Latest news with #CenterofHope
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community gives back to cancer patient after hit-and-run leaves wheelchair lift damaged
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – A Bay County woman is mobile again, after an unfortunate incident left her with no means of transportation. When Doris Robbins left her doctor's appointment at HCA Gulf Coast on March 12th, she never imagined being the victim of a hit-and-run. While inside, someone hit the side of her car, damaging her wheelchair lift. 'They never bothered to say anything about who they were. They never left a note, no insurance information. So I was left to figure out a way to get my wheelchair home. And it ended up my daughter had to ride it all the way from Gulf Coast Hospital to Lynn Haven, that's a long ways to travel on a wheelchair, but that's the only way we could get home,' Robbins said. With no way of transporting herself, Robbins was facing a harsh reality, but a Facebook post shared by Josie-on-the-go reached hundreds, who then shared the post. Some even offered to fix Doris' chair lift. That's when someone told her daughter about a Panama City non-profit called 'Center of Hope.' A longtime member of the organization recently donated a wheelchair lift used by his late wife. 'I started thinking about who I could give it to and couldn't find anyone, and prayed about it. Finally, said let's just take it down to the center of hope and see if somebody needs it,' Center of Hope Counselor Hugo White said. 'It was a blessing to us, just like it's a blessing to her.' Center of Hope contacted Doris' family, and two days after the accident, Robbins had a new lift. 'The community just comes together, and it makes me proud for people to know I'm from Bay County. It makes me proud because people are good,' White added. 'It's the people here that I appreciate so much. They'll never know how much I appreciate them. You know, all I can do is ask God to bless them.' Doris said being with her grandchildren is her motivation for fighting her battle against cancer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Honoring Black History: Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church
FAIRMONT (WBOY) — At Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Fairmont, Senior Pastor Dr. Mark A. Staples says that they try to share Black history all year long, because Black history is 'all our history.' The story of Mount Zion itself is representative of African-American history. The church started in a member's basement in 1902 in the midst of segregation. They enlisted Carl E. Barnett, who was the third-ever licensed architect in West Virginia, to help complete the original church building on Cleveland Avenue in 1928—right across the street from the Dunbar School. Due to the era, Barnett struggled to find other work as an architect. Over time, Mount Zion became a pillar of the community, but it outgrew the Cleveland Avenue building and wound up moving to its current location on Maple Avenue in 1989. Joan Elaine Lacey has been a member of Mount Zion for just under 20 years. She told 12 News that she enjoys 'that we as a congregation look out for each other, we care for each other, and that's about the best thing that we can do.' Honoring Black History: JR Clifford, the first African-American lawyer in West Virginia Mount Zion remains active in the community today, offering programs for kids, premarital classes, and cooking classes for the older members. In 2022—120 years after those first basement masses—the church was offered its original building back from the people they sold it to. 'He wanted to give us back the property even though it had some damage to it as a gift under one condition – that we use it to serve the community,' Dr. Staples said. Mount Zion hopes to restore the original Cleveland Avenue Church and turn it into a community center that they will call the 'Center of Hope'. My favorite scripture is Ephesians 3:20. 'For God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we asked think or imagine according to the power that work in us.' I'm just a dreamer and I believe God has even greater things in store for Mount Zion and for the people here in Fairmont.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
