Bringing a sense of togetherness back to the community
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 19, 2017 3:05 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Jantarina Hines uses a bubble wand to make bubbles during the Our Community Cares family fun day Saturday in the parking lot of the W.A. Foster Center.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
People enjoy the hot dog and hamburgers prepared by officers with the Goldsboro Police Department during the Our Community Cares family fun day at the W.A. Foster Center Saturday.
Hot dogs, snacks and a bouncy house against the backdrop of gospel music and free prayer awaited those who turned out for the "Our Community Cares" family fun day at W.A. Foster Center on Saturday.
The latter is something Alpha and Omega Christian Center and Mount Zion Church have partnered to bring to similar events for the past three years, said Dexter Jones, part of the evangelistic team manning the "Free Prayer" booth.
"We go into the neighborhoods basically about every Saturday and we set up a tent, invite people to come out to pray and just tell them about the Lord," he said.
For the most part, residents have been receptive to the concept, he said. But the effort was not without some trepidation, he said, on both sides.
"Some of the neighborhoods that we have been in, before we started, some people didn't want to go into these neighborhoods," he said, referencing pockets of the city which made the police department's "high crime" list.
Planting the seeds and patiently waiting for them to take root has turned out to be rewarding, Jones said.
The group is hearing reports of answered prayer and law enforcement has also told them that crime has gone down in some areas.
"We thank God for that," Jones said. "It's making a difference. That's why we keep doing it."
The organization behind "Our Community Cares" is comprised law enforcement, fire service and area churches, said Sheriff Larry Pierce.
The purpose is to concentrate on neighborhoods and the children that visit places like W.A. Foster, letting them know that they are cared for and that entities like law enforcement are "the good guys," he said.
Lieutenant William Kates, with the Sheriff's Office, manned a booth handing out frisbees along with pencils and rulers that change colors, as well as educational information.
"Kids come up, they've always got a lot of questions," he said. "We try to talk to them about listening to their parents and their teachers. We do this event at least once a month."
His colleague, Deputy Ronald McDuffie, said it means a lot to participate in such efforts because it presents another side of the profession.
"We get to interact with youth, they get to see law enforcement from a different side," he said. "It's different when you talk to people from what you see on the news."
This weekend's event is the latest in the quarterly series that has been taking place for nearly 18 months, said Shycole Simpson-Carter, community development administrator for the city of Goldsboro.
"Now we can honestly say that we have hit every section of the city except the northeastern side," she said. "When we started out I would say we had a turnout of maybe 100 people and at our last event we had close to 300 people."
The importance of the gathering is not just to have fun, she pointed out, but to link the residents with each other and with services.
It has brought out vendors from area churches as well as representatives from Wayne Community College, mental health organizations and Partnership for Children of Wayne County.
"We're building it up and spreading the word so we can have more of a comprehensive program," Simpson-Carter said. "It's really about trying to bridge the gap helping our agency partners get the word out."
She said the target date for the next event right now is March 2018.
Zyru Webb, 16, a junior at Eastern Wayne High School, and Ja'mar Williams, 15, a sophomore at the school, were taking in the activity at one of the food tables set up in the parking lot.
Webb is part of the mayor's youth council, he said.
"We were presented with this volunteer opportunity and since I'm vice chairman I come to most everything," he said. "We were going to serve hot chocolate but it's a little warm out."
Williams said he hopes to become part of the youth council and volunteer with future events. Meanwhile, he said he appreciates getting to see how area residents are coming together.
"All the problems in the community, it's good to see people just sitting down, having something to eat," Webb said. "You can go inside and have fellowship inside your community and that's good.
"That's something we need more of."