By all accounts, Thursday’s Community Resource Festival at the Vance-Granville Civic Center was a success as hundreds of participants visited more than 60 vendors to learn about services they provide and more. For Michelle Walker, this event was the culmination of months of planning with community partners to help local residents learn about available programs and services that are right here for the asking.
Walker is the sales and account manager with Huff Consulting. She and other key planning partners invested time and energy into Thursday’s result, and she couldn’t be more pleased.
“As long as I have the opportunity, I’m going to do things like this to help people,” Walker told WIZS as she surveyed the activity around her. Walker and others no doubt have poured their heart and soul into making this festival a success, and Walker could barely hold back tears as she watched community agency representatives interact and connect with individuals from the community.
Huff Consulting is a recruiting firm that works with a wide range of employees – from day laborers to corporate executives, Walker said, adding that her company has recognized the struggles that face many in the community. “Everybody has a need,” Walker said on an earlier TownTalk broadcast to promote the event. And this resource festival is a way to bridge the gap between available resources and the folks who are looking for them.
Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Wilkerson said things got off to a good start in the morning and continued throughout the afternoon.
“We have absolutely packed the house,” Wilkerson told WIZS during the initial hour of the resource festival. During the planning process, she said, she and other organizers had a vision to bring under one roof community resources for the public to come and get information.
Sixty-plus organizations appeared from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – there were representatives from fire and police departments, as well as churches, non-profits and businesses from Vance and Granville counties. The event was free to attend, and more than 150 people were in attendance around 11 a.m., visiting the various information tables located throughout the Civic Center.
The Vance and Granville Chambers of Commerce, along with VGCC and Huff Consulting, teamed up to put on the festival.
VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais said she didn’t hesitate when she was approached with the idea for a community resource festival.
“We think of ourselves as a convener and a catalyst,” Desmarais said in an interview during the Thursday event. “The community is serving its constituents – this is how we all get better…and do better.”
This event was just one more way to empower people to care for themselves as they networked with community businesses, non-profits, churches and other resources in the area. “Whatever their goal may be, they’re welcome here. We want (the community) to remember that Vance Granville really does care.”
Granville Vance Public Health – As the name implies, the agency serves the two counties, and Tayshah Josey was on hand to discuss a variety of programs available to residents. From family planning and maternal care to STD and HIV testing, Josey said the health department is here for the community.
Josey said a new program designed to reduce infant mortality will be rolled out in the next few months. Participants who complete a infant safe sleep training will get rewarded with a new crib.
HIV test kits are available at the health department, too. These are home kits and individuals can request two free kits within a 90-day time frame. The STD clinic is available for walk-ins, but appointments also are available.
Family planning clinics use a sliding-scale for payment, Josey added. Visit https://www.gvph.org/ to learn about all the services GVPH provides.
Maria Parham Health – Donna Young, MPH marketing director, was on hand to network and provide information about the hospital, which enjoys high marks from Leapfrog, a national organization that measures patient safety. “We got an A for the Fall of 2022,” Young noted, which means that hospital staff puts patient safety first.
Whether getting care at the Duke-accredited cancer center, heart catheterization lab or any of the other departments, patients can be assured they’ll be taken care of.
Young said she fielded questions on a variety of topics at the resource festival, including inpatient rehab services. Whether you’re speaking to her in person or contact her via email at Donna.Young@lpnt.net, Young said you’ll get the answers you need.
“Every one of those inquiries goes straight to my inbox,” she explained, and she then routes each question to the right person to answer the question.
State Farm – In addition to medical care, a community needs other services as well, including insurance. State Farm Insurance Agency in Henderson provides the full range of insurance services in the area, and local agent Margier White had her sister, Davida Rascoe, with her at the vendor table Thursday.
State Farm is all about helping people when they’re in trouble, Rascoe said. “You need someone who cares,” she said, “who have your concerns at heart.” Her sister does a great job at making sure they cover whatever you need.”
Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame was in attendance, among other area law enforcement agencies.
“This is an awesome opportunity for citizens,” Brame said Thursday morning. Many agencies – the sheriff’s office among them – also has applications available at the community resource festival.
Granville Health System – Granville Primary Care offers a complete range of services, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and Renita Timberlake said the Butner office offers primary care as well as express care services. A team of 10 providers in the Oxford office also works with businesses to provide services like drug screens for employees and workers’ comp claims.
Gail Barnes-Hall is the director of the Harold Sherman Adult Day Center, which provides respite care for those who care for loved ones with physical or cognitive issues. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Barnes-Hall said. Participants get three meals a day and participate in engaging activities, all while giving their caregivers a break from their care-giving duties.
Visit https://ghshospital.org/ to learn more.
HubZone Technology Initiative – Bryan Davis and Mark Williams work with HubZone, whose mission is twofold – refurbishing donated laptops and distributing them to those who need them, which keeps them in use and out of landfills.
“We help bridge the digital divide,” Williams said Thursday morning. The donated laptops have their data wiped before they’re converted to Chromebooks and donated to local nonprofits.
“We serve them so they can help the broader community,” Williams said.
Davis started out with HubZone as a photographer – until they found out he had experience with refurbishing computers himself.
Learn more about HubZone, located at 208 N. Garnett St., at https://www.hubzonetech.org/
Henderson Family YMCA – Tesa Alexander is membership director for the Henderson Family YMCA. The Y, located at 380 Ruin Creek Road, is the only Y in the four-county area, and Alexander said joining fees were waived for anyone who signed up at the resource festival.
“We try to partner with the community and make it a better place,” Alexander said. “We build our community by working with one another.” The Y will sponsor “Healthy Kids Day” Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Vendors, food trucks and more will be on hand at the Y to celebrate the nationwide observance.
Guardian Ad Litem, 9th Judicial District – Samantha Branch is supervisor of the guardian ad litem program for the 9th Judicial District, which includes Vance and Granville counties. April is Child Advocate Month and Branch said her agency is always looking for volunteers to be a voice in the court system for abused and neglected children. “The goal is to get children back with their family unit,” Branch told WIZS. “We gather information and report back to the court (about) what is going to be in the best interest of the child.”
Visit www.volunteerforgal.org to learn more.