VGCC Male Mentoring students help restore local cemetery

Students in the Male Mentoring program at Vance-Granville Community College recently took part in a community effort to clean up a neglected local cemetery. Reaching out into the community with service projects is a new emphasis for the program, which has a new coordinator with a background in public service. On March 19, VGCC students and representatives from the Henderson Community Appearance Commission, the Vance County Genealogy Society and Welcome Chapel Baptist Church joined together to clean trash and debris from Historic Rock Bridge Cemetery.

 

“The cemetery has been neglected for many years and will require a great deal of work before it looks like a cemetery again,” said VGCC Male Mentoring Program coordinator Rufus Sales. “This was a great learning experience, because it was an opportunity for the men in the program to get involved in the community, to work together as a team and to work with local community groups.” The students were Hughon Topping, Devoan Durham, Damion Evans and Dennis Bullock, all of Henderson, and Arthur Yancey of Franklin County. “I found it reassuring to know that these young men gave up their time on a beautiful Saturday morning to give back to their community,” Sales said.

 

The Vance County Appearance Commission, the Henderson Community Appearance Commission and the Vance County Fire Department are leading volunteer efforts to improve the cemetery, which is more than 80 years old and was established as a burial site for the workers of Harriet and Henderson Yarns Inc. and their family members. Rock Bridge Cemetery is located on Old Epsom Road at Skenes Avenue, just outside Henderson.

 

Rufus Sales recently joined VGCC as the first coordinator of the college’s Male Mentoring Program, also called “M2P.” The VGCC Student Affairs division has offered the mentoring resource to students for several years, but this is the first time a part-time coordinator position has been dedicated exclusively to the program. Sales is the retired chief of Butner Public Safety, where he worked for 30 years until his retirement in 2004.

 

The VGCC Male Mentoring Program is designed to assist male students in acquiring the confidence, resources and skills needed to succeed academically and socially at the college. The program is open to any male student who attends VGCC, but the emphasis is on minority males in particular. Participating students receive support and guidance as they work to develop their own abilities, set goals and progress toward those goals. Students also hear from guest speakers and take part in extracurricular activities promoting leadership and community service. For more information on the male mentoring program, contact Rufus Sales at (252) 738-3205.

 

Above: From left, VGCC student Damion Evans, VGCC Male Mentoring Program coordinator Rufus Sales, and VGCC students Devoan Durham, Hughon Topping and Dennis Bullock were among those helping to clean up the Historic Rock Bridge Cemetery on March 19. Not pictured is student Arthur Yancey, the photographer for the picture.