The Henderson-Vance Night Out Against Crime is coming up on Tuesday, August 4th on Breckenridge Street in downtown Henderson between the Henderson Police Department and the Perry Memorial Library. The event starts at 5:00 p.m. and will wrap up at about 8:00 p.m.

As always, there will be free hot dogs, drinks, and t-shirts.

In a community that normally receives a fair amount of negative attention, the Henderson-Vance Night Out Against Crime is something that many area residents look forward to.

Sponsoring Agencies for the Night Out Against Crime are the Henderson Police Department, Vance County Sheriff’s Office, Vance County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, F.V.W Opportunity Inc., and Vance County Schools.

Participating Agencies are as followed:

North Carolina Highway Patrol
North Carolina Kerr Lake Parks & Recreation
Vance Granville Community College Campus Police Department
North Carolina Forestry Service
North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement
Henderson Fire Department
Vance County Emergency Services
Henderson-Vance Recreation Department, Youth Services & Teen Court
Vance County Rescue Squad
Henderson-Vance Community Watch Association
Henderson-Vance Crime Stoppers
Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions
Duke Trauma Ground Unit and Helicopter
Vance County Public School Nurses & Social Workers
Vance County School Bus Safety
Safe Kids Henderson-Vance Coalition
Chuck Elgin & Sharon Elgin
North Carolina Department of Public Safety of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice
South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church Band
ACTS of Vance County
911 Emergency Management
Vance County Dentition Center
Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society
Henderson Family YMCA Stride
Girls on the Run Northern North Carolina
H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library
F-G-V Smart Start Inc.
The Daily Dispatch
Vance County Department of Social Services
Children’s Services & Foster Care & Adoption
Royall Harris Character Antics
United Way of Vance County
Chick-fil-A of Henderson
Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education
Kittrell Job Corp Center
Wal-Mart Distribution 6091
Boys & Girls Club North Central North Carolina
Infinite Possibilities Inc.
Vance Gang Awareness Partnership
Vance County School Dropout Prevention
Aaron’s
Vance County Schools TRU-Swat Tobacco Prevention
Youth Villages
Vance County Child Support Unit
Vance Granville Community College
US Food Service
Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce
Vance County Senior Center
Kesler Temple A.M.E Zion Church
Vance County Parenting Education Program
Vance County 4H Program
WIZS Radio

Saturday, April 18, 2015, the Embrace Henderson Family Spectacular event at SaddleRock Farm saw nearly 1,000 people in attendance.

 

850 kids and 125 volunteers, along with numerous area churches, joined forces for the event, which presents The Greatest Story Ever Told. One of the main organizers of the event, Kevin Kilgore, told WIZS News that in excess of 100 children have choosen to follow Christ in the event’s five year history.

Larry Johnson, who owns SaddleRock Farm, said it’s just so the whole community can come and have a free event. He said, “We are doing it because Jesus loves us, and we love others because of that.”

Longtime Vance County commissioner of 28 years and recent Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year for 2014, Danny Wright, was in attendance. And as he has each year, Mr. Wright had his trusty camera strapped around his neck. He said, “This is my community,” in reference to the Weldon’s Mill area as well as his home in nearby Cokesbury. He said, “This is primarily an evangalistic outreach effort to reach the children, and if you reach the children, then you reach their families. We are trying to change hearts, and when you change hearts you change cultures, and when you change cultures you change the community. So that’s what this is all about.”

 

Volunteer Phyllis Burnette said, “It’s wonderful to volunteer for this event, to see the children come out, to see the smiles on their faces, and to see so many churches out here working together, and to know that we have the opportunity to show Christ’s love.”

Harriett Baptist Church Pastor Wil Breedlove was in attendance, with his two children, and Breedlove said, “It’s a bunch of different churches in our community who love our community and want to make a diffence. It’s a great day; it’s a great family day. At seven o’clock this morning my kids got up and said, ‘Daddy, we are ready to go to the spectacular.'”

The morning prayer for the volunteers, just before the event started at 11:00am, brings it full circle for Kilgore and others. To the Glory of God only.