ANDREWS S.C. — An Andrews native who has served in the U.S. Army has received the Honor of Service award for helping children and their teachers receive toys, candy and gift baskets at Christmas.
Sgt. Ciderick Cumbee, who was written about in the February edition of Fort Gordon Magazine, displays the handmade cards and letters he received from the children at Deer Chase Elementary School in Augusta, Ga.
“Soldiers, we love you,” said one card.
“Thank you troops, for all you do for our school,” said another colorful card from a Deer Chase student.
The award for Service Member of the Quarter came from the WTU, the Warrior in Transition program that assists soldiers with traumatic brain injuries.
Cumbee, who was hit by an explosive device while serving overseas, said he felt very down when he first entered the program, as if his life was over.
The doctors helped him realize that not all of him was injured and that he could go in another direction, he told the magazine.
New program
Cumbee said he now wants to start a program to help children in Georgetown County.
The injury made him realize he had received a second chance on life, he said.
“The message I want people to know is that I once was a monster that thought only about myself,” Cumbee said.
“I saw the movie, “Courageous,” and I realized you can’t take things for granted. I said it was my turn to do something in the community.”
He also credited the Warrior in Transition program for helping him .
“At first, when I first heard the approach [from the doctor], I thought she was off her rocker,” he told the magazine. “But after a while, I realized that she was making sense.”
Cumbee’s father, the Rev. Felton Cumbee, was a minister. Cumbee’s mother, Eliza Cumbee, runs a daycare in Andrews.
Rev. Felton Cumbee passed away in 2009, he said. He left his son with certain values that he would like to pass on to other teens.
“I had a full-time father who taught me to be a man,” he said. “I asked myself what it would take to get back to basics of love and concern and giving back to the community.”
New organization
The name of his youth-based organization will be, “I Beat the Odds.”
He came up with the name after talking with young people in Andrews and Georgetown and feeling like he wanted to give back to his community.
The “I Beat the Odds” program will allow children to visit cemeteries, to see where soldiers are laid to rest, Cumbee said.
He will also take them to plantations, where enslaved people once lived. Part of the program will also be helping older people load their groceries or repair their homes.
Other visits will be to federal prisons, to hear from people who made the wrong choices.
“You have to make the right choices, but sometimes the odds are stacked against you,” he said.
Cumbee is available to speak about his program at schools and churches.
By Kelly Marshall Fuller
Kfuller@gtowntimes.com
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