ROCKINGHAM — Area organizations from across Richmond County gathered for the first Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Health Fair last Saturday.
Using the biblical proverb of feeding a man or teaching him how to fish, Mt. Sinai Baptist Church hosted the health fair, which provided participants access to a myriad of different programs from adult education programs through Richmond Community College to senior programs as part of the Richmond County Department of Aging Services.
“We had a great person, that’s a part of our church, who came with the wherewithall to think about her community and put this together. This is a great woman … Thank God for [Mary Barbee],” Mt. Sinai Baptist Church Deacon Thomas Ford said.
Barbee, who also serves on the Richmond County Drug Endangerment Task Force Board, said she wanted to host an event allowing visitors to see access a variety of resources all in one loaction. With winter coming, and some citizens not having access to basic amenities through no fault of their own, the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church hoped to provide them the knowledge to cover their basics and beyond this Christmas.
“It’s pulling the community resources and making them available to the persons attending. To be aware of what’s available. We’re approaching winter, and the holiday seasons. This is the time to let them know what are their needs and what resources are available,” Barbee said.
With more than a dozen different organizations attending, Barbee credit the success of the health fair to those who chose display their services last Saturday.
“We’re blessed … We helped families. For example, the younger youths in terms planning for after high school graduation. We’ve got Crimestoppers. We’ve got food banks. We’ve got nutritionistional information from Ag. Innovation, fresh apples and some recipes from the North Carolina Mobile Extension. We have Aging Services, which has a cornicopia of different programs for aging citizens, especially since annual enrollment is just around the corner,” Barbee said.
For Deacon Ford, the health fair is just one more contribution to Mt. Sinai’s mission of lifting up its worshipers and its community.
“God put us here to help each other. It’s just a vision. We’re here for the community and working with people like Barbee. It’s just a blessing to have people like that and it’s a blessing to the community,” Ford said.