Homeless from page A1
"When I first volun leered I wa$__
sornewtsa irTtherapy for myself," he
said. 4,I came here as a person who
understands junkies. I have worked
with prostitutes. I deal with people."
Ford sold his landscaping busi
ness when he became the assistant
director of the shelter. In January
1992, one of the shelter's directors
resigned and Ford applied for the
position and persuaded his employ
ers that his life experiences made
? himhighly qualified.
"I told them that I'm the one
who could relate to the people,1 * he
said. "I've been down that path
before. I even told them that they
needed me."
One of the main reasons Ford
decided to quit his destructive habits
ana continue his education was his
desire to help others. He credits God
yith enabling him to change his life
which, in turn, has made him a role
model for others.
"My spirituality is my total
existence. I was at death's door, but
God gave life back into me. I am
truly blessed. I am very underpaid
but I am wealthy," said Ford.
While in prison, Ford continued
to sell drugs and was once caught
selling drugs 10 days after being
paroled. He began preaching to
other prisoners and decided that he
wanted to be a member of the Out
reach Ministry. He earned his equiv
olency degree while incarcerated.
Now in his second year at
Shaw~Tord has received four schol
arships including a SI 0,000 Orville
Redenbachcr award, a Gold Medal
award for students who have grade
point averages between 3.75-4.0, an
unlimited scholarship from the
^Scholastic AU-Am?rie&n Collegiate^
Program and a S3, 000 scholarship
i* w?n Winn-Dixie. He plans to con
tinue his education at Wake Forest
University with a major in criminal
justice.
" He said the support of his wife
and five children has encouraged
him to succeed.
"I couldn't do it without her,"
said Ford, who met his wife, Anita,
as a pen pal in prison, Anita Ford,
who was also a high school dropout,
recently received her nursing degree
from Winston-Salem State Univer
sity.
It was partly due to his wife's
decision to return to school that
Ford decided to further his educa
tion.
"I'm around a lot of college
graduates," he said, referring to
members of her family. "1 felt so out
of place." Ford was also encouraged
by close individuals such as the late
Rev. David L. Wilson, former pas
tor of the Sovereign Grace Taberna
cle Church, who he describes as a
"minister who believed in change."
Ford uses his personal wisdom
to encourage others to straighten out
their lives. He regularly speaks at
schools and colleges about home
lessness.
He has created the self-disci
pline necessary to regain control of
his life.
"When you quit something, you
need to develop a hatred against it,"
he said. "I hate drugs but I love drug
addicts. I mingle with them and let
them know that I love them. There
are people who do care and I hope
that I am one of them."
Salem Sets Fund-Raising Record
Salem Academy and College
finished a record-selling fiscal year
in fund-raising on June 30. Dona
tions during ihe year totaled more
lhan S6.1 million ? nearly doubling
the previous record of $3.1 million
set in 1986-87.
The $6.1 million included a
record $802,784 for the annual
fund, which provides money lo
Salem for unrestricted, ongoing sup
port Total giving was bolstered by
a $100,000 gifl from the Salem Col
lege Class of 1948. Class members
raised the money in honor of their
45th reunion in May, also selling a
ncvy record for reunion giving. The
loiaf also included a $150,000 gift
from the. Wachovia Corporation, its
first payment toward a pledge of
$500,000 for Salem's upcoming
"Window to the Future" capital
campaign.
All of the $6.1 million was
donated by private sources, said W.
James Marman, Salem's director of
institutional advancement Alumnae
and friends donated 90 pcrceni of
the money. Corporations and other
organizations donated 4.3 percent.
Foundations contributed 5.7 per
cent.
Jeremiah Hopes ,
A Hopes Heads to UNCG
Jeremiah Hopes, the son of
Brcnda Hopes, is a recent graduate
of North Forsyth High School. He
graduated as an honor student with a
grade point average of 3.6. He ranks
No. 16 out of 290 graduates.
During his four years in high
school, Hopes was active in the Key
Club, U.S. A. A., P.C.A. and Today's
Youth Alive. He was also a member
of ihc cross country and track
teams.
Hopes' most memorable expe
rience at North was the Christian
club. Today's Youth Alive, where
he served as president. The club
helps students sustain optimism in a
diverse and turbulent high school
atmosphere.
Hopes plans to continue his
education at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro. He plans to
pursue a degree in sociology.
