50-Year-Old Harlem Community Center Faces Foreclosure Due to Developer Fraud

— 73-Year-Old Pastor Shirley Holmes Sulton feverishly raising $15 Million to meet January 5th deadline. —

New York, NY — The Prison Policy Initiative released a report which revealed that nearly 2.4 million people are currently serving time in prison. If the judicial system has set firm standard for punishing those who contribute to the destruction of our society, why isn’t there a set standard for rewarding those who do good deeds in our society?

Shirley Holmes Sulton, the 73-year-old Pastor of Samuel’s Temple Church in Harlem sincerely wonders the same thing. Facing foreclosure due to a corrupt developer and failed bank deal, Sulton has been notified that she has until January 5th to raise $15 million or she will lose the 50-year-old ministry that has been a staple in Harlem since President Kennedy was in office.

Located at 75 East 125th Street in the heart of Harlem, Samuel’s Temple Church has helped tens of thousands of people who travel from every borough to seek assistance from Sulton and her volunteer staff. The 70,000 square foot church has fed thousands of families, offered after school programs and tutoring, opened up the first 24 hour nursery in Manhattan and served as a homeless and battered women’s shelter among a plethora of other services without any federal funding, grants or large monetary donations to date.

Sulton, standing tall at 4 feet- 11 inches, is well into the age range where she should be enjoying a life of peace during retirement yet she continues to work tirelessly to serve her community, recently going back to work as a public school teacher at TAPCO School to help raise funds to keep her church open.

According to researchers, taxpayers shell out $39 billion dollars to keep prisons operating. If punishment is a multi-billion dollar industry, what more can we do to help women like Sulton who provide emotional and spiritual healing as well as support for countless families in need of assistance?

“Right now all I want to do is continue the work I began 50 years ago. It’s not my time to stop. Not yet,” Sulton says.

Sulton has created a Twitter party to rally support for her mission. Organized by the hashtag #RewardGoodDeeds, Sulton has set up a #RewardGoodDeeds fund to save her church. She is asking the public to donate to her fund by visiting www.stcnyc.org and then tweeting her hashtag #RewardGoodDeeds to help dispel the myth that violence and crime are the only newsworthy media items.

“If you have ever had someone offer you a helping hand and you believe they should be honored just as much as we focus on punishing others, please tweet #RewardGoodDeeds and donate to my fund,” Sulton asks. “There really are good people in this world who work to help others. Let’s honor them.”

To Help Save Samuel’s Temple Church, donate by phone at 1-800-372-3590

Donate online: www.stcnyc.org

Tweet Your Support: @stcogic

MEDIA CONTACT:
Tyrone Holmes
646-701-4069
tymax@mac.com