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North Carolina Covenanter Honored for Making a Difference
GREENSBORO, NC (August 27, 2003) - Ben Atkinson of Trinity Church in
Greensboro and nine others were honored Tuesday by a local television
station during a tribute to people making a difference in North
Carolina's Piedmont region.
Atkinson was featured Tuesday on WFMY-Channel 2 television's "2 Those
Who Care" and recognized with a county service award for his efforts
with a special needs school. Early this year, he was recognized for his
work by being named a Daily Point of Light on May 21 by the Points of
Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network.
Ben's daughter Amy was born with spina bifida, which affects about one
in a thousand newborns in the United States. Spina bifida results from
the failure of the spine to close properly during the first month of
pregnancy. In severe cases, the spinal cord protrudes through the back
and may be covered by skin or a thin membrane and many people born with
spina bifida may need surgeries and other extensive medical care.
Amy enrolled in the Gateway Education Center, a Guilford County public
school for youth with severe physical disabilities. Ben revitalized the
school's PTA and led campaigns to raise funds for new equipment. In
2002, he headed up a team of volunteers to create After Gateway, which
assists students 22 years and up after they graduated from Gateway
Education Center.
Amy died suddenly in 2002, and the Volunteer Center celebrated her life
by creating the annual Amy Atkinson Achievement Award, which is given to
the top individual fundraiser at a local running race. In 2003, the
award was presented to the Atkinson family after they raised $16,615 for
After Gateway.
More information about Atkinson's volunteer work can be found on the
Points of Light website
(http://www.pointsoflight.org/awards/past_winners.cfm). He is Daily
Point of Light story number 2424.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
