WS Chronicle

Whole Man Ministries (WMM) launched a two-day event starting on Dec. 22 to ensure families would have food on the table during the Christmas holiday.

WMM partnered with the Rescue Mission to pass out 300 boxes of food, along with a $20 gift certificate with each box.  

“They (the Rescue Mission) ended up contacting us, because I am sure they have seen what we have done in the city this year,” said Barry Washington, senior pastor of Whole Man Ministries. “We are Church of the Year again, to be honest with you. In the year 2021, they have seen what we have done.”

Because of the rise in the COVID-19 cases recently, the church also partnered with the N.C. Council to provide free COVID testing, vaccine and booster shots before the gathering of families for the holiday season.

“It is very important because of the uptick in this alarming virus, it is so important that we get our children and our loved ones vaccinated,” he said. “As I see now, people are getting this thing more, because it was on the decline and now it’s on an incline.  

“We think it’s important, we have had four of these outings where we share the booster, and we plan to have at least one or two more in the year 2022.”

WMM gave a $25 gift card to the first 50 people and a total of 64 people came out to receive a vaccine or booster shot. This was all made possible through the partnerships that WMM has built during the pandemic

“When people see that we are serious about helping the community, there are those that decide to make a donation towards it,” he continued. “We have had a number of people make a donation towards it and in this case, the Rescue Mission provided the boxes and the gift certificates.”

The church also invited the American Red Cross to their event because of the shortage of blood among African Americans. WMM wanted to help change the dynamics of this negative trend. There were 52 people who donated blood as well.

“This is our third year inviting out the Red Cross and they said we were leading the charge in the African American community and have gotten the most African Americans to give blood,” he said. “They covet us to continue this process. My wife, Pastor Camilla, and sister Pamela Evans, coordinated this and have been doing it for a while. We realize that it is paramount for us right now, because there are many African Americans right now in the hospitals needing blood.”

Washington says that several members of the church gave blood and volunteered several hours to make the event a success. He says without the volunteers, they would not be able to put their events together and they appreciate every person who “put on a yellow smock.”

With all of their community involvement throughout this pandemic, Washington and WMM look back on the year fondly, because they have done a lot to not only combat the coronavirus, but also to feed the community.

“When I look back over the two years of the pandemic, it makes me feel a whole lot happier to see that people are satisfied and people’s needs are being met,” Washington said. “When we are there, the people come out and you hear their stories and that’s what really gets you, you know.

“Some have gone through death; others have gone through losing a job; and then you have the elderly who are on a set income and they talk about how grateful and how thankful they are that we have done it and it’s all to God’s glory. We couldn’t do this without the volunteers of Whole Man Ministries’ members because it takes a lot of preparation and time.”

Overall, this event was very successful for the community, said Washington.  Three hundred families received food, 64 people were vaccinated, and 52 people gave blood. Washington said they are “truly healthier together.”