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The Ohio Valley once again showed this week that, when a neighbor is in need, we roll up our sleeves and help.
Bishop Darrell Cummings, lead pastor of Wheeling's Bethlehem Apostolic Temple, recently let it be known that he had lost the lead sponsor for his annual Easter giveaway. It's a very important event, helping struggling community members provide a full Easter meal for their families, while offering nice Easter clothes for children. He said he would be dipping into the church's own funds and using credit to pay for the items.
But employees at The Health Plan, after reading a story in this paper about Cummings' plight, stepped up to fill that void as sponsor.
"Bishop Cummings and Bethlehem Apostolic Temple have served struggling families across the Ohio Valley for more than three decades, providing food, clothing, and hope to thousands each year. It's time for the Ohio Valley to help Bishop Cummings and his team in the same way they have helped so many others," said Jeff Knight, president and CEO of The Health Plan. "Their decades of selfless service deserve our support. We're proud to partner with them and the Dream Center to keep this vital Easter tradition alive."
The Health Plan has long been one of the Ohio Valley's most conscientious corporate neighbors. The company has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to West Virginia food banks, including six this year just in Wheeling. It sponsors so many other popular community events like the Mountain East Conference Basketball Tournament and the Tough As Nails Urban Challenge. Rallying to the aid of Bethlehem Apostolic Temple is just an extension of The Health Plan's kindness and spirit of community.
It also serves as a good reminder that an informed public is a more involved and effective public. It is, in essence, a partnership --news outlets that strive every day to keep their community plugged into what's happening around it and community members eager to digest that information and use it to make their neighborhoods better places with it.
This time around, it has led to a crucial helping hand during the holidays not have to struggle as much to keep itself going. The Ohio Valley is fortunate to have both an organization like Bethlehem Apostolic Temple willing to assist those in need, and an organization like The Health Plan ready to jump into action when the helpers need some help of their own.