To Steve Felton, giving back to his community and building a strong foundation for its future, are what drives his passion for service to a city that has much family history. His family roots run deep here in the twin counties.
Felton grew up in Edgecombe County and today is a successful financial planner and franchise owner with Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in Rocky Mount.
He is focused on giving back to his community and honoring the legacy of Lula Flye Felton, the Felton family matriarch, who was a resident at the old Rocky Mount YWCA located in downtown Rocky Mount many years ago. That building, which gave home to so many in the community and was the center of so much activity, is known today as the Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC).
Next year, the DEPC will be celebrating 25 years of service to the twin counties. It is sill a hub for families and children. Today more than 3,200 people visit the Family Resource Center each year. It provides services for families through Family First, a resource that connects families to hundreds of services and information based on individual need. There are parenting classes, playgroups, nutrition education classes, community gardens and a state of the art playground.
Felton is a champion for DEPC and focused on not only leaving a legacy for his family but for the community. He wishes his great-grandmother could see all of the wonderful things happening in the community now. He toured the Family Resource Center recently and even stopped to see the room where his great-grandmother lived and shared stories about visiting her and her friends and meals they shared together at 215 Lexington Street.
“There’s so much love in this building,” Felton said. “This building has been such a blessing over the years. My family’s roots are right here in Rocky Mount. I am honored to have the opportunity to provide the type of investment that can help children and the youth of this community to stay in Rocky Mount and build the future.”
Felton continued, “The legacy in this building started long before the Partnership came to be. We have an opportunity to continue to pay it forward for future generations. This community has seen changes and challenges over the years but has never lost its commitment to service and the bonds people have forged with each other. We have an opportunity to continue this legacy of service to family and community as well as a commitment to sustaining its future.”
“Partners like Steve are what this community is all about,” said Henrietta Zalkind, DEPC’s executive director. “His passion and commitment to tell others about the work of the partnership have been such a blessing to us. He is dedicated to ensuring that his family legacy will continue here and that the work of the partnership and this resource center will touch many more lives in the future.”
This is the first in a series of profiles of community and partnership champions as a part of DEPC’s 25
th
anniversary.
