December 09, 2024
Human Rights Day 2024 awards dinner is Tuesday
The Bethel AME Feed My Sheep community kitchen and Margaret J. Nesbitt, who has spent decades helping children to read, will receive 2024 Human Rights Day Awards from the Southern Illinois chapter of the United Nations Association during a ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
The ceremony “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now” is part of UNA-USA Southern Illinois chapter’s 15th annual event. Human Rights Day commemorates the day in 1948 when the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A potluck dinner, business meeting and awards program starts at 5 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 310 S. University Ave., Carbondale. The event is free and open to the public.
Pastor Ron Chambers and his staff and volunteers are being honored for their work to alleviate hunger. For more than 20 years, Feed My Sheep has provided free meals five days a week, in addition to preparing sandwiches and other food for people staying at the Carbondale Warming Center. On any given day, the community kitchen serves 35-40 hot meals, along with another 35-40 meals for the warming center.
Nesbitt, a longtime community volunteer and champion for educational equality, is the driving force behind the nonprofit I Can Read (ICR) program in Carbondale, which she founded in 1999. The program assists an average of 35 to 40 children per week in improving their reading skills and works with many organizations and people. In September 2024, Nesbitt notified the ICR board she was “retiring” from active status but has taken on an emerita role.
Additional information is on UNA’s Facebook page.