Group provides certified nursing assistants with treats
(L-R) ACEY member Twana Wellman-Roebuck, CNA Toccara Roberts and ACEY members Latoya Cheek and Donna Rogers take a break during the third shift at Oak Forest Health and Rehabilitation nursing home last week. (Photo provided by the ACEY Group)
Chronicle Staff Report
The ACEY group, part of the Winston Salem Foundation’s Women’s Fund, helped nearly 50 certified nursing assistants (CNAs) at Oak Forest Health and Rehabilitation nursing home on Windy Hill Drive celebrate the 39th annual National Nursing Assistants Week on Wednesday, June 15. The week ran June 9-16.
Members of the ACEY group took the same three shifts as the CNAs and delivererd “smiles, hugs, warmth, certificates and gift bags,” said Twana Wellman-Roebuck, an ACEY member on the committee in charge of the celebration. She also is the executive director of the nonprofit Experiment in Self-Reliance (ESR).
Third-shift CNA Toccara Roberts, who has worked at Oak Forest for two years, appreciated her gifts and the women who showered her with them.
When asked what she likes about her job, she said: “I love my residents.” She said her job at Oak Forest is a stepping stone to her nursing degree.
“This is the only job I’ve ever done,” she said.
Dessie Steele also said she loves her residents. She has worked at Oak Forest for 13 years.
Other CNAs spoke about their career aspirations, which included a desire to go back to school to get degrees. One CNA who was celebrated said he has worked with Oak Forest for 22 years.
ACEY is an acronym that represents goals of the group: Achievement in the education of women and girls about the power of philanthropy; Commitment to connect with women and girls in the community; Encourage self-esteem and empowerment of women and girls; and Yield women and leaders and philanthropists.
