By Rhea Riley
Organ donations, charity walks, and computer technology centers reveal an unlikely synergy of positive community contributions on this week’s unique show of There’s Always Something Good to Talk About.
Host Faithe Colas welcomes community leaders Pastor Melva Henderson, Stephanie Johnson, Liz Luckett and Annette R. Washington to talk about their upcoming events, contributions, and services within Milwaukee.
“We are a faith-based organization, who believe in God, said Stephanie Johnson a social worker at the Word of Hope Ministries Inc. “Who love God’s people and we operate strictly out of love and offer people real hope, and that’s the difference,”
Word of Hope Ministries Inc. is an extension of Holy Cathedral’s church of God and Christ. The Ministry was established 22 years ago and currently offers a multitude of free social services.
They provide mentoring, alcohol and drug abuse counseling, and health care programs. They also renovated their Computer Technology Center with new state of the art equipment. The center provides basic computer skills, interviewing skills, job readiness and resume workshops, and two employment specialists, emphasizing in manufacturing, certification training and administrative skills.
According to the event chair and Holy Cathedral member, Liz Luckett, the Walk of Faith event was created to provide additional finances neglected by governmental aid for their free services.
“Because the government is so limited to the funding, a lot of grant programs are being cut,” said Luckett. “So, this community day evolved into a walk to under gird some of the programs.”
The event will feature many prominent organizations including their sponsor The BloodCenter of Wisconsin.
Advisory board member at the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, Annette R. Washington said the BloodCenter and the Word of Hope Ministries are working on adding a blood and organ donation course to the ministries’ services.
“There is such a need within the African American community for us to be donors,” said Washington on the importance of organ donation. “If we don’t have enough participants, we won’t have enough matches.”
Washington has experienced the miracle of organ donation twice in her lifetime—first with her late son and second with her sister. Washington’s son, who passed last year in June, was a donor. His courage later influenced Washington’s journey to donate her kidney this April after witnessing her sister suffer from stage four kidney failure.
“The pain is real when you lose someone, but it’s also refreshing to know that your loved one is making a difference,” said Washington.
The BloodCenter will also be a vendor at the event.
The Walk of Faith event will be held August 11 with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m., and the walk begins at 8 a.m. at Veteran’s Park on the Lakefront. Interested participants can register online or call 414-447-1967 for more information.
