High Points of the Valley (Graphic Illustration)

* When there is a need to step up and help one another, Mid-Ohio Valley communities rarely disappoint. Among the reasons for that is our incredible nonprofits, which are asked to shine far too often; but they do, anyway. Hunger Solutions Mid-Ohio Valley came through in a big way last week when it provided up to $100,000 in support to the Southeast Ohio Food Bank, after Food and Nutrition Services — the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that offers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — announced it had run out of funds. The partnership among Marietta College, Peoples Bank and Memorial Health System is ready to help. While it is a shame lawmakers have so far appeared unwilling to their jobs for us, it is encouraging to remember there are so many who ARE willing to step up. Thank you to those who are doing so, now.

* Other groups continue to help support Mid-Ohio Valley residents as well. Earlier this month, the Parkersburg Area Association of Realtors donated nearly $4,600 to North Star Child Advocacy Center after having raised the money at its annual Purse Bingo event.

* And the James Wood Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution donated the “Dear America” book series to Chelsea Nutter’s fourth grade classroom library at Neale School. “This is a heartwarming initiative, and we truly believe these books will spark a love for learning and American History in so many young minds,” said James Wood Chapter Regent Susan Nutter. The 43 books in the original “Dear America” series feature fictional diaries of girls during significant periods of American History — for example: “A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, a Slave Girl, Belmont Plantation, Virginia, 1859,” by Patricia McKissack;” or “My Heart Is on the Ground: The Diary of Nannie Little Rose, a Sioux Girl, Carlisle Indian School, Pennsylvania, 1880” by Ann Rinaldi. “”There will be all kinds of celebrations and a lot of these stories are really relevant to our nation’s history,” said Dina Braniff of the DAR.

How wonderful to know students in Nutter’s classroom will have access to all 43 such perspectives. Thank you, folks!