Since Twanna Jones founded The Help Center in 2017, she has found that there are many opportunities to provide something to someone. But what she said her organization strives to do is to provide hope as well as help.
“It’s beautiful and sustainable when you give them both,” Jones said on TownTalk Tuesday.
Jones, the Help Center staff and its volunteers need only look across the street if they need reminding about the hope part: Rebuilding Hope is located just across Raleigh Road from the Help Center building.
Whether it’s the quarterly baby shower designed to provide single moms- and dads-to-be with some of the basics that they’ll need when a newborn is added to the household to the gleaning program that puts young people in farmers’ fields to help with the harvest, The Help Center North Carolina finds a place where help is needed and then goes about the task of filling that need.
Jones and her team serve Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Wake counties, and they offer different programs and services in each spot.
In Vance County, the emphasis is on food insecurity and keeping a diaper bank stocked.
There’s a home delivery program that just got started – a partnership with Door Dash. It’s designed for people with chronic health issues to have weekly food deliveries since they may not be able to get out to get groceries.
All of these programs require volunteers, and Jones said she’s always in the market to have more volunteers to come and help out.
The monthly food distribution is a big one in Vance County. More than 200 families are signed up to pick up food on the 4th Monday of each month.
Then, twice a month, the Help Center opens its doors for clients to choose their own foods instead of getting the pre-made bags. Volunteers are needed for this program, too.
Food distribution Wednesday.
“It takes all of us to work together,” Jones said, giving a nod to the existing agencies in the area that also provide support to the community. “Joining together…makes our community stronger, better and healthier.”
One gap the Help Center is working to fill is getting out into the rural community. The “mobile pantry” program brings food to folks who need it, but that food delivery is just part of the contact. Volunteers deliver food, but that is coupled with making safety checks on older adults, she said. “We wanted to get out into the community and connect with people.” To do that, “you start with food.”
Visit the website at http://www.thehelpcenternc.com to learn about all the volunteer opportunities and how to make donations, or phone 919.391.7300. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Some of the immediate needs, in addition to volunteers, include donations of:
- Bottled water
- Gatorade
- Baby diapers
- Adult diapers
- Pop-lid canned items
- Peanut butter
- Juice packs
- Oodles of noodles
- Breakfast bars
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Home And Garden Show
/by Bill HarrisOn the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-19-23 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
24th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
/by WIZS StaffThe Drug Enforcement Administration has announced the date of its 24th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Saturday, April 22.
Take Back Day is designed to help Americans make sure their unneeded medications don’t end up in the wrong hands.
Locally, the Youngsville Police Department will be participating in Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to a DEA press statement. Residents are encouraged to bring any tablets, capsules patches or other solid forms of prescription drugs that are expired or no longer being used.
The collection site will not accept syringes, sharps or illicit drugs. Any liquid products should remain sealed in the original container, with the cap tightly sealed to prevent leakage.
This program has been providing safe disposal of medications for more than a decade, and offers free and anonymous disposal at more than 4,000 drop-off locations nationwide. Since its inception, Take Back Day has removed more than 8,300 tons of medication from circulation.
The Youngville Police Department is located at 134 Youngsville Blvd. S, Youngsville, NC 27596.
The Local Skinny! Programs For Youth And More At Perry Memorial Library
/by Laura GabelWith National Library Week coming up, Perry Memorial Library Youth Services Director Melody Peters took some time to chat with WIZS’s Bill Harris on The Local Skinny! about the important roles libraries play in society.
Sure, they’re a place where you can go and check out books, but Peters said libraries provide so much more. And the Henderson library is ever-evolving to respond to the needs and wants of the community it serves.
“We’re meeting information needs,” Peters said, adding that those needs vary greatly from person to person. She said patrons feel they get “honest, unbiased advice when they come to the library.”
Whether it’s asking for help finding a resource or searching online for a particular document or website, librarians are always at the ready to assist patrons.
“Not everyone can do everything online,” she said. “They still need that guidance” that comes from one-on-one assistance. You know – the old-fashioned way. “You have to constantly evolve and adapt” to respond to the needs of your community, Peters added.
Perry Memorial Library offers a variety of programs for young people, including Life Hacks and Survival Skills, which offers middle- and high-school aged students workshops on everything from sewing a set of mittens to learning how poetry slams work.
And the upcoming Kids Connect session will feature a poetry workshop with Valerie Rodriguez. That program, geared for kids in grades K-5, will be held Tuesday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m.
Stargazers are invited to head out to the community house at Satterwhite Point Saturday evening for a special astronomy program that begins at 7:45 p.m. Weather permitting, there will be telescopes set up and pointed at the skies for participants to learn about constellations.
There will be plenty of activities inside, too, Peters said, just in case the skies are cloudy.
Visit https://www.perrylibrary.org/ to learn more.
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SportsTalk: KVA Baseball Plans Alumni Game
/by Bill HarrisA quick check of the gymnasium at Kerr-Vance Academy will find 20-plus state championship banners hanging there representing a variety of sports the school offers. Six of those banners are for baseball championships. Those six championships began with the 2003 Spartan team. While the ’03 team may have won a state championship perhaps their toughest opponent will come this Saturday when that legendary team will face off against the current KVA squad in an alumni fundraising game.
