Newspaper Page Text
The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - 7
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
YMCA Playground to be Dedicated to
the Legacy of Benjamin F. Lewis
Savannah, Ga. Receives Award for
Municipal Excellence
Ben Lewis
On Friday, November
20, 2009 at 1:30 pm, the
West Broad Street YMCA
will be dedicating its new
playground to the legacy of
Mr. Benjamin F. Lewis.
Mr. Lewis graduated
from Savannah State College
and received his J.D. from
John Marshall Law College.
In 1945 he became a regular
worker with the US Postal
Service. In 1963 he was
appointed Equal Opportunity
Officer for the Savannah
Post Office and 1969 he was
appointed as the regional
EEO from Atlanta. In 1970
he was appointed the
National Equal Opportunity
Employment Specialist
assigned to Washington,
D.C.
Upon retirement, Mr. Lewis
returned to Savannah and on
September 1, 1971 he
assumed responsibility as the
Executive Director of the
West Broad Street YMCA.
Mr. Lewis was instru
mental in developing pro
grams for local residents to
help them access assistance
in achieving self sufficiency.
Of supreme importance to
Mr. Lewis were the children.
He had the foresight and
courage to challenge the pro
grams of his day and to work
collaboratively to ensure that
the needs of children were
met.
The 3,000 square foot
playground was donated to
the community through the
Home Depot Foundation and
coordinated by KaBoom!, a
non-profit organization
whose mission is to have a
playground within walking
distance of every child in
America. The playground
was designed by children in
the neighborhood and
includes two slides, four
climbing walls, and many
other activities.
The playground is for
children between 2 and 12
and is designed to increase
physical activity and motor
function.
The playground,
although located on the
grounds of the West Broad
Street YMCA, is open to the
neighborhood children.
The new playground at
the West Broad Street YMCA
is fruit of Mr. Lewis’ efforts.
It is only fitting that play
ground be dedicated to his
legacy.
Savannah, Ga., is one of
eight cities selected to receive
the Award for Municipal
Excellence at the National
League of Cities’ (NLC) 2009
Congress of Cities Exposition
in San Antonio, Texas. This
year marks the 20th anniver
sary of this prestigious award.
As a Gold winner in the
50,001 -150,000 population cat
egory, Savannah is being hon
ored for its Neighborhood
Renaissance Savannah pro
gram.
Recognizing that many
of its poorer neighborhoods
were in a downward spiral,
Savannah developed
Neighborhood Renaissance
Savannah, a neighborhood
revitalization model which
includes the human and finan
cial capital necessary to revital
ize distressed inner-city neigh
borhoods.
"The City of Savannah
has long taken pride in the
quality of its community and its
neighborhoods,” said Otis
Johnson, Mayor, Savannah,
Ga. “Working with neighbor
hood residents, the Savannah
City Council has made the ren
aissance of distressed neigh
borhoods a priority and recog
nizes that its success continues
tion of our community."
As a Gold winner,
Savannah will receive an
award of $2,000, which will be
donated to the community
non-profit organization of its
choice.
“I congratulate Savannah
and its Neighborhood
Renaissance Savannah for
receiving this award,” said
Donald J. Borut, NLC execu
tive director. “Savannah’s pro
gram has improved the quality
of life for its citizens by devel
oping a creative solution to a
pressing local problem.”
Carson to Speak at Civil Rights
Museum
What can be learned
from years of studying the
life and work of Martin
Luther King, Jr. in the U.S.
civil rights movement?
Why is it important that Dr.
King's activities and impact
in Savannah, Southeast
Georgia, and other commu
nities be more thoroughly
documented and understood
so that we have a complete
picture of the national civil
rights movement?
These are two of the
many questions that noted
King scholar Dr. Clayborne
Carson will address on his
visit to Savannah and to
Dr. Clayborne Carson
is supported by a grant from
the Institute of Museum and
Dorchester Academy in
Midway on November 13-
14, 2009.
