People Taking Action Award: Virginia Beach Free Will Baptist Church

A NewsChannel 3 viewer email posed a question about one our of People Taking Action stories. David Becker wrote us asking, “What happened to the young girl that was giving warm blankets to the homeless in virginia Beach last year?”

Well David, we went and found out.

And what we found one night was Mariah Smith and her mom busy doing what they do on a nightly basis, making sandwiches at their Virginia Beach home and loading up their van to take food, blankets and clothes to the homeless in the resort city.

We first told you about Mariah earlier this year. The Virginia Beach teenager is now a freshman at Tidewater Community College.

I asked her why it’s important for her to continue this mission and got her reaction to vandals recently breaking into  their van parked outside their home.

“It just broke out hearts and it shocked us that someone would have the heart to do that.”

A Virginia Beach church wanted to take action for Mariah. How church members are helping and they’re response when we surprised them with a Newschannel 3 People Taking Action award, along with a $100 Visa gift card from our community parnters. Tuesday on Newschannel 3 at 6.