There were only six people at their first meeting, but it was a meeting that became the first step to helping other lives who need it the most.

The six-member group is called “Citizens of Sampson County Reaching Out to Haiti” and each one is hoping that others in the community will get on board to volunteer and join them in raising funds for the American Red Cross.

“We all saw what happened in Haiti with the recent earthquake,” explained Eddie Parker. “As Christians we felt like we needed to do something to help them out and not just sit by and do nothing about it.”

Parker, who sings with the gospel group New Spiritual Soldiers, teamed up with his wife, Angela, and other close friends, evangelist Janie Robinson, vice bishop Calvin Davis, L.D. Melvin and Michael Boykin to see what they could do to help the victims of the earthquake.

“We came up with the idea to put on a show, a fundraiser, where we could have singing groups, dancers, performers, just any type of talent that would really showcase what we have here in the county, have a great time and raise some money for a great cause while we were at it.”

Parker added that “one hundred percent” of the proceeds from the show will go directly to the American Red Cross.

Although still in its infancy, Parker said the group had a “very productive” first meeting with the hopes of having the show within the next month and a half.

“We want to have more meetings and get more people involved with this,” he said. “Right now we are in the planning stages still. We want the public to know that we are going to be doing this regardless and we want to get as many people as we can involved in it with us. This is going to be a multi-cultural event and we want all citizens involved— This is all about human beings; helping other human beings in need.”

Melvin agrees.

“We want to have something for everybody,” he said. “We want the community to come out and see what we are trying to do and they will want to get involved. We want to raise enough funds to get the help to the people who really need it at this time.”

“We are encouraging all the churches to get involved and everyone who wants to make a difference,” added Davis. “The good thing is we are not just one group, we are a collection of several groups working together to help others and we want everybody to get as many people as we can involved.”

Robinson, who has been on mission trips to Haiti in the past, said watching the drama of the earthquakes unfold and the toll it has taken on the people has been tough.

“We were all touched, as Christians, knowing that the need that our brothers and sisters had,” she said. “We know that some aid is already reaching there and we know that it is going to take months and years to get them back to where they need to be. We have been in that area before, and they needed help well before the earthquake. We can feel the pain they have and we know that they need right now, so we wanted to do something about it.”

To get involved with the group and find out more information on the event planning, call 910-337-3630 during regular business hours.

To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or send e-mail to sisports@myclintonnc.com.