Jarrod Covington waves from atop a bus.
Photos by Todd Luck
Day of celebrations at
Winston Lake YMCA
BY TOlj)D LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Last Thursday morning,
those getting breakfast at the
McDonald's on Martin Luther
King Jr. Drive were greeted by
an unusual sight: a man seeking
their attention from the top of a
bus.
Winston ? Lake Family
YMCA Executive Director
Janod Covington spent nearly
1 1 hours on top of a YMCA bus
during a special campaign to
raise money to help those who
cannot afford a Winston Lake Y
membership. Money raised also
goes to fund a multitude of
youth programs, everything
from buying uniforms for the
Jazzy Jumpers jump rope team
to sending students to Youth &
Government conferences in
Raleigh.
Covington said that offering
assistance to those who can't
afford the YMCA's services is as
much a tradition as the organiza
tion's youth programs. Thirty
five percent of members at the
Winston Lake, the city's histori
cally African- American branch,
receive some sort of assistance.
"The *Y' is about communi
ty. We want everyone to have a
?Y* experience," said
Covington. "We feel blessed
that we're in a position to help
people reach their God-given
potential in spirit, mind and
body."
Covington's bus visited var
ious locations around the city
last Thursday. It started bright
and early at 6 a.m. at the
McDonald's. Throughout the
day, various Winston Lake
board members and volunteers
accompanied the bus, explain
ing to passers-by about the
YMCA and the?fundraiser.
"The community was really,
really supportive of this effort,"
said volunteer Sophia Kennedy.
"1 was surprised because of ...
the way the economy is, people
still gave."
Kennedy is the 2007
Volunteer of the Year at the
Winston Lake YMCA. After
losing her job, she decided to
use her free time volunteering at
various YMCA events.
People reached into their
wallets, purses and pockets to
give one and five dollar bills
generously. Eventually the
morning chill gave way to a
beautiful spring day and the bus
moved to Chick-Fil-A on
Knollwood Street. There,
Winston Lake Y legend Mo
Lucas joined the effort. Lucas,'
who has been an employee or
volunteer at the Winston Lake
YMCA for 54 years, is well
known and loved for having
mentored several generations of
young people. Lucas sat in the
bus and greeted those in the
parking lot. He said several
adults he'd mentored as children
came up to him and thanked
him.
Last Thursday was also a
special day for Lucas: his 81st
birthday. He was glad to spend
part of his big day taking part in
the fundraiser.
"Our motto is deny no kid,"
said Lucas proudly.
After the Chick-Fil-A stop,
Covington spent the rest of the
day perched atop the bus at the
Winston Lake Y.
The day of fundraising
ended with a reception that cele
brated both the day's success
and Lucas' birthday. Children
sang happy birthday to Lucas,
Y Legend Mo Lucas sits beside some of his gifts.
who described himself as a
"youth person." Even at 81, he
never gets tired of working with
young people.
"This is something God
wanted me to do, not something
I wanted to do," said Lucas.
Covington said that by the
end of the day, more than $400
was raised. So far, the Winston
Lake YMCA has raised more
than $56,400 towards its
$82,000 goal this year.
"We just want to go out and
be visible in the community and
let people know what we do. We
didn't know what the amount
was going to be," said
Covington. "We knew we would
end the day off with more than
when we started and that's our
goal."
Covington said the fundrais
ing will continue as the Winston
Lake Y looks for more donors
and contributions.
News
Clips
Seminar to help older adults
avoid scams
A free seminar to help older
adults avoid scams will be held
from 2 to 4 p.m. on April 10 at
Senior Services, 2895 Shorefair
Drive. "Spring Scams: Ending
Elder Exploitation" will help
seniors and their family mem
bers identify common scams
and learn how to avoid becom
ing victims.
The event is sponsored by
The Elder Law Clinic, a pro
gram of Wake Forest
University School of Law. The
Elder Law Clinic is located at
Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center's J. Paul Sticht
Center on Aging. Co-sponsors
of the April 10 program are
Senior Services and the
Shephard's Center of Greater
Winston-Salem. Several speak
ers will take part, including
Special Agent Craig Williams
of the U.S. Secret Service.
