The Saint John PH Church, in the Bentonville area, will sponsor a community fund raiser for one of the church members that is a local farmer, William Johnson.

Johnson underwent surgery last December to remove a tumor from the back side of his heart and to fix an abnormality in his diaphragm to allow him to breathe better. His surgery lasted about twelve hours and went well, but sometime during or shortly after the surgery he had a stroke that has left him partially blind. His recovery period went from a few days to over a month. Since then Johnson has almost completely recovered from the surgery but his vision has only improved a little. The extended stay at Wake Hospital, rehab, and therapy along with a lot of medical bills has placed the Johnson family under a tremendous financial burden.

The Saint John PH Church along with other local churches and fire departments in the community, are coming together to assist Johnson with this financial burden. They will sponsor a BBQ and BBQ chicken benefit for William Johnson at the church on May 20. In order to ensure the success of this fundraiser, they are seeking donations in the form of monetary contributions and supplies to help defray the cost of the event so that all funds raised can go directly towards Johnson’s medical bills. They are also seeking donated items for the auction that will take place at 7 p.m. the same day. Generous donors are a key to make a successful event.

Checks may be payable to the Saint John PH Church and earmarked for the William Johnson benefit. Donations can be mailed to the church address above or to the Sec./Treas. of the William Johnson benefit account who is Mrs. Janice Edwards, 2063 Selah Church Road, Four Oaks.