Where others may see lack, Ruthie Robinson says she sees potential in her community.
An Itta Bena native and resident, Robinson has been actively involved with Itta Bena Community Outreach since it was first organized several years ago.
“We partner with various other community organizations, like the City of Itta Bena, Mississippi Valley State University and Delta Health Collaborative, to create awareness and provide information to our citizens in Itta Bena about their health,” said Robinson. “Our main goal is to decrease obesity and diabetes in the area.”
Robinson is a graduate of Leflore County High School and Mississippi College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in applied sociology and psychology.
“I guess that’s why I like to talk to people so much,” Robinson said.
For the past 15 years, she has been employed at Greenwood Leflore Hospital, where she does pre-registration in the Outpatient Admissions Department.
Robinson is an active member of the Itta Bena community, but moving back home after graduating from college was not in her initial plan.
“When I came back home years ago, I came back to help my mom because my father was ill,” she said. “It was unexpected, because when I graduated from high school I was not looking in my rearview mirror, so to speak.”
She decided to make the best of being back in her hometown and started getting involved in community volunteer work.
Throughout the year, Itta Bena Community Outreach holds many health-centered workshops and screenings for residents.
For example, the group is holding a diabetes awareness workshop at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Samuel Chapel United Methodist Church. The event will include an educational program by Dr. Joseph Assini, a podiatrist at Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
Itta Bena Community Outreach is also preparing for its annual Community-wide Health Screening, which will feature different agencies providing health information, a presenter, exercise workshops and a healthy cooking class.
The event will be held April 29 at the L.T. Brazil Center.
“We do various workshops monthly and screenings if not every month about every three months,” said Robinson. “We try to think of things our people need that we know would benefit them, and we try to make those things available for them there in the community.”
Robinson, who enjoys walking and working out, is also involved in the Itta Bena Between the Lakes Walking Club, which encourages others in the community to get active.
“We encourage people to form their own walking groups, and I have seen an increase in our citizens participating and walking in the mornings and in the afternoons,” she said. “We encourage people to just walk around the block and do that as many times as you possibly can. The thing is to just get started, because there are great benefits from walking and increasing your physical activity.”
The group also has a community garden and partners with the Leflore County Mississippi State University Extension Service. They make the garden’s bounty available for free to members in the community.
Itta Bena Community Outreach also holds the annual Itta Bena October Festival, Back-to-School Bash and Fishing Rodeo, which is co-sponsored with MVSU and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
In Robinson’s spare time, she enjoys traveling.
“I try once a year to do a big trip,” she said. “I’m a true tourist. I like to see new places, meeting new people and exploring new cultures and experiencing new things.”
She’s been on several cruises and has visited a number of major U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Boston and Houston, as well as making several trips to Florida.
Robinson also enjoys the arts and attending operas, ballets, musicals and listening to live jazz music.
As a member of Samuel Chapel, she sings in the choir, is a Sunday school teacher and a lay leader. She is also a member of Parents for Public Schools of Greenwood and Leflore County and the Itta Bena Voters League.
“Itta Bena is a wonderful place to stay with a lot of potential and a lot of opportunities for change to be created in our city,” said Robinson.
•Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
