ARC heroes campaign ends
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on April 4, 2004 9:22 AM
Forty-nine Wayne County "heroes" raised a total of $46,517 for the local Red Cross.
The Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross concluded its second annual Heroes Campaign on Thursday with a luncheon at St. Luke United Methodist Church.
Chuck Waller, board president, announced that the chapter surpassed its goal of $40,000. Last year's goal was $25,000 and participants raised more than $28,000, according to Cindy Bell, executive director.
The "heroes" were asked to raise at least $1,000 each. The money raised will stay in Wayne County for service programs.
Capt. Glenn Barnes of the Goldsboro Police Department spoke of why he participated in the fund-raiser. "Things happen that make you realize what the Red Cross does," he said.
He said that after the flood of 1999, he watched as a truck pulled up in Wayne County and people started preparing hot meals for those affected by the disaster. "People continuously came to get a hot meal that they would otherwise not have," he said.
"I asked them how long they were going to be there and they said as long as they were needed."
A few months ago his sister, her husband and their three children were in a house fire and lost just about everything they owned.
"I called Chuck Waller at home and within 10 minutes they got a call from the Red Cross. The Red Cross gave them a place to stay, food and clothing."
A few days ago, Barnes was at the Red Cross office when a woman came in needing assistance. He said Teresa Williams, the disaster services director, went to the back and came back with a voucher for the woman.
"The real heroes are the people out there seven days a week, 52 weeks a year actively helping people," Barnes said.
Waller noted that many times in life it seems that those who do the right thing when no one is looking, those who do the right thing behind closed doors and those who do the right thing for the right reason sometimes get the short end of the deal while others who don't do the right thing reap many benefits.
He related a story about Teddy Roosevelt who liked to take big game hunting trips overseas. Returning from one such trip on a boat, Roosevelt traveled with a missionary who had just spent two years in Africa and his wife died there.
As Teddy got off the boat, he was met with throngs of people. And the missionary had to weave his way through the crowd and to his hotel room where he dropped to his knees and bowed his head and asked God to help him understand why Roosevelt received more attention returning from a pleasure trip and he received no attention doing His work.
"God reached down from Heaven and touched him on the shoulder and said, 'Let me remind you, you have not gotten to my house yet,'" said Waller.
Waller noted that there were several challenges to this year's Heroes Campaign. He said the 2003 campaign ended July 10 and the 2004 campaign started the first of March. "That was one challenge," he said.
The Red Cross also raised this year's goal by 60 percent from last year. "That was another challenge," said Waller.
But the Red Cross' heroes met these challenges and surpassed the goal.