Community Praise Church honors Councilman Willie Bailey Sr. and Michael Johnson, community outreach specialist for the City of Alexandria, during its Community Guest Day.
Community Praise Church celebrated Community Guest Day on Sept. 30 by honoring members of the community who are doing extraordinary service on behalf of the community of Alexandria. The honorees were Councilman Willie Bailey Sr. and Michael Johnson, community outreach specialist for the City of Alexandria. Jointly both men advocate, mentor and work on behalf of local children, at risk youth and underprivileged citizens in Alexandria.
On Aug. 27, Community Praise Church collaborated with Bailey and Johnson in the back to school bash that saw 700 youths in Alexandria get new backpacks for school.
“Mr. Johnson made the back to school collaboration easy. He immediately answered my email, texts and many phone calls. He was never too busy to talk, answer questions or make numerous suggestions to make it easy for CPC to fulfill its obligation in our collaboration,” said Veronica Chollette, servolution ministry leader for CPC.
The sentiments were similar for Councilman Bailey: “Councilman Bailey impressed me as a man of compassion, unashamed of sharing the story of his humble beginnings. This allows him to see the issues of ‘the forgotten’ inspiring him to dedicate his life to public service. He inspires me to do more to plant seeds of kindness to make our community a better place.”
The men were honored with an award and spoke, recalling the days they were young in the streets of Alexandria and the mistakes they made. “I used to hang on the corner,” said Johnson, “now I want to make a positive impact.”
Both men see the significance of partnering with a local organization like the church.
“When a church understands its job to serve,” said Bailey, “it’s easy for us to work with them.”
“The church is a key to families staying together,” said Johnson, “we can do more with a spiritual community.”
The church is located at 1400 Russell Road.