Residents of Moorefield, West Virginia are united by their love of community and commitment to supporting one another. In this rural town, where one in five people live below the poverty line, the spirit of neighborliness thrives.
For many who grew up here, like Emmajean Abrell, giving back is a way of life. Abrell, a dedicated community volunteer and employee at the local Tabler Station P&G plant, which produces Dawn dish detergent, Swiffer products and other home essentials, intimately understands the difficulty of accessing everyday essentials. “I was raised by my dad. We struggled quite a bit growing up, so over half of the year we relied on pantries,” she explains.
Today, Abrell pays forward the good she once received, working with long-term P&G partners like United Way and local organizations like Lifted Hands Pantry to provide essential health and hygiene products to families in need across the state.
When fellow Moorefield native and Lifted Hands cofounder, Imogen Helsley, learned that Abrell was working at P&G, she saw an opportunity. “Some of the most requested items we get are for things like toilet paper, paper towels, Tide, and Pampers,” says Helsely. “So I reached out to Emmajean to see if she could help.”
After speaking with Helsley, Abrell and her P&G colleagues jumped at the opportunity to do some acts of good for the people in the hometown they love. Supplied with trusted P&G brands including Always, Gillette, and Tide, they were able to provide local residents with essentials to help keep their homes and families healthy and clean. “To see the expression on their face when you give them Charmin or even Bounty paper towels makes such a difference,” says Helsley.
Abrell says she’s always moved by seeing residents regain a sense of dignity when they’re able to shower with new bath products, wash and wear clean clothes, and disinfect their homes. “I see myself in the people we help here,” she says. “Having dealt with these struggles firsthand and now being able to pay it forward is worth everything to me.”
