Kitty Woods, a stenographer for a Ritchie County attorney wrote in her will that, “It is not the purpose of this bequest to relieve the taxpayers of any part of their burden of furnishing schools for the children of the district, but for the purpose of enabling the Board of Education to give to the children of said district advantages they might not otherwise have because of lack of funds.”

Born in 1884 and raised in Ritchie County, WV, Kitty Woods was the daughter of Isaiah Wells Woods and Ella Victoria Lambert, both of whom were lifelong residents of Ritchie County. Ms. Woods was the granddaughter of Salina Wells Woods and Philip Woods, a minister who was born in Pennsylvania and eventually settled in Ritchie County.

Ms. Woods never married or had any children of her own but was very concerned about education and the welfare of children in her area. In 1963, when Ms. Woods passed away, she made a gift to the Ritchie County Board of Education through her estate plans to permanently benefit the students of Harrisville High School (now Ritchie County High School) and Harrisville Elementary.

In 2014, the Ritchie County Board of Education used Ms. Woods’ gift to create the Kitty Woods Support Fund for Ritchie County High School and Harrisville Elementary School with the PACF. This fund is assigned as part of the Foundation’s Ritchie County affiliate collection of funds, the Ritchie County Community Foundation.

Ms. Woods’ generosity allows this fund to continue to make a grant each year to both schools to address educational opportunities for students.