Victims and family mem
bers from the Triad commutpty
will present their stories of
being defrauded. Refreshments
will be provided. To register,
contact the Elder Law Clinic at
336-713-8630 or eclin
ic@wfu.edu. The Elder Law
Clinic provides free legal assis
tance to moderate-income older*
adults. For more information
about the clinic, go to
Www.law.wfu .edu/eclinic .
?
Kid safety events upcoming
The Forsyth County chap
ter of SAFE KIDS will hold a
Bike Rodeo on Saturday, April
5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the
parking lot of Toys R'Us on
Silas Creek Parkway.
A bike course will be set up
for children to ride and learn
the basics of bike safety.
Children must bring their own
bicycles to participate in the
bike course. A tent will be set
up for participants to make
minor repairs to their bikes.
A fire truck from the
Winston-Salem Fire
Department will be parked at
the event for children to
explore, and drawings for
prizes will be held throughout
the afternoon. Representatives
from Brenner Children's
Hospital will also be on hand to
answer questions about pre
venting childhood injuries.
On April 11, SAFE KIDS
will hold a car seat check from
1 :30 - 3:30 p.m. in the parking
lot of Wal-Mart in Kemersville.
Officers from the Kemersville
Police and Fire Departments
will be on hand to inspect car
seats and make sure they are
secured properly.
Representatives from
Brenner Children's Hospital
will also be on hand to answer
questions about preventing
childhood injury.
Firefighters, paramedics
endorse Moore
The Professional Fire
Fighters and Paramedics of
North Carolina last week
announced its unanimous
endorse
mem 01
Richard
Moore in
the race
for North
Carolina's
governor.
Moore
w i 1 1
square off
against Lt.
Gov Rpv
Perdue in the May 6
Democratic Primary.
"Richard Moore has a track
record and experience
unmatched by any other candi
date in this race," said David
Anders, President of the
Professional Fire Fighters and
Paramedics of North Carolina.
"Both as Secretary of Crime
Control and Public Safety and
then as State Treasurer Richard
has done an outstanding job for
public employees such as fire
fighters and paramedics."
PFFPNC cited Moore's job
managing the pension fund for
more than 700,000 North
Carolina public employees
including firefighters and noted
the fund has been ranked
among the top three of state
pension funds for six years in a
row.
"Richard H. Moore is the
candidate to receive our
endorsement and full support in
becoming the next Governor of
North Carolina," the group con
tends.
Provost will serve as
ACAOSS president
Beverly Washington Jones,
provost of North Carolina
Central University, will serve as
Moore
president of the Association of
Chief Academic Officers of the
Southern States (ACAOSS) for
the 2008 term. Jones was nom
inated by the Association of
Chief Academic Officers at its
w inter meeting in New Orleans,
Louisiana. .
Jones is charged with
strengthening the network of
chief academic officers, plan
ning the 2008 annual meeting
to be held in San Antonio,
Texas, as well as providing
expertise on current academic
issues.
Jones has served as provost
and vice chancellor of academ
ic affairs at NCCU since 2005.
Prior, she served as dean of
NCCU's University College,
director of its Community
Service Program, and executive
director of the Historically
Minority Colleges and
Universities Consortium
(HMCUC) of North Carolina.
UNC arts festival coming to
NCSA
The second annual
University of North Carolina
Festival of the Arts will be held
at the North Carolina School of
the Arts (NCSA) on Saturday,
April 12, from noon until 6
p.m. and Sunday, April 13,
from 1-5 p.m.
The festival will feature
performances by groups from
most of the universities in the
UNC system at various venues
on the NCSA campus through
out the weekend. "Hie festival is
free and open to the public, and
family-friendly.
The UNC Festival of the
Arts is an opportunity to experi
ence a variety of arts perform
ances from the state's public
university system - dance, the
atre, poetry, opera, improvisa
tion, music, film, and more - all
in one weekend.
As of the date of this
release, UNC campuses repre
sented 1 will- include
Appalachian State University,
East Carolina University,
Fayetteville State University,
North Carolina Agricultural
and Technical State University,
North Carolina Central
University, North Carolina
State University, University of
North Carolina at Asheville,
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, University of
North Carolina at Greensboro,
University of North Carolina at
Pembroke, University of North
Carolina at Wilmington,
Winston-Salem State
University and, of course,
NCSA.
boneless bottom
round roast ?-$
?MWtk *
premium Certified Hereford beef
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hoXor ^PLUS