By Scottie Brown

The Selma Times-Journal

 

The third annual Unity in the Community Praise and Worship event will take place Saturday, June 7 at noon.

The event will be held at Phoenix Park and Water Avenue, across from the St. James Hotel.

Admission to the event will cost $3, but all proceeds will be given to the local Red Cross, and donations are welcomed.

Director of the Red Cross Jakki Phillips said the donations would be appreciated.

“The Red Cross is funded totally by the community. People think that we get government dollars, but we really are not supported by the federal government at all,” Phillips said. “We totally depend on the generosity of the community and our private donors. For us it’s just very exciting that the city recognizes what we do here in Selma and also Dallas County. It just affords us an opportunity to continue the services and the role that we play to help keep prepared when the unthinkable happens.”

Within the last year, the Red Cross has seen higher incidents of single-family fires within Selma and Dallas County that has consumed much of their budget.

“This is coming at a perfect time because having an extreme number of fires really depleted our budget that we budgeted for this last year,” Phillips said. “If there are any other incidents or any inclement weather to come it’ll just be something to help us maintain coverage and help us help the community.”

The Red Cross will be at the event on Saturday handing out preparedness information detailing what to do when faced with a disaster, such as a fire or severe weather.

“We’re hoping that people come out in droves because we have lots of information to share with them about what to do when the unthinkable happens,” Phillips said. “Especially on having a disaster kit ready and how to plan when we do have inclement weather or what to do when the power goes out.”