After 38 years in banking, Fern Ellington offered her considerable skills to Rebuilding Hope. Today, she volunteers two days a week in the office where she posts information about donations and accounts payable into a computer bookkeeping system. With 22 years of service, Fern is a member of West End Baptist Church and a member of the choir who says her involvement with RHI started before her retirement in 2014. About five years ago, the bank branch manager and her staff volunteered in a community service project sponsored by RHI. “I met people who benefitted from RHI’s work,” says the Vance County native. “I see the value of having an organization like this in our community.”
Of her work at RHI, Fern says that “it lets me continue with the things I know how to do. I like interacting with the public. It’s a very pleasant environment.” Fern, who chairs the board of the YMCA where she’s a 20-year member, says, “I support things in our community that are positive.” An avid walker, Fern has two grown children and a grandson, all of whom live in Vance County.