Less than one week after Diane Sawyer’s “A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains” aired on 20/20 — shining a spotlight on Appalachian children living in poverty — there has been a significant outpouring of donations, and offers of help, by viewers of the program.
The special, which brought 20/20 its biggest Friday night audience in more than four years, has prompted approximately $60,000 in donations so far to the nonprofit Christian Appalachian Project, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
ABC News also reports that since the show aired, one of the featured young people, Shawn Grim, has received college scholarship offers by four schools.
In addition, Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo, has spoken with Sawyer about helping with dental care for Appalachia’s children, after the show focused on the prevalence of tooth decay from “Mountain Dew mouth” in the area.
This Friday’s 20/20 will provide an update on the families profiled in last week’s program, and will also explore the topic of combating poverty.