Local organizations give back through community park cleanup

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. – Suffered in Silence is set to host a park cleanup at Fountain Park on Kimberley Road near Russell Parkway Saturday morning, June 3.

The cleanup spans from at 9 a.m. to noon and they will provide Krispy Kreme doughnuts, coffee, music and lunch to all volunteers. According to community outreach coordinator Daniella Edmund, other local organizations like Keep Warner Robins Beautiful, 100 Black Men of Macon-Middle Ga. and Closing the Gap of Middle Georgia will participate as well.

Edmund said Suffered in Silence initially organized one park cleanup near Sewell Circle Park towards the beginning of every year, but they decided on another one at Fountain Park.

Volunteers help clean up the park and surrounding neighborhoods. For Edmund, she wants to give back and give love to the area.

“This is what I love to do. I want to give back to the community that I’m in. I want to take care of the community. We want to see the community grow as much as we can do. If I can’t put a billion dollars into the community why not just clean it up and make it look like a billion dollars,” said Edmund.

Suffered in Silence is a local veteran-based nonprofit organization that helps not only veterans, but everyone in need. Founder C’Josette Joseph started the organization in August of 2019 in honor of her sister, Cheryl Joseph, who passed away in the line of duty.

Joseph said her sister’s paperwork for Veterans Affairs benefits were constantly denied and her sister would still be alive if she was given benefits and proper medical care.

“My fight is for veterans, active of duty, people who are ready to get out to help them navigate through that paperwork because if you don’t do things, they’re going to deny you so that is my fight to make sure our veterans or our enlisted just don’t come across those issues,” said Joseph.

In addition to park cleanups, the organization hosts food drives for those in need. They provide counselors for veterans with PTSD, help them with paperwork to receive VA benefits, and help them with job resumes. They also provide clothing and housing if needed.

Joseph said veterans are her main priority, but she also helps people in need by helping them find resources to receive help, a main goal of Suffered in Silence. She said partnerships made through the park cleanup help to reach that goal by allowing her to meet new people and help the organization branch out.

In the future, the organization is hosting a gala this month to raise money for the family of Rico Cody, who died from cancer in 2020.

To find out more about upcoming events and more about the organization visit www.sufferedinsilenceinc.org

HHJ News