack Snack" program -- bake sale, pajama day, hat day, "hands for help" day, walk-a-ton, jump-a-thon, etc.

• Parents - host a cocktail party, luncheon, dinner, wine tasting, etc., with donations going to R.A.M.P.

• Communities - adopt R.A.M.P. as a community-wide initiative and host picnics, fun runs, carnivals, etc., to raise funds to help R.A.M.P. feed the children and families in Appalachia

• Companies - investigate grants and matching contributions your company or other organizations will provide to programs that help alleviate poverty.  

Need more ideas?  Just contact us.