A Seminar Held
Sandra M. Sheldon of Winston
Salem, a grades K-8 spccch and lan
guage pathology teacher at Speas
Elementary School, recently
attended a seminar at the North Car
olina Center for the Advancement
of Teaching.
Sheldon was one of 18 North
Carolina teachers participating in
"Listening to Nature: the Eastern
and Western Traditions," June 27
through July 2, conducted by
NCCAT senior fellow Chris Shea.
NCCAT, a unit of the Univer
? sity of North Carolina, provides
intellectual renewal experiences for
teachers in a year-round series of
interdisciplinary seminars. Teachers
from every county in the state have
participated in center programs
since NCCAT was established in
1985.
A Photo Exhibit Coming
Theatre fans will line up to see
"Black Theatre in Photographs:
Scenes from the 20th Century
Stage" ? an exhibition opening
"July 19 at the Delta Arts Center,
located at 227 W. Fourth St. The
exhibition is touring nationally
under the auspices of the Schom
Program. It will remain on view
through Aug. 13.
This free-standing panel exhibit
offers a selection of over 100 pho
tographs of stage productions, play
bills and posters from the Schom
burg Center's collections that
illuminate the accomplishments of
African-American actors, writers
and directors. From the successful
Williams and Walker musicals thai
splashed onto Broadway in the early
1900s to "A Soldier's Play," the
1982 Pulitzer Prize winner, the
exhibition scans African-American
productions and plays featuring
black performers, providing insight
into trends and important develop
ments in the theatre.
During the 1970s the Negro
Ensemble COmpany, a major force
in Black theatre today, took such
plays as "The River Niger," "Home"
and "First Breeze of Summer" to
Broadway.
Photographer Bert Andrews, a
key d(x:umentarian of black theatre,
has provided the Schomburg Center
with many of the theatrical pho
tographs on display from the early
1 960*s to the 1980s.
For information call Jackie
Black at 722-2625.
Charles Ford says he has turned his Ufi around.
Woman Wounded In
Fight At Shelter
BY SABRLNA JONES
Chroniclt Staff Writer
An argument between two women turned violent last week a t a
homeless shelter, leaving one woman severely cut with a boxcutter,
police said. ^ ?
Wanda Kay Newmon of 1072 E. 17th St. was charged with assault
with a deadly weapon after she attacked Sonya Johnson, a resident at
theTaality locaied at 930 N. Patterson Ave., said Sgt W.O. Miller.
Newmon was later released from custody on her own cognizance.
Johnson was treated and released from North Carolina Baptist Hospital.
The attack occurred last Thursday afternoon, when Newmon saw
Johnson talking with her boyfriend, Walter Green. The wounded
woman also had a knife but was not able to use it against her attacker.
William Adkerson, director of the center, said the incident was
unusual and ^was the first of lis kind to occtir since he has been at the
shelter.
Newmon has been barred permanently from the center.
m - - - ? - = i
David Lash (left), tennis instructor , shows a student how to grip a racket.
Center Offers Tennis Lessons
The Martin Luther King Jr. Participants should be 8 to IS
community center will offer tennis years old.
lessons to youths on Mondays and
Wednesdays from 1-2:30 p.m. at
the Kimberly Park neighborhood
tennis courts.
David Lash is the instructor.
For information call Bill Eng
lish, center supervisor, at 727-2740.
\ "So you like my Dodge Shadow ES? '
: f
#
"Yeah, itd really nice
1
/>
'ltd loaded with dtandardd"
;
"I'm looking for a new car,
but at the right price . "
"ltd available at a great price"
"And what might that be? "
^ "Under $9,000.
Can I drop you 4ome*>bcrc? "
" For that price ,
J can drop myself. Secy a."
Dodge Si i aix >wHS. Li ss rt ian $9.000.
It (locsn t take much on< ouraih itii< a; ? I <
getting a whole lot ol < ar lot a lot It s iii.iih \
And when that car a 1 )odge Shadow 1 v>
vou re going to get over Ho standard l$?ti$iivs
like a drivers airbaxr. nouci a
a n< i i n >nt w ho I < 1 ri \ e. Plus vou nvt a ( hour < >i
warrant les V\ ith the Dodge Shadow 1\S, v< >u vc
!M>t your tun ( ut out tor vou.
\ ! >| V !s|( ">\ < >| i IIK ( HRV-; M' <
I'n i; N l;w I )< >i>< a