2024 Outstanding Ally of the Year

2024 Outstanding Ally of the Year Bethesda Church of God

Bethesda Church of God, of Sumter, SC, was awarded the 2024 Outstanding CHW Program of the Year Award on Monday, October 28, 2024, at the CHW Impact Summit. Bethesda Church of God was actually nominated two separate times for this award in 2024. Sonja Del Rio of Tandem Health received the award on behalf of Bethesda Church of God at the summit and then later delivered it to the church for SCCHWA. 

The summary of those nominations is as follows:

 The Ally has empowered CHWs by allowing the CHW's of Tandem Health the ability to create a list of patients who cannot afford to buy food for their homes, and helped their community by helping eliminate food insecurity in the Sumter area.

Bethesda Church of God is a local Sumter church that has a food pantry that provides bags of food from non-perishables to frozen foods and clothing. This is done twice a week on Saturdays and for Tandem only on the 2nd and 4th Weds.

Because of people loosing their SNAP benefits due to no increase in the income guidelines this helps supplement their food needs. The church allows Tandem deliver to those that have no transportation and the drivers get theirs on Saturdays. They do all they can to ensure that no one is starving.

This resource has allowed CHWs from Sumter County to provide up to 40 bags of food to patients rather by delivery, picking them up from the Tandem offices or the patients getting them on their own from the pantry. Bethesda Church of God truly is a Blessing to the Sumter community but especially to our Tandem Health patients. Not only have they provided the community with the food bags but if there are other items they have that patients can use they have provided those as well such as, milk, fresh fruits, extra bags to put the food in, Gatorade, zero sugar sodas, breads, cookies, pies, cakes and other items.

Congratulations to Bethesda Church of God!