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DETERMINED TO STRENGTHEN BALTIMORE THROUGH GOD

Giving Back to the Community

Roxane Prettyman is a pious and diligent Baltimorean who likes “making people feel happy and loved.” Prettyman worked for 39 years as a paralegal specialist for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2018. However, as the vice president of the Western District Police Community Relations Council, vice president of the Fulton Community Association, and an avid, 30-year member of the First Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Prettyman remains as busy as ever. Prettyman discussed the First Mount Calvary Baptist Church and explained why going there has inspired her to give back to the community. “We call ourselves a compassionate, Christ- centered community,” Prettyman said. “Our focus as an outreach center is to try to service the needs of the people in the community in a Christian manner as best we can. I believe that being a resident of the community, knowing the needs and the people, allows me to communicate to the church family the needs of the community. In return, the church reaches out to build a community of loving, forgiving, and caring believers who share their lives and who are committed to serving God by serving others. I am so determined to do all I can to help others because I believe that God has assigned me this task.”

For more than three decades, the First Mount Calvary Baptist Church has offered free lunches to locals on Wednesdays. Even so, since the onset of the pandemic in March, the church has expanded its soup kitchen from one day per week to Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. “We serve everybody who walks up for a lunch,” Prettyman said. “It has helped those who would normally go hungry get a nice meal for the day. Since the pandemic, we have been serving grab- and-go lunches that basically consist of the same meals we would serve inside just in takeout containers. And now, instead of once a week, we are serving three days a week. Also, because kids have been out of school due to the pandemic, we make sure to serve them with a special treat.” Prettyman spoke about some of the key partnerships that she, along with Rev. Dr. Derrick DeWitt Sr. and her fellow churchgoers, have forged to help support the church’s mission. She also expressed appreciation for nearby businesses and mentioned the efforts of Dr. Lela Campbell, who founded a West Baltimore-based residential treatment facility called A Step Forward, Inc. (ASF) in 2002.

“We call ourselves a compassionate, Christ-centered community...”

- ROXANE PRETTYMAN