Affluence?
Photo by Layla Farmer
Eric Gordon stands outside of Confluence Coffee, where he and others will watch the
NCAA Basketball Championship game.
News
Clips
Drunk drivers nabbed
across the state during St.
Patrick's Day campaign
Law enforcement officers
across the state cited 836
motorists for driving while
impaired during a St.
Patrick's Day "Booze it &
Lose It" campaign, which ran
March 13-17. A total of
20,183 traffic and criminal
citations were issued
statewide. Six drivers were
charged with DWI in Forsyth
County over that five day
period.
During the Governor's
Highway Safety Program
campaign, officers statewide
conducted 2,535 sobriety
checkpoints and dedicated
patrols. Counties with the
highest number of DWI cita
tions include: Mecklenburg
(94), Wake (55) and
Buncombe (35).
Moore graduates from
bask training
Air Force Airman Rajeem
D. Moore has graduated from
basic military training at
Lackland Air Force Base, San
Antonio, Texas.
During the six weeks of
training, the airman studied
the Air Force mission, organi
zation, core
values, and
military
customs
and courte
sies; per
formed drill
and cere
al o n y
marches ,
and
received
Moore
physical training, rifle marks
manship, field training exer
cises, and special training in
human relations.
In addition, airmen who
complete basic training earn
credits toward an associate in
applied science degree relat
ing through the Community
College of the Air Force.
Moore is the son of Robert
and Angela Moore of Winston
Salem The airman is a 2007
graduate of Ronald Wilson
Reagan High School.
Baptist Medical earns
gold seal
Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center
recently received the Joint
Commission's Gold Seal of
Approval - full accreditation
with no recommendations for
compliance improvement ,
The Joint Commission is the
nation's esteemed standards
setting and accrediting body
for health care and quality.
In December, a team of
Joint Commission surveyors
arrived unannounced, and for
five days, followed the care
experience cf randomly
selected pajtmits to assess
hospital quality compliance.
The process included inter
views with employees and
step-by-step assessments of
compliance with national
standards for health care and
safety. It was Wake Forest
Baptist's first experience with
the new "tracer" survey
approach.
Hope &
Hoops
Local man puts philanthropic spin
on traditional NCAA office pool
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
A little friendly betting
can go a long way this year,
thanks to the efforts of one
local man.
Eric Gordon, director of
training for The Fresh
Market, has found a way to
help two local nonprofits
benefit from the fervor and
excitement that surrounds
March Madness.
The Winston-Salem
Rescue Mission, an ecu
menical ministry that reha
bilitates and redirects home
less men; and the Potters
House, a local nonprofit that
works with dis
advantaged,
inner-city fami
lies; will receive
additional dona
tions through
the tournament
this year, thanks
to an office bet
ting pool
Gordon estab
lished at work.
"It's a big
boost to us anytime we can
receive something like this,
especially this time of the
year when we're kind of
between giving seasons,"
commented Mike Foster,
director of Development for
the Rescue Mission. "We
were glad to accept (the
donations)."
Contrary to traditional
office pools - where sports
fans sort through the numer
ous possible match u0s and
try to predict the outcomes
of each game in the NCAA
Basketball Tournament in
hopes of winning a pot of
prize money - Gordon's
Hoops of Hope is all about
what fans give, not what
they receive.
"I've had this desire for
awhile to really find ways to
make everyday events ... an
opportunity to bless others,"
Gordon said of his motiva
tion to start Hoops of Hope.
"It's a fun way to get people
involved."
In order to gain admis
sion into each week's betting
action, participants in Hoops
of Hope are asked to bring a
designated item, from food
to blankets, household items
and toiletries, to be donated
to the nonprofits. The fan
who comes closest to pre
dicting each week's outcome
wins a $25 gift card to
Lowes Home Improvement
to be given to the needy fam
ily of his or her choice.
"We just felt led to pro
vide some financial support
to those who are reaching
out to the poor," remarked
the 44-year-old. "There's a
simplicity in the need and
the thankfulness (of the
Foster
Organizations).. It's been
fun."
Although the Rescue
Mission occasionally bene
fits from the campaigns of
local citizens, few projects
have been as unique as
Hoops of Hope, Foster says.
"The thing that interests
me is (Gordon) stepping out
of the box and trying some
new things," he remarked.
"I think that's a really neat
thing on his part."
Hoops of Hope has not
seen the success that Gordon
hoped for early on. So far,
only five of his colleagues
have gotten in on the action
- but Gordon is a firm
believer that every
little bit helps.
"I think its easy
to be overwhelmed
by the excessive
need (in our commu
nity) It's just
tempting to feel that
for (a gesture) to be
valuable, it must be
grand and big," he
stated. "I want peo
ple to realize that
you can make differences in
small ways."
The Rescue Mission is
happy to take whatever
Gordon can get for it, espe
cially in these lean economic
times, Foster says.
"With everything that's
going on, we're seeing some
declines (in giving) across
the board," he reported. "In
kind giving like this is where
we start to see a hit - folks
start to hold onto stuff more.
Those donations are down
considerably."
For Gordon, the joy is in
the giving. He plans to make
Hoops of Hope an annual
event and hopes that support
for the event will likely grow
in time, he said.
"As a Christian, 1 love to
share the love of Christ. I
believe that God wants peo
ple to know that He loves
them," he declared. "I don't
think I can ask for anything
more to make my life
about."
Hoops for Hope will cul
minate with a celebration on
Monday, April 6, the night of
the championship game for
the NCAA tournament, at
Confluence Coffee ( off of
Peter's Creek Parkway/NC
15 0)
www.confluencecoffee .com.
Confluence will have the big
game on big screen TV's and
fans and participants can
enjoy coffee, chili, and all
the other amenities
Confluence Coffee offers.
Those who still wish to par
ticipate in this year's Hoops
of Hope may contact Gordon
at (336) 240-2426 or email
gracedad@ gmail .com .
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