LUMBERTON — A Bladenboro church is hosting a fundraiser Saturday to support the family of a beloved member and Robeson County paramedic who passed away recently.

Galeed Church, located at 571 Galeed Church Road, will host a BBQ and chicken plate sale Saturday at the church from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Donations per plate are $10. All proceeds will support the family of the late Erica Ransom Parks who passed away June 8 after battling an auto-immune disease, according to her obituary.

Parks was an active member of the church where she taught Sunday School classes for children and helped lead the AWANA program, according to the obituary.

“Before joining Robeson County EMS and Lumberton Rescue, Erica worked with Clarkton Rescue and Bladenboro Rescue. In her first year with Robeson County, she received the Paramedic of the Year Award,” according to her obituary.

Parks and her family attend the church. The fundraiser is a way to help support them and show them love during their time of need, according to a church member who did not wish to give her name.

Parks was loved by many Robeson County locals, including first responders and educators who participated in a June 8 homecoming escort that brought Parks past Robeson Community College on her way to an Elizabethtown funeral home.

“It’s a loss in the community both in Bladen and Robeson,” said Robert Ivey, LREMS commander.

“I hope that people will support fundraising,” he added.

He recalled working with her during her tenure at the Rescue Squad and her time as an educator at Robeson Community College and described Parks as a “smart, well-rounded great person.”

Ivey continues to ask the community to reach out to her family and pray for them.

“She was an amazing person,” said Patrick Cummings, director of Robeson County EMS. “She was a true patient care advocate.”

Cummings said her reach extends to many people during her service to others on ambulances and in classrooms.

“She touched the lives of many,” Cummings said. “She was a role model for many current paramedics not only in Robeson County but across the state.”

Parks began working at RCC in 2016 where she taught multiple classes and was named Emergency Medical Services Program director in 2020, RCC Public Information Officer Cheryl Hemric told The Robesonian.

“Her legacy will live on through the students she has taught at Robeson Community College and the many lives that she has touched,” RCC President Melissa Singler previously said in a statement provided to The Robesonian. “She will be greatly missed.”

For more information about the fundraiser, contact Galeed Church at 910-863-3407.