“It’s been in discussion since before Christmas of last year,” said Mike Joyner, KVA Athletic Director, on Wednesday’s SportsTalk. Joyner was approached by Robert Bowen and Tim Purvis, former members of the ’03 team, about the prospects of having the alumni game. “We have a full array of things planned,” Joyner added.
Bowen, Purvis and Joyner all worked together to bring Saturday’s game to the field at Kerr-Vance and money raised at the game will go back to the baseball program including some field improvements.
The 2003 team is now much older and Joyner said there may be some special rules in place to help the old timers out.
The game will take place at 11:30 a.m. at Kerr Vance Academy and admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children.
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TownTalk: The Help Center Helps Those In Need
/by Laura GabelSince Twanna Jones founded The Help Center in 2017, she has found that there are many opportunities to provide something to someone. But what she said her organization strives to do is to provide hope as well as help.
“It’s beautiful and sustainable when you give them both,” Jones said on TownTalk Tuesday.
Jones, the Help Center staff and its volunteers need only look across the street if they need reminding about the hope part: Rebuilding Hope is located just across Raleigh Road from the Help Center building.
Whether it’s the quarterly baby shower designed to provide single moms- and dads-to-be with some of the basics that they’ll need when a newborn is added to the household to the gleaning program that puts young people in farmers’ fields to help with the harvest, The Help Center North Carolina finds a place where help is needed and then goes about the task of filling that need.
Jones and her team serve Vance, Granville, Warren, Franklin and Wake counties, and they offer different programs and services in each spot.
In Vance County, the emphasis is on food insecurity and keeping a diaper bank stocked.
There’s a home delivery program that just got started – a partnership with Door Dash. It’s designed for people with chronic health issues to have weekly food deliveries since they may not be able to get out to get groceries.
All of these programs require volunteers, and Jones said she’s always in the market to have more volunteers to come and help out.
The monthly food distribution is a big one in Vance County. More than 200 families are signed up to pick up food on the 4th Monday of each month.
Then, twice a month, the Help Center opens its doors for clients to choose their own foods instead of getting the pre-made bags. Volunteers are needed for this program, too.
Food distribution Wednesday.
“It takes all of us to work together,” Jones said, giving a nod to the existing agencies in the area that also provide support to the community. “Joining together…makes our community stronger, better and healthier.”
One gap the Help Center is working to fill is getting out into the rural community. The “mobile pantry” program brings food to folks who need it, but that food delivery is just part of the contact. Volunteers deliver food, but that is coupled with making safety checks on older adults, she said. “We wanted to get out into the community and connect with people.” To do that, “you start with food.”
Visit the website at http://www.thehelpcenternc.com to learn about all the volunteer opportunities and how to make donations, or phone 919.391.7300. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Some of the immediate needs, in addition to volunteers, include donations of:
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WIZS Radio Local News Audio 04-18-23 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Arts In Bloom Gala Features Granville Students’ Artwork
/by WIZS StaffMore than 150 original pieces of art created by students from schools throughout Granville County will on display at the Granville Museum – and on the auction block – for the second Arts in Bloom Gala April 25 and April 27.
Granville Ed Foundation Director Jennifer Carpenter said bids will be accepted on the opening day of the event, Tuesday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m, and she invites folks to come out and view the artwork and place bids. Bidding reopens at 1o a.m. on April 27 and closes at 8 p.m. when the winners will be notified.
Carpenter and Granville Chamber of Commerce Director Lauren Roberson were on The Local Skinny! to share details about the event, and how the two local organizations collaborated to showcase the art gala, the proceeds of which come back to schools in the county in the form of grants.
Last year’s auction netted more than $5,600, Carpenter said, and this year’s is expected to top that. A reception will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 25. The museum is located at 1 Museum Lane, Oxford.
In planning the gala, the women said they intentionally coordinated the art gala on the same day as the kickoff of Alive After Five in downtown Oxford.
Roberson is on the GEF board and she invites the community to take a few minutes to walk through the museum on their way to, or from, the concert downtown on April 27.
The Konnection Band will perform from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., officially opening the 20th anniversary of the popular seasonal outdoor concert series. There will be food trucks, face painting for the kids, as well as offerings from Tobacco Wood Brewing Co. and The Hub on Main.
“We want to get as many people into downtown as possible,” Roberson said, to enjoy the concert and to enjoy the artwork from talented local youth.
Visit https://granvilleedfoundation.org/ or find GEF on Facebook for a sneak peek at some of the art pieces that will be included in the silent auction.
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Families Living Violence Free Offers Tips To Identify, Report Sexual Assault
/by WIZS StaffApril is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Families Living Violence Free offers information to the community to learn more about how to protect yourself and how to report incidents.
FLVF defines the term sexual assault as any type of sexual activity or contact that happens without your consent. “Sexual assault can include non-contact activities, such as someone “flashing” you (exposing themselves to you) or forcing you to look at sexual images. Sexual assault is also called sexual violence or abuse,” according to FLVF Director Nancy Roark.
Roark offers these tips about reporting a sexual assault:
It’s important for victims to understand that it’s not their fault. A range of emotions swirls through victims’ minds, but it is crucial to understand the victim is not at fault.
For more information or help, contact
Families Living Violence Free (FLVF) at 919.693.5700.
Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
/by Bill HarrisListen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
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