VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A local woman is touching lives all across Hampton Roads, especially in communities who need help the most.
News 3 surprised her at one of her free summer reading program graduations with a People Taking Action Award.
Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms was on hand encouraging nearly 100 local kids who just finished a summer reading program.
The kids, like 10-year-old Kenny Adams have really enjoyed the program.
His mom, Shericka Adams believed the camp would help him with the upcoming school year, "Well he was falling behind and I thought it would be essential for him to get some extra learning skills."
The summer reading program was organized by local evangelist Danette Crawford and her outreach organization, Joy Ministries.
Joy Ministries also offers a variety of programs for teen mentoring, after school tutoring, kids clubs filled with activities and neighborhood celebrations.
Crawford has also held an annual Mother's day celebration for local single moms, widows and spouses of deployed military personnel for several years.
While Crawford thought News 3 was only covering the graduation she was quite surprised when I hopped on the stage and presented her with a News 3 People Taking Action award along with a $300 Visa gift card from our community partner Southern Bank.
I asked her personally what does get out of all this work?
Crawford's response: "I'm like a proud mom when I see all my kids excelling. And we are instilling in these children the importance of academic excellence, that they can do anything and be anyone God has called them to be."
