Meet Donald | KFC Family Fund in Action

Oct 12, 2016 3:25 AM ET

YUM! Global Newsroom: Community

In June 2016, torrential rain caused flooding in West Virginia and parts of nearby Virginia. Twenty-three people lost their lives and thousands more were affected. KFC® Team Member Donald Blake was one of those people.

The water got as deep as 16 inches inside Donald’s Covington, Virgina. home, where he lives with his wife and step-daughter. It took two days to recede and, after that, mud and debris caked the home making it unlivable. The damage was extensive.Donald applied for assistance through the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation’s KFC Family Fund is a crisis assistance program for KFC restaurant employees. He received money that helped get things back to normal.

“I just received a check from the KFC Family Fund. It was a very generous amount. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much,” said Blake in a note to the Foundation. “My eyes watered up and I cried like a baby– tears of joy, not sadness. This will help Sherry and I get back on our feet and back to where we were before the dreaded flood. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!”

Since its launch in December 2015, 27 KFC families have received $40,000 in assistance via the KFC Family Fund. For more information, visit KFCFoundation.org