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The Gabriel Project of West Virginia’s mission is to give infants in impoverished families a healthy, safe start in life. We fulfill our mission by providing immediate, compassionate and practical assistance to low-income pregnant women and families with children two years of age and under.
We provide essential baby items. We also offer emotional support, distribute information about baby care and child development, and make referrals to other community resources for families with complex needs.
The Gabriel Project of West Virginia is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit direct services organization that celebrated our 25th anniversary in 2022. Gabriel Project services are directly provided by a network of trained volunteers working from community outreach sites housed in churches of various denominational affiliations or secular organizations that share our mission.
Serving low-income families in their own communities has been the fundamental “neighbor helping neighbor” principle of the Gabriel Project of WV since our inception in 1997. No other organization in WV blends together an ecumenical community network of churches on such a wide scale to deliver direct, continuing services to low-income families with young children.
Gabriel Project services are available without discrimination to all families in need with children two years of age and under.
We serve families without jobs, families with meager income, homeless families, victims of domestic violence, homeless families or those in temporary housing, teen parents without sufficient family support, and families in unexpected economic hardships due to natural disasters, personal trauma or other circumstances.
Most of our clients are mothers or mothers-to-be. Yet we also provide services to fathers and kinship caregivers (grandparents and other relatives) who unexpectedly received custody of an infant or toddler and are financially unprepared to meet the child’s basic needs.
About 80% of the families we serve are single parent households. The age range of the parents we serve generally is from 16 to 35 years, although we have served new mothers as young as 13 years of age.
What the families we assist all have in common, regardless of their individual circumstances, is they have few or no essential items for their baby, immediate needs, limited or no income, and a lack of alternative resources. These families want their child to be healthy and safe. But they need help from the Gabriel Project in order for the child to thrive.
Are Gabriel Project Services Needed?
Yes! Twenty-two of the 27 counties in areas we serve have been designated by the Appalachian Regional Commission as totally or partially economic distressed, meaning among the nation’s poorest with high poverty and low per capita income.
This economic distress cruelly impacts young children and their families. 57% of all children aged two years and under in our project area live in families either below the poverty level or with insufficient earnings to meet daily basic needs. 13,043 infants/toddlers exist in destitute conditions.
Single parent households with young children face acute economic hardships and stress in greater numbers than any other population group. In the areas we serve, 55% of households headed by a female with young children subsist in poverty (Data.Census).
8,458 infants/toddlers are being raised solely by grandparents, often with low or fixed income.
16% of newborns were exposed to drugs prior to birth and typically need specialized formula the Gabriel Project provides in order to thrive.
As poverty persists so too does the need for our services. Infants successfully grow into childhood and families transition out of our program. But new babies are born into other low-income families and have the same essential needs. We annually serve over 8,000 families.
“There are times when I honestly don’t know what my baby and I would have done if the Gabriel Project had not given us diapers, clothing and formula. Your volunteers also took the time to chat about ‘Mommy stuff.’ I learned so much about caring for my baby by talking with you. I will be forever grateful.” – Jessica whose baby grew healthy and is now a happy kindergarten student.
“Hello, Gabriel Project, I need help for my 8 month old nephew. I recently received custody after his mother, my sister, died from opioid addiction. I am trying to take good care of him. But I don’t have much money and my public benefits do not cover diapers. He only has two diapers left. Also he does not have any warm clothes or a coat for winter. Please, I am desperate.” — Lorie
Todd and Elaine came into a Gabriel Project site with their newborn baby. Elaine started to cry and Todd stared at his hands. Finally he sighed and said: “We are embarrassed to be here. I’ve always taken care of myself and my wife. But the company where I worked closed six months ago. I found a job but it isn’t much money. Bills are piling up. Three weeks ago we had a baby girl. We had been trying to have a baby for several years. She’s our miracle child. But she’s having problems and needs a special formula. It costs $35 a can and only lasts about 4 days. We’re applying for public assistance. But our baby needs formula now. We don’t know what to do.” Elaine wiped her eyes and added: “Please help our baby. Please.”