HAMPTON, Va. — Thanks to some lawnmowers, weedeaters, rakes, and a little sweat and elbow grease from Newport News and Hampton police recruits, Pleasant Shade Cemetery looked a little better Wednesday afternoon.
“It makes me feel good in so many ways," said Newport News police recruit William Derello.
For Derello, the work is personal. He grew up in the area and is now raising a family there.
“What better way to show my children the beauty I saw growing up than actually come out here and help make a difference so that they can see it," Derello said.
The work is part of the recruits’ community service week. Charles Cheek, a member of a local faith group, said a member of the Newport News Police Department proposed bringing out the recruits after receiving an e-mail from the group.
“We saw your story. Faith-Walk Hampton is a group of pastors and churches. In our monthly meeting, [we] discussed it. We’ve got to become part of this. The churches need to rally behind this family and use our resources to come together. So, we sent out an e-mail list to all the pastors and the churches part of our group," Cheek explained.
Watch: After News 3 story, lawn care company volunteers to help clean up Pleasant Shade Cemetery
The family Cheek referenced is the Betts family.
News 3 interviewed Ruby, a member of the family, in the original story about the cemetery in July. Members of her family are buried at the cemetery. A month later, News 3 interviewed her again when a man who saw that story and decided to spend a day cleaning up the cemetery.
Before the recruits got started, Ruby told them about the cemetery’s history and thanked them for their work.
Watch: Efforts underway across the U.S. to uncover and preserve Black cemeteries
“I am so elated. I don’t have words to explain it. Like I told you in the last interview, my heart was so heavy. My heart is happy now. We’re getting something done," Betts said in an interview with News 3 Wednesday.
Progress, but there was still a lot of work to do.
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