V
A step forward
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Derek Chauvin
trial was played out like a
movie over the last three
weeks. Reminiscent of the
O.J. Simpson trial, viewers
learned a lot about polic
ing, the inner workings of
our judicial system, and
some medical terms.
On Tuesday, April
20, the jury in the Derek
Chauvin trial found him
guilty on all three counts.
While the verdict may look
like justice, it’s fair to say
that real justice would have
spared George Floyd’s life.
The guilty verdict is more
representative of account
ability.
In a statement, former
President Barak Obama
said the verdict was a step
forward.
“In this case, at least,
we have our answer. But
if we’re being honest with
ourselves, we know that
true justice is about much
more than a single verdict
in a single trial,” the for
mer president stated.
“True justice requires
that we come to terms with
the fact that Black Ameri
cans are treated differently,
every day. It requires us
to recognize that millions
of our friends, family,
and fellow citizens live
in fear that their next en
counter with law enforce
ment could be their last.
George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 after an encounter with the Minnesota Police Department. Almost a year later, Derek Chauvin was
found guilty on three counts for Floyd’s murder.
And it requires us to do
the sometimes thankless,
often difficult, but always
necessary work of mak
ing the America we know
more like the America we
believe in.
“While today’s verdict
may have been a necessary
step on the road to prog
ress, it was far from a suf
ficient one. We cannot rest.
We will need to follow
through with the concrete
reforms that will reduce
and ultimately eliminate
racial bias in our criminal
justice system. We will
need to redouble efforts to
expand economic opportu
nity for those communities
that have been too long
marginalized.”
Floyd’s daughter, Gi ¬
anna’s words were almost
prophetic 11 months ago,
“My dad changed the
world.”
Local nonprofits celebrate volunteers during National Volunteer
Appreciation Week
BY JUDIE HOLCOMB-PACK
THE CHRONICLE
This week we salute all
volunteers and thank them
for their generous and un
selfish service to our com
munity. If nothing else, the
pandemic and its accom
panying shut-down has
taught us how vital vol
unteers are and how much
their services are needed to
keep our nonprofits func
tioning.
The pandemic forced
many of our local nonprof
its to change how they pro
vided services, eliminating
many volunteer positions.
Now that more people are
getting vaccinated and
restrictions are being re
laxed, nonprofits are re
viewing their volunteer
needs and celebrating their
volunteers that have hung
in there with them over the
past year.
Even though many
of their volunteers were
“sidelined” for most of
2020, the Shepherd’s Cen
ter of Greater Winston-
Salem thanked their vol
unteers with a drive-thru
event on Tuesday, April
20, handing out coffee,
donuts, and a small gift to
recognize their “faithful,
wonderful, hardworking
and steadfast volunteers,”
as Vicki Poore, communi
ty outreach/volunteer co
ordinator, described them.
Some volunteers have
been able to work virtu-
aliy, such as the Card Con
nection, check-in phone
calls, andleaders of groups
that could pivot to Zoom.
The volunteers working
on preparing for the book
sale, which will be held in
September, worked on site,
following CDC protocols
of face masks and social
distancing. Poore predict
ed, “There is light at the
end of the tunnel” and she
expects all their volunteers
will be back “before sum
mer gets into full swing.”
www.wschronicle.com
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Photo by Judie Holcomb-Pack
Interns Destiny Saunders (left) and Jada Gray talk with volunteer Paul McGraw
about their project at the Shepherd Center’s volunteer appreciation event.
Crisis Control Minis
try also honored their vol
unteers during this week.
Abbey McCall, director of
community and volunteer
relations, said that they
have been slowly bring
ing back volunteers and
that about 60% of volun
teers are now serving cli
ents. The free pharmacy
and food pantry are fully
staffed, although they are
limiting the number of
clients they can see. Vol
unteers are doing phone
rather than in-person client
interviews.
To celebrate their vol
unteers, they are offering
breakfast and lunch items
in their volunteer lounge
all week. Their Kerners
ville location held a drive-
thru event on Tuesday
where volunteers picked
up goody bags donated by
Mast General Store, filled
with donated items such as
cookies from Baked Just
So and coupons from Cafe
Gelato and Moji Coffee,
among others.
McCall said that dur
ing the months they were
closed, the staff handled
the duties normally per
formed by volunteers. “It
made us appreciate our
volunteers!” she comment
ed. In normal times, Crisis
Control needs about 288
volunteers per week to do
all the activities necessary
to keep the ministry oper
ating. “I think we have the
most incredible volunteer
base at Crisis Control,” re
marked McCall. “All were
very understanding when
we had to close our doors,
and they have stayed in
contact and engaged with
us.”
Samaritan Ministries
will thank their volunteers
with a festive drive-thru
celebration on Sunday af
ternoon. The event will
include music, treats, give-
aways, and prizes for each
car that drives through.
This is a special year as
Samaritan celebrates 40
years of service in the
community and 40 years of
volunteers helping Samari
tan fulfill its mission.
Samaritan’s volunteer
needs have changed since
the onset of the pandemic,
but they still need help
daily to provide meals to
their guests. Currently,
they need eight volunteers
every day to help prepare
and serve to-go lunches
and two volunteers every
evening to help with din
ner preparation. For more
information on volunteer
ing, visit www.samaritan-
forsyth.org.
Holly Beck, volunteer
and community engage-
See Volunteer on A8