- January 1, 2025
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No matter where she resides in the world, Belinda Davis said she is called to help.
That's how important she said community is.
"I will not stay anywhere, or live or reside anywhere that I can't help," Davis said. "I feel that's one of our purposes — to make sure that we help somebody or something with the community."
A fifth generation Ormond Beach resident, her passion to help people in her community, especially seniors, inspired Davis to establish a nonprofit in 2022. Healthier. Wealthier. Wiser. Inc. holds monthly "Lunch and Learn" events at the South Ormond Neighborhood Center aimed at connecting people in the community with health care resources, helping them navigate the system, manage chronic illnesses and providing the opportunity for health screenings.
Her nonprofit was founded after Davis — a medical social worker who previously worked for the state for about 30 years until her retirement in 2015 — went back to school at the University of Central Florida to obtain both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, following her own three children’s college graduations. She started working for AdventHealth, and then the COVID-19 pandemic happened.
She noticed that many people, especially the elderly, were very fearful and asked questions that she as a social worker could not find answers to.
Her initial thought to help? Start a podcast, one called SOS: Saving Our Seniors. Her children shot down the idea.
"They say, 'Oh no, mama, you can't limit it to senior citizens,'" Davis recalled. "If you're going to do something ... just open it up to the public."
And that's how Healthier. Wealthier. Wiser. Inc. was born. It's the three pillars that make up her mission.
Living a healthy lifestyle — knowing the importance of nutrition, exercise, medication and
regularly seeing a primary care provider — leads people to being wealthier, as they won't need for costly medical procedures or medicine, Davis said.
"You can do more if you're healthy," she said. "You can live longer. You can enjoy life."
And people are wiser if they listen to health care providers and take a holistic approach to their health, Davis added.
Holistic health runs in her bloodline — her great-great grandmother Laura Rose, one of the earliest Black settlers in Ormond Beach, was known in town as the medicine lady for her use of natural remedies.
She's always educating the community at large with various activities through the year. Hosting free events and giving back. She's very active in the community and passionate regarding the Ormond Beach community. —TINA CARLYLE, 2024 Standing O
Davis said she thinks she got her passion for helping others from her ancestor.
"They say that she used to go from house to house and clean people's houses and cook for them at her house and take them food," Davis said. "I said, 'Well there it is.' I must have gotten it from her."
Davis was nominated as Standing O by Tina Carlyle, owner of Access Senior Resources and Consulting LLC, and 2024 Standing O nominee. In a statement to the Observer, Carlyle said Davis is always educating the community at large at her Lunch and Learn events.
"Hosting free events and giving back," Carlyle said. "She's very active in the community and passionate regarding the Ormond Beach community."
At her Lunch and Learn event on Nov. 2, Davis was recognized by the Volusia County Council with a proclamation for her work as the executive director of Healthier. Wealthier. Wiser. Inc.
Davis said the recognition was a moment of realization that people are paying attention to the need for education in health care.
"If you don't have a community base, you're losing," she said. "You've got to have a community base. You've got to go where the people are."
Davis wants to be able to leave a legacy. While she was working on her degrees, she was also taking care of her grandson. He watched as she crossed the stage in graduation.
"I want them (her grandchildren) to say, 'Yeah, my grandmother, she could've been in her Golden Years traveling,'... but for some reason, it wasn't for me to do that," Davis said.
Because when you have a passion for something, Davis said, no one can do that thing better than you.
"If I wasn't doing this, I probably would be making sandwiches and serving soup for the homeless, you see what I'm saying?" Davis said. "Or being somewhere volunteering. It's a passion."
Visit healthyiswealthy777.org.
