Community activist dreams come true after death

HURLOCK, Md. – “He wanted to leave a legacy and this will be his legacy,” said Melinda Turner.

A family that was once shattered by the loss of a close father, son,brother, nephew, and friend has since turned their tragedy into a triumph by continuing his legacy in the place where Jerod Kimble once called home.

“I know he’s proud I know he’s looking down and he’s very happy,” said Urshell Chase, Jerod’s mother.

Back in June of 2016 Kimble was taking the first step to fulfilling his lifelong dream of opening a community center in Hurlock, but five months later his life was cut short.

“When he passed away we wanted to keep the dream alive and wanted to continue to move forward because we also know that it’s something that is definitely needed in our community,” said Chase.

The building Kimble wanted to rebuild in order to reopen the community center ended up falling through, and now the building is up for sale. But that didn’t stop his family from fulfilling his life long dream.

“Just because we didn’t get a building, we couldn’t just sit on Jerod’s dream,” said Kimble’s aunt Melinda Turner.

After a lot of hard work and dedication, Kimble’s family will soon be celebrating the community’s newest Hurlock Multicultural Enrichment Center. They say even though they don’t have a physical location at the moment,  they’ll be hosting community center-like events every month for people of all ages to enjoy throughout the area.

“We’re trying to get things where we can have crafts night or maybe an exercise night those types of things ,” said Kimble’s grandmother Vanessa Dobosn.

And the new center comes just in time for Kimble’s 28th birthday.

“I made a promise to him when he passed that I would do everything in my power until my last breath to make this happen and that’s exactly what this aunt is going to do,” said Turner.

The first event Kimble’s family will be hosting is an open house for the multicultural center. It’ll take place this Saturday October 13th starting at 4 pm outside of the Hurlock Train Station. His family also says they are still looking for volunteers for the center and they are also accepting donations as well. If you’re interested in donating you can use the cash app to send money to the username: $hmec1009.