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From the President

From the President

I’m a full time wife; mother, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, daughter-in-law, niece, and friend. I have a full time job. I’m a church member. I am the mother of a child with a genetic disease that requires daily medical treatments. My life is busy, full time. Why am I a Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation co-founder and board president?

Because this is my community; my state; my nation. Because we are talking about children and families. I don’t know if you can see their faces, but they are absolutely beautiful. They come in all colors, all shapes and sizes; all walks of life. I believe from the core of my soul, that as a community, we are called to love one another.

The stats are shocking: Kentucky’s incarceration rate is more than double the national average. DOUBLE the national average. That number represents 145,000 Kentucky children. Kentucky leads the nation in the number of children living with relatives. This number does not include the more than 9,000 Kentucky children in foster care. Kentucky has the 2nd highest female incarceration rate in the country.

If crime and incarceration doesn’t affect you personally, it affects you financially. Children who grow up with an incarcerated parent are more likely to dropout of school; more likely to live in poverty; more likely to use drugs and alcohol; more likely to have mental health needs; more likely to experience trauma; more likely to be victims of abuse; more likely to become an offender themselves. This is our state. This is our community. This is Frankfort.

What about our workforce pipeline? Our ability to thrive economically? Research indicates that the human potential loss due to the achievement gap in school is equal to a national recession. Let me repeat this- the human potential loss is equal to a national recession. Our young adults are not prepared for adulthood because children can not be educated when basic needs are not met.

Families are desperate. The impact is devastating and I believe, that as a community, we are called to do something about it. Yes, I have my own children; however, I do not reside in a silo. Frankfort is my home. I intend to do my part to make my home, my community, a better place for all children. While parental incarceration is a “shared sentence” in terms of the impact on children; it most certainly does not have to be a generational sentence.  

The Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation epitomizes a mother’s unconditional love and hope for her children…that along life’s journey, our sons and daughters learn to love, forgive, believe, and overcome. We honor the late Wanda Joyce Robinson in our mission to serve children and youth impacted by incarceration.  

Come join us.
Amy Nance Snow

Foundation Board Members:

KIM BEERS, DUSTIN BOWMAN, KRYSTAL CONWAY-CUNNINGHAM, TISA CONWAY-CUNNINGHAM, ALLYSON COX, ABBIGAIL DUNN, SHELLEY HEARN, KEVIN HOCKER, WHITNEY JENNELS, AEVEION JONES, MEAGAN MORROW, DEBBIE MOORE, ASHLEY MULDER, GREGG MURAVCHICK, MARGARET O’DONNELL, MARIA PEARL, REBECCA REDDING, WILL RHODES, DALE ROBINSON, TAYLOR ROBINSON, JONATHAN SCOTT, AMY SNOW, BAILEY SLUCHER, ISSA WRIGHT, KALISSA YATES