Page 12 - June/June HER 2020

12 JUNE HER
HER Feature
Story by Felisha Butler, photography file photos, submitted
“Blossom where you are plant- ed. Do what you can while you can and use what you got. Everyone has something to bring to the table that will make a difference.”
Since moving to Hot Springs in 1984, Lewisville native Robin Wise has followed her own words as she has dedicated numerous hours to volunteering with American Red Cross, mentoring and tutoring pro- grams, and now the Gateway Com- munity Association after watching her own parents “pour themselves into the community.”
“I grew up watching my par- ents volunteer in the community,” Wise said. “I was born in ‘63 so therefore I grew up when there was segregation and I just saw them pour themselves into the community and church. My dad was the scout master and my mom was the den mother for the Af- rican American Boy Scout and Cub Scout group. My sisters and I — we got to tag along with them on different events like when they went fishing and camping. We got to experience that but I saw my parents give back to the commu- nity where I grew up. ... What they instilled in my siblings and myself can’t go away.”
Starting out as the Pleasant Street Neighborhood in the early 1990s, the Gateway Community Association is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization “representing com- munities bordering historic down- town.” According to its website, the “volunteers who live, work, or own property in the Pleasant Street Historical District and Gate- way Community and we work to- gether to keep the neighborhood clean, safe, and fun.”
Currently working with the city of Hot Springs as a planning and zoning inspector, Wise cites her mother as the reason she became a member of the organization.
“My mom has been a big factor in my life to volunteer,” she said. “She was president of the associ- ation and her health had started declining. She had some health challenges. I moved in with her in 2008 to care for her ... I would go take her to the meetings and watch her because she was my main con- cern. I would listen to her at the meetings and she would talk about Hot Springs and the rich history it had — especially in the Pleasant Street area at that time because it was the Pleasant Street Neighbor-
Love in action
12 JUNE/JULY 2020 ¯ HER MAGAZINE