Gateway CDC & Walmart kick off volunteerism July 3


by Gary Morgan, CDC Administrator

Gateway CDC Executive Director Gary Morgan and Walmart Distribution Center General Manager Maurice Gray have united to declare war on the poverty and oppression that has held a stranglehold on the City of Henderson and Vance County.

July 3, 2010 will kick-off the largest volunteer effort the local community has ever seen.

The focus: Rebuild our inner city neighborhoods. Give back the pride and hope that has been stolen. Make our community a place that people are attracted to for its beauty, simplicity and family atmosphere.

With Gateway coordinating the effort, Walmart will provide funding and dozens of volunteers each month to rehabilitate Henderson’s inner city housing. The effort began in earnest last Tuesday when dozens of volunteers and Gateway CDC staff ascended on several homes on Old Epsom Road with new porches and railings, windows, foundation repairs, paint, and landscaping being the order of the day.

But the July 3 event, truly an Independence Day Celebration, will do more than just be a holiday celebration. Yes, we will recognize our independence, and, yes, we will recognize our heroes who fight and have fought for our freedom., but it will also be a clarion call to our community to come together united for the common cause of lifting our fellow brothers and sisters (each other) into a place of hope and expectation. Together we can. It has begun, and YOU are invited!

Here’s some of the highlights planned for July 3, 2010 in downtown Henderson from 12:00 p.m. until the fireworks over the Kerr Lake:

  • Walmart & Gateway CDC teaming up;
  • Marathon only $10 (run or walk and get a free t-shirt);
  • Bounce House and Slide (free for kids);
  • Hotdogs, chips & drinks (only 50 cents each);
  • Meet your heroes area (where active duty, reserve and veterans can be met and thanked for a job well done);
  • Face painting;
  • Fire, police, Sheriff’s Office displays;
  • Volunteer stations where folks can sign up to help rebuild our city;
  • Speakers, singers, open-mic;
  • 100% of proceeds go to Children’s Miracle Network (Walmart’s corporate charity);
  • This event is for the City of Henderson, all of its people, one big family coming together united for a common cause: to love and help each other rise above, to declare our freedom from the social and economic bonds that have held us down for so long.