Massey gives back to the communities in which we operate in Central Appalachia through donations of both time and dollars. Over the years, Massey has supported historic restoration, sports, education, the arts, the less fortunate and the elderly, all in or around the 22 mining complexes, or resource groups, where we work.
In recent years, Massey donated several buildings to organizations that renovated them or put them to important use.
For example, a 40,000 square foot building in Holden, West Virginia, became the Appalachian Dream Center, where hundreds of volunteers have participated in Operation Compassion, an outreach program for the underprivileged in the Appalachian region.
Massey’s Spousal Groups have been in place for over 20 years. They have proved to be successful vehicles for giving while also involving the families of our Members.
Making life better for children in our area has long been a focus for Massey. In recent years, Massey Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship has invited more than 250 Matewan, West Virginia, middle school children to the company’s cabin for lunch, games and a lesson about the history of coal mining in their towns.
They work hard every year to take care of their communities’ children, including distributing back-to-school packs, clothing and Christmas stockings, and organizing bicycle rodeos. In 2003, the Rt. 85 Spousal Group, headed by Massey Member Claire Vaught, organized the first-ever Boone County Christmas Extravaganza, which took place in December and involved the giving of food and gifts, including 75 bicycles, to nearly 4,000 underprivileged children and their families.
Since then, the Christmas Extravaganza has benefited approximately 5,000 needy children each year in southern West Virginia.
One highlight of 2004 was the initiation of the Massey/Grant Poetry Program, a poetry contest conceived by former Board of Directors member William R. Grant, in which grade school children compete for prizes with original poetry.
Massey also devotes considerable resources to events during the year that celebrate the importance of our members and the coal industry in general.
Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle rally through the coalfields organized and led by Massey Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Adkins, with over 1,000 bikes riding through the mountains of West Virginia in support of coal.
In 2006, Massey also held its fifth annual Summer Outing in Logan, West Virginia that was attended by nearly 50,000 people. The outing is one way Massey says thank you to our members and their families, and to our vendors and all the friends of coal.
Additionally, Massey donated the land to facilitate the construction of the Earl Ray Tomblin Center, a conference and meeting facility, in Logan, WV and created both Indian Rock Creek Park near Craigsville, WV and Grant’s Branch Park in Stone, KY, recreational areas frequently utilized by local residents.
Massey members, financial contributions, and equipment have also supported a variety of highway and stream clean-up efforts.
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