Carson, professor of
history and founding direc
tor of the Martin Luther
King, Jr. Institute at
Stanford University, has
recently been named Martin
Luther King, Jr.
Distinguished Professor at
Morehouse College in
Atlanta and serves as
Executive Director of the
Morehouse King
Collection. His visit to
Savannah is sponsored by
the project “Building
Capacity of African
American Museums” which
Hosea Feed the Hungry
and the SCLC Start First
Annual Thanksgiving
Dinner
Atlanta-based Hosea
Feed the Hungry (HFTH),
the Southeast’s largest food
bank serving families and
individuals directly, is part
nering with the Georgia
Coastal SCLC to host the
first annual Thanksgiving
dinner for Savannah’s work
ing poor and homeless,
called Savannah Hosea Feed
the Hungry. On Monday,
Nov. 23, approximately 500
families and individuals will
be guests at a large
Thanksgiving dinner, com
plete with all the trimmings
as well as health screenings,
a kids’ comer and entertain-
m e n t
To make this dinner a suc
cess, Savannah Hosea Feed
the Hungry needs advance
donations of turkeys, large
No. 10 cans of green beans,
com, candied yams; bread;
drinks; bottled water; and
financial contributions.
Donation boxes will be set
up to collect needed items
beginning Nov. 4, 2009 at
area supermarkets, churches
and at the Rev. Dr. Hosea
Williams Life Center located
at 19 Travis Street,
Savannah, Georgia 31406.
Now in its 40th year of serv
ing the needy, HFTH strives
to eliminate suffering of the
chronically homeless and to
prevent homelessness for the
working poor through rental
assistance and intensive case
management. HFTH also
works to eradicate child mal
nutrition by providing fami
lies with food and supplies
that meet their basic needs
while providing programs
that empower them to be self
reliant. In addition to year-
round human services,
HFTH hosts four holiday
dinners in Atlanta, including
Thanksgiving, Christmas,
Martin Luther King Jr.’s
Birthday and Easter where
thousands are served. For
more information about
HFTH, go to
www.hoseafeedthehungry.co
m
The dinner will take
place Monday, Nov. 23,
beginning at 5 p.m. The
Salvation Army 3000 Bee
Rd., Savannah, Georgia
3 14 0 4
To make a donation,
to volunteer or for more
information on the event
please go to www.sclcsavan-
nah.org or contact: (912)
349-2908.
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5541 OgHchn Unad Suitr J
(Hwy 1? Weil pf Dnp Kurcjil Itnid)
912-234-0106
to depend on addressing the
physical and human deteriora-
Miss Gina
Lorraine Myles
April 23. 1963. -
Nuvemhcr I . M
I of Li ft;
Gina Lunarne Myles was hum nn April 13, I9f>2 lt>
l>om S. Myles and die hue John 11. Myles. She grew up
jn Snvimniih. Georgia and deported this life on November
i.ifxiy.
Gina graduated from Sol C. Johnson High School,
where she served its the Senior Chi>s President, in 1980
She developed a "jmssion lor fasbkmr early in Iter life
and worked in major depart me in stores in Savannah. She
attended the [ nivenm nf Georgia jlihJ worked tti corpo
rate \meneii with major companies smdt a* Tims
Magazine and as the regional ihreclur 1 or majiir cosmetics
com panic ■. such ns Estee I juicier, hiubian lair. [Tori
Roberts, and Inum GiluVs career also saw her venture oul
in develop her own wmtpaii) pftxincing!. "Let's fines il
\ gain, "a video tin Ixm in ripply, makeup
Ginn is survived h} her mother, Mrs Dura S. Mjkft,
her sLier. Ms. Juncna l Myles, aunts Mu Johnde S.
(Wardcl!) Holmes, Mrs Barbara Gliomas) Dicker son.
and a Intel cil relatives and In ends.
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HE IftSTONEMRV MA«KI ss
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See Carson, pg. 10
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