Tim and Joan Meacham, long-time supporters and former board members of Helping Hands of Georgetown, recall meeting Gloria Jones in 2019.
What impressed the Meachams about Gloria was her spirit of service. “She doesn’t seek recognition; she doesn’t want it. She just wants to make someone’s life better
Gloria enriches the lives of so many by volunteering at Helping Hands Food Pantry, now renamed “Gloria’s Place” in her honor. The Food Pantry is open Monday – Thursday from 9am to noon. You will find Gloria there every day like clockwork – unless she’s visiting family, namely her grandchildren in New York, which is her hometown.
Helping Hands was established in 1989 by a group of area churches (now called Covenant Churches) who wanted to help address the issue of food insecurity that so many low-income residents in Georgetown County were facing. While the organization has expanded since then to include a dental clinic offering free services to the uninsured and a Youth Empowerment Program for high school students, the Food Pantry has remained a constant resource for our neighbors in need.
Tim and Joan thought it was time for Gloria to be recognized, even though she shies away from the limelight.
“God’s work comes naturally to Gloria,” Tim said. After proposing the idea to Brendon Barber, Helping Hands’ executive director, they decided to erect a sign in Gloria’s honor and have a surprise unveiling on June 20, 2024.
Special thanks go to Tim and Joan Meacham, who made the touching dedication of Gloria’s Place possible.
“We have supported many nonprofits over the years and seen volunteers come and go with each. But at Helping Hands, the volunteers tend to stay,” Tim said..
We are blessed to have Gloria Jones here with us – at Gloria’s Place.
(Note: the Food Pantry, Gloria’s Place is a little low right now. It’s the summer and many who are on fixed income often have grandkids come for an extended visit. Please consider contributing cans of soup, pasta, grits, and spaghetti sauce. Thank you!)
At the event, held right in the pantry, board chair Jean Rothrock noted that “Gloria is such a shining star. Helping Hands relies so much on our volunteers to help us meet our mission. We couldn’t achieve half of what we do for this community without volunteers like Gloria.”
Brendon came up with the name – Gloria’s Place. “It’s fitting that the Food Pantry be named Gloria’s Place, for she exemplifies what it means to serve our community,” Brendon said. “Gloria just has a heart to serve and knows how to make people feel like family here.”
