As president of the Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties Section of the National Council of Negro Women Inc., Shaun Wethington feels compelled to support the youth in the community and bring people together through the Gospel.
In an effort to raise money for scholarships, the organization hosted a gospel concert Sunday, featuring the Bethune-Cookman University Inspirational Gospel Choir, at Morrison United Methodist Church, 1005 W. Main St., Leesburg.
The local section of the nonprofit organized the concert to specifically raise money for scholarships to help high school seniors in the tri-county are attend technical schools.
Wethington, of the Village of Mallory Square, said she understands the importance of building connections and removing barriers for local youth so they can grow.
“We said, ‘Let’s think about our students who may not have an interest or be able to go to college, but they have an interest in doing skill work,’” she said. “We are looking to help students interested in learning a skill trade, whether they want to be an electrician or a plumber. Not a lot of people focus on students in those industries.”
Wethington explained there is also a connection to the local NCNW’s decision to offer technical school scholarships and Bethune-Cookman University’s founder, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, who also founded the NCNW.
Bethune, a civil rights activist, philanthropist and educator, founded what was originally called Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904 with just $1.50, making her the first African American women to serve as a college president.
The Daytona Beach school that later became Bethune-Cookman University originally offered classes such as cooking, sewing, poultry raising, rug weaving, broom-making and nursing.
“Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was a champion for access to education for everyone,” Wethington said. “We are honoring that and standing on her shoulders because we are connected to her dreams. Education can help people become whole and productive citizens.”
Vertellis Kendrick, Bethune-Cookman University Inspirational Gospel Choir musical director, said the education provided at the school helps students grow to become productive members of society who give back, creating a positive cycle.
Kendrick, himself a graduate of Bethune-Cookman, said he has seen how the choir brings a community together with gospel.
“There’s a proud heritage here at this school,” he said. “We call ourselves Mary’s Children and we bleed Mary. The choir was originally formed around 1969 under the leadership of her son, Albert, to keep the feel for music found during campus chapel. The choir sang some of Dr. Bethune’s favorite songs while exemplifying her message of love, faith and academics.”
During the concert, the gospel choir brought the crowd to its feet multiple times by performing songs from “Fire Shut Up In My Bones,” to “The Blood Still Works.” The choir also performed “Amazing Grace,” which was Dr. Bethune’s favorite song.
“I tell people all the time, ‘Listen, I may not have great singers, but I have singers who are great,’” Kendrick said. “Some may think I don’t have the cream of the crop when it comes to singing. I have a few kids who really haven’t sung before and wanted to try this. To those students I say, ‘I’ll make a singer out of you some kind of way if you stick to it,” and they do.”
For more information about Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties Section of the National Council of Negro Women Inc. or to learn how to donate to the nonprofit, visit tricountyncnw.org.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
