Thelma Bates was a phenomenal woman that touched the lives of many with her unwavering spirit. She was a leader in her own unique way. Many can remember her uplifting and encouraging words of affirmation in Sunday school classes and through her work with the hearing impaired. She was a woman that loved the Lord with all of her heart; she was also the mother that raised Felicia Bates Pointer, the President & Founder of J.U.S.T.
Thelma was a woman with very little education but would conquer any task that was put before her, whether it was through her love for crafts or her intuitiveness to speak a timely word. There was no such thing as “I can’t do it” in her vocabulary because with God – all things are possible. In 1995, before she passed away, a goal of hers was to return to school to further her education; she was a huge proponent of education being your “success card” to life.
$500 scholarships will be awarded to at least two to four students per school year to be put toward their books, room & board, or tuition.