October Q3 Final

Partnerships Fit for the King
For many years, churches, schools, and organizations have been the lighthouse for
the communities we live in. Whether ministers who take time to mentor a child in
the schools, or principals and staff members who spend their own dollars to
ensure children have what they need in the classrooms, or whether non-profit organizations
pour in resources into communities in order to make a difference, we believe these
partnerships are a reflection of God?s goodness to us all. We are so blessed to be a part of a
network of community partners and advocates like Hidden Valley Community Association,
Hidden Valley Elementary School, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation department, in
particular, the Sugaw Creek Park and Recreation Center, and CDGI, a non-profit organizational
arm from the Sugar Creek Church of Christ. Our partnerships continue to grow as we
frequently come together to discuss and strategize about what we can do to make the Sugar
Creek/ Hidden corridor a better place to live, work, and recreate.
For instance, this year Mrs. Linda Rouse, board member on the Hidden Valley Community
Association took the lead on a speedbump initiative in the Hidden Valley community. She
reached out to me to in order to get petitions from all over the community for approval for
this initiative. You probably didn?t realize the magnitude of this initiative when I asked you to
sign the petition and come out to help in this regard. Even though there were road blocks and
setbacks, the Hidden Valley Community Association and residents never gave up and were
recently approved by the city to begin installing those speedbumps on designated streets.
This accomplishment will decrease speeding and ultimately make the streets safer for our
children and residents in their travels. To add to this wonderful accomplishment, Mecklenburg
County and Hidden Valley Community along with other surrounding neighborhoods were
awarded $1 million to build a state of the art park in our community so get your work boots
ready because we will be there putting down one block and tightening one screw at a time to
see this become a reality. I am reminded of Nehemiah 4:6 and the community leaders who
took on the grand task of rebuilding the walls of the holy city ?At last the wall was
completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with
enthusiasm?.
It is this mind to work and feverish mentality to succeed in building strong alliances with our
community partners that will bring glory to God and established safety, unity, and community
pride.
Mrs. Ella Williams is the President of Hidden
Valley Community Association (above) and
Mrs. Linda Rouse, Board member of the HVCA
and Asst. Minister Bro. Smith (right)