CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Actress Jennifer Garner, who grew up in Charleston, will headline a fundraiser for Kanawha County’s Herbert Hoover High School next week in the Capital City.
Garner is organizing the fundraiser with Senator Corey Palumbo (D-Kanawha, 17) and Herbert Hoover High School Principal Mike Kelley.
After the June 23 storms, floodwaters made it up six feet into the first floor of Herbert Hoover, which sits between the Elk River and Route 119 in northern Kanawha County.
“They have extensive, extensive needs to get up and running by the fall, whether it’s in portables or wherever it’s going to be, so we’re going to do all we can to help raise money for them and help out,” Palumbo said on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
The new school year in Kanawha County opens for students on Aug. 8.
As of this week, Kanawha County school officials said their goal remained to open both Hoover and Clendenin Elementary School, two of the hardest hit by floodwaters, as scheduled.
However, contingency plans were being developed in case that was not possible.
The Garner fundraiser was set for Tuesday, July 19 at the University of Charleston from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the event, at prices of $100, $500 or $1,000, are available at www.supportherberthoover.eventbrite.com. The $1,000 ticket includes a private reception.
The money raised will be distributed to Herbert Hoover High School through the international organization Save the Children, which Garner has been affiliated with for years, to replace items lost in the flood.
Prior to the flood, Save the Children, dedicated to early childhood programs in the U.S. and around the world, has worked with schools in five West Virginia counties in West Virginia.
Of Hoover, “It’s an important part of the community. To get that school back up and running, I think, is so important to everyone up there,” Palumbo said.
He and Garner, fellow graduates of George Washington High School, remain friends.
Garner’s acting resume includes the lead role on ABC’s “Alias,” along with film credits like “Elektra,” “13 Going on 30,” “Daredevil,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Butter.”