AdventHealth Faith Care Partners is inviting the public to a Martin Luther King Day prayer breakfast at St. Mary Magdelene Catholic Church, 861 Maitland Ave, Altamonte Springs, FL 32701, at 7:30 a.m. January 20.
The theme of the program is “Building a Legacy of Opportunity.” Organizers are bringing together, elected officials, community leaders, activists, public servants, church groups, educators, and young people, to promote unity and grow opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized.
The keynote speaker will be Larry Williams who worked in the public health arena for 25 years. As a staffer in the Orange County Community Health Department, Williams was among the first African Americans in Florida to address the HIV crisis on blacks in 1980. He also established an Office of Minority Health within the department.
Currently Williams serves as executive director for the Simeon Resource and Development Center, Inc., whose mission is to serve at-risk individuals, helping them build pathways to financial independence and self-esteem.
After the speech the organizers will honor Dr. Ann A. Ashley-Gilbert who has dedicated her life to women’s health in Central Florida. Ashley-Gilbert, an obstetrics and gynecologist, has served central Florida for nearly 50 years. As an officer in the U.S. Public Health Service Ashley-Gilbert provided obstetrical and gynecologic care for migrant women. She was the first African American doctor to deliver a baby at Florida Hospital Altamonte (now AdventHealth Altamonte) in 1987.
Ashley-Gilbert has published numerous articles in various journals and she was the recipient of the Alfred R. Bookhardt Orange County Health Equity Award.
The program will also showcase community agencies that are actively helping deprived individuals turn their life around. “It’s important to spread the word about the resources that are available,” says Dr. Dion Henry, prayer breakfast coordinator. “Too often vital resources and information never reaches our black churches, and the black community at large. Our desire is introduce pastors, community leaders, and activists, public officials, to these resources so they and better help those in need.”
Admission to the breakfast is free but attendees must RSVP. Scan the QR code for instructions. Or, click here to register.
