Four Lawrence County high school student groups have received grants to help their fellow students stay warm this winter.

The money comes from the United Way of the River Cities’ 2021 Big Cover Up awards.

The student groups include Symmes Valley High School’s Student Council, which got $1,750 to provide winter clothes and food to Symmes Valley Elementary students; Fairland High School’s BETA Club, which got $1,750 to provide clothes, coats and shoes to Fairland East and Fairland West elementary students; South Point High School’s Rho Kappa and Student Council, which got $2,000 to provide winter clothes and Christmas gifts to South Point Elementary students; and Dawson Bryant High School’s Mu Alpha Theta and Christian Youth Association, which got $2,000 to provide winter attire to Dawson Bryant High School students.

The Big Cover Up started nearly 20 years ago as a partnership between United Way of the River Cities (UWRC) and Advantage Toyota and schools in Lawrence County and West Virginia were invited to apply for this match-based grant program to help fund a school project.

“We are grateful to our donors and Advantage Toyota to be able to provide $16,000 in funds to local schools to help local students with the greatest unmet needs,” says Lara Lawson, director of community impact at United Way of the River Cities. “The projects selected for funding must show significant student involvement to give students a real experience in volunteerism and fundraising to serve the community. These projects focus on providing warm clothing items to students, which is the donors’ goal for these funds.”