Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 1-5-18

Local
Volunteers Needed To ‘Paint The Town’
Armwood High
Student With 7.16
GPA Aims For 8.0
Volunteers are being sought to join others from around the Tampa Bay area to help staff and friends of the University Area Commu- nity Development Corpora- tion (University Area CDC) to improve the community during its fifth annual Paint the Town event on Saturday, January 13 from 8:30 a. m. to 12 p. m. A block party will follow, from noon to 2 p. m.
Volunteers will roll up their sleeves and invest sweat equity into cleaning and beautifying neighborhoods
primarily in the zip code areas of 33612 and 33613.
Many seniors, single moms, veterans and disabled residents throughout the area have difficulty main- taining their homes due to physical and financial con- straints. Volunteers partici- pating in this Paint the Town activity will paint and/or re- pair houses for select resi- dents, revitalizing the neighborhood in which they live. In addition, volunteers and staff will clean up streets and roads in the area.
The University Area CDC is partnering with busi- nesses, government agen- cies, religious groups, student organizations and service clubs. Besides paint- ing, projects may include mowing yards, laying sod, landscaping, planting flow- ers, repairing fences, clean- ing up litter, repairing doors and windows, etc.
For questions about sponsorship or volunteering, contact Diana Diaz at 813.558.5212 x 316, or at ddiaz@uacdc.org.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A 17-year-old Armwood Collegiate Academy at Arm- wood High School student is proud of the 7.16 Grade Point Average (GPA) she has earned. However, she’s not satisfied. She wants an 8.0 by the time she graduates. Now, she is #2 in her class of 70.
Linda Walker, mother of Kelviyana Walker (her dad is Kelvin Walker), ex- plains that their “Super Hero” daughter has been interested in her academics since grade school.
At Lee Elementary School, she was nominated by a teacher to attend the National Youth Leadership Conference. While attending this 3-day conference in Orlando, she was selected to present closing remarks. “We knew from that point on that she was a born leader,” Mrs. Walker said.
While attending Williams IB School, Kelviyana be- came a member of the Junior National Honor Society. She also scored a 5 on the FCAT. It was then on to Armwood Col- legiate Academy.
“This program is amaz- ing,” Mrs. Walker said. “It’s held at several local public high schools – Lennard and Leto, too. If you have kids that excel in education, we highly recommend the Collegiate Program, ” she said.
Kelviyana was guided into college classes at Arm- wood and into an after-school program called TELP. She takes AP classes, attends col- lege classes on HCC campus on evenings and during the summer. She volunteers with local groups to get her com- munity service hours for school and the clubs she is also a part of; as well as vol- unteers to work with smaller kids in an area called “The Zone.”
And if all of that is not
KELVIYANA WALKER ...#2 in her class at Armwood High Collegiate Academy
enough, she still stops by the library weekly to check out books just to read for her leisure.
Recently, Kelviyana has been hired at the Cafe in the Lutz campus for a part-time job to begin making her own money. She finds time for movies, football games and church. The family is mem- bers of Grace Family Church, Temple Terrace.
Mrs. Walker is most proud of her daughter’s dili- gence as a caretaker. During the summer about 3 years ago, when Kelviyana was a 9th grader, Mrs. Walker had a struggle with breast cancer. “She would come in everyday after a summer college course and volleyball practice, clean her hands and drain my can- cer wounds.”
She has been accepted to every college she applied to, but has not made a decision on where she’s going. Kelviyana’s vision is to study Bio-Medical Engineer- ing and become an Oncologist (Researcher) to find a cure for Cancer. Her mother has other ideas.
“On the path she is going, she can reach the stars. But, my dream for her is to some- day become the first Black Fe- male President of the United States of America!!!!”
Greater Bethel MB Church
Observes MLK Day of Service:
‘A Day On, Not A Day Off’
As the nation prepares to honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, Greater Bethel M. B. Church, Inc., is among the organizations, churches or agencies to receive a MLK Day of Service grant under the auspices of Hillsborough Community College. Greater Bethel will use its awarded funds to focus on “Educa- tion” that will make a posi- tive impact to the Tampa Bay Community.
One of Dr. King’s quotes is, “Life’s most per- sistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” Greater Bethel plans to answer that ques- tion by hosting two MLK service projects.
The first project is the Homeless/Community Serv- ice Day scheduled for Satur- day, January 6, 2018, from 9 A. M. to 12 Noon. The guest speaker is Senator Darryl Rouson, 19th District, State of Florida.
During this program, two families will give their testi- monies of “moving from homelessness to self-suffi- ciency.” Greater Bethel, in partnership with Metropoli- tan Ministries, is helping those who are in need with housing. More than 35 com- munity service partners will participate and offer an array of social services to the homeless and low-income families.
The second service proj-
STATE SENATOR DARRYL ROUSON ...Guest Speaker, January 6th
REV. DR. BRETT SNOWDEN ...Pastor, Greater Bethel
ect is the Teen Leadership Development Summit, scheduled for Saturday, Jan- uary 13, 2018, from 9 A. M. to 12 Noon for middle and high school students. The guest speaker is Freddie Barton, Executive Director of Hillsborough Safe and Sound. The goal of the Teen Summit is to build resilience skills, positive identity and self-esteem, reduce behav- iors, gun violence and being a good teen leader. A repre-
FREDDIE BARTON ...Guest Speaker, January 13th
GWEN MYERS ...Project Coordinator
sentative from the State At- torney’s Office will speak on their Juvenile Civil Citation Program. Youth will display their talents during the Teen Summit. This educational enhancement experience will provide additional guid- ance to the future leaders of Tampa Bay.
Greater Bethel is located at 1207 North Jefferson Street, downtown, Tampa. The public is invited to both events.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B