HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — This month's Neighborhood Hero serves the community with a smile, and she also makes sure bellies are full here in the valley, no matter who you are.
Debbie Robinson-Matthews nominated Cathey.
She says, "She goes a million miles out of her way for anyone and the main thing about her is she found a love ministry, where she loves to cook."
Robinson-Holmes has been serving up smiles and plates for some time now... but the discovery of these talents came out in the midst of uncertainty.
"I actually started - I'm in my church, at church, in an organization and the lady told me, she said, 'Cathey, you have to bring your talent, we going to the nursing home, bring your talent...' And I'm like, 'Lord, I don't have any talent' and that I got to quit the organization, I don't know how to sing, hold a tune, I don't know how to read in front of people. And I said... 'I don't have a talent, Lord.' And so, I come home, I'm boohooing to my husband, and my husband's a very quiet person, so I was like, 'I got to quit the organization because I don't have a talent.' He said, 'Cathey, your talent is your love and love of cooking... I said, 'Oh my god, I have a talent. So that's what I do. I spread my love by cooking."
But deep down, being able to express love via cooking has always been a part of her DNA
Robinson-Matthews explained how her sister got to be such a good cook.
"She has, she got her talent of cooking from my mom. She put them in the kitchen, and they watched her cook and helped her cook. So when I came along, I just did cornbread you know, she was, she was like, 'I'm tired." I'm so jealous of them now because they cook just like my mom."
Even family members who are not related by blood seem to think this month's Neighborhood Hero is something out of this world. Her brother-in-law even says, "She's a good person, big heart and always have a big smile."
Beyond family and community, Cathey Robinson-Holmes serves people in the name of humanity.
In her eyes, it doesn't matter if they're from her neighborhood or not. "It don't have to be in the community itself. If I go to the store and someone I see someone $2 short, I'm gonna paid to your whole grocery bill."
The biggest takeaway from this month's hero is simple - love is not just another word. Robinson-Holmes describes it this way:
Love is an action. It's just not saying I love you, and if I talked to you on the phone before I end, it's I love you... and to me love is action.
RELATED: Nominate a Neighborhood Hero
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