MOST PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH MEALS ON WHEELS. One of the oldest and largest organizations in the United States, the organization assists the homebound elderly and disabled by delivering nutritious meals to their homes. But not everyone is familiar with the local organization that provides this service. Greer Community Ministries began as a result of the late Reverend Johnny Stack who, while serving on the Greenville County Coun-cil for the Aging, determined there was a need in the Greer area for a Meals on Wheels program. Meeting with other concerned citizens in 1972, Reverend Stack and the community devised a plan of action and on March 5, 1973, meals were prepared and delivered to 25 local residents.

In 1974, two more programs — the Senior Din-ing Program and the Food Pantry and Clothing Closet — were added. In 1996, Greer Community Ministries centralized the three programs under one roof at a new facility on South Line Street Extension in downtown Greer. Today, under the watchful eye of Meals on Wheels Director Martha King-Lafoy, more than 360 hot lunches a day are prepared in large kitchen facilities and are deliv-ered by volunteers on 18 routes.

While Meals on Wheels provides the healthy, nour-ishing meal, volunteers provide the friendly smiles and helping hands. “Sometimes we’re the only face these folks see during the day,” says Tina Howard, Food and Cloth-ing Coordinator. Volunteers are from all walks of life, ages, races, and nationalities, but they have one thing in common — they are willing to give a couple of hours a day, a week, or even a month to help people who cannot help themselves. One volunteer, Louise Waters, delivered the first meals in 1973 and still delivers today.

With so many people depending on Meals on Wheels, volunteers are crucial to the survival of the pro-gram. “I have never talked to a volunteer who didn’t seem to get even more out of the experience than the recipient,” says Randy Kemp, Executive Director.

The Senior Dining Program was created for older folks in the community who need a social outlet to com-bat loneliness and depression. “I’ve had people tell me,

‘You saved my father’s life,’” Randy says. “These people would not get out of the house much without the dining program. If they don’t drive, we pick them up. We have morning coffee and snacks, fellowship time, and lunch. We also provide transportation to doctor appointments, pharmacies, and stores where the seniors have a chance to purchase food, clothing, and medicine. But what the program really offers is a chance to socialize, laugh, and have some fun.”

GreerCharitiesw ritten by SHERIL BE NNET T TURNER

photographed by BRIAN ERKE NS

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” — Helen Keller

Greer Community Ministries

16 GreerNow JANUARY 2007 GreerNow JANUARY 2007 17

FEATURE

Charity. The word is defined as “generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering.” But what does charity really mean? Giving money. Giving time. Giving food, clothing, furniture, or toys to those who don’t have any. Yes, I think so. But most of all I think charity is caring enough to

help make someone else’s life better. Here are the stories of three charities in the Greer area, two that love and support our local community, and one that gives love and support to the world from our community. Each one exists because of that one person who did something, and the Greer community that did not refuse to give.

The Food Pantry and Clothing Closet started as a way to help disadvantaged neighbors in emergency situ-ations. “We help people who have lost their jobs, single moms, and grandparents raising children,” Tina explains. “We provide groceries from our Food Pantry to get peo-ple through the week. We also take them to the Clothes Closet, where they can pick out four outfits per person, complete with socks, shoes, purses, and belts.” School supplies, bedding, and furniture are sometimes available.

Everything in the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet is donated by businesses, churches, and individuals. “Most of the people who use this program have hit rock bottom,” Randy says. “We try to spend time with them and just listen. We make sure they leave here with warm clothes and food, and get them in touch with organiza-tions that provide job counseling and career help. We

Left – Volunteer ___________ delivers a Meals on Wheels lunch. Above – Smiles abound at the Senior Dining progam.

also make sure they have a church family to turn to for spiritual support.”

Randy became Executive Director of Greer Com-munity Ministries two years ago. “I was an engineer and had a great job that I really loved,” he says. “But persistent headaches sent me to the doctor. An MRI showed what was thought to be a brain tumor. Further investigation determined that it was scar tissue, probably from birth. After that scare, I felt like I needed to do something dif-ferent. I was alive. Making money was no longer im-portant. Spending time with my family was important. Sharing my faith and helping others was important.”

“When I interviewed for the job at Greer Community Ministries, being an engineer, I knew I could handle the logical challenges of this job. But then someone asked me if I was ready emotionally. I thought, ‘Oh yes, no prob-lem.’ But the first week when I saw the children that came through the door, I cried. I still feel the same way today. Sometimes I go home at night and think I just can’t do enough. But we have an incredibly caring staff that works tirelessly on their own time to help their neighbors. And we have the generosity and support of the community. We cannot exist without them.”

Greer Soup Kitchen

by and felt compelled to give money. So she went to the bank, stopped back by, and gave me an envelope. I was new, so I didn’t want to open it without a board member present. When one of the members came in later that day, we opened the envelope to reveal $1,200.”

Today, the generosity of the community does not surprise Rosanne. Whether the kitchen is low on desserts, bread, help, or donations, someone will give what they

need. “I can almost think of what we need and it appears in the door,” she says.

And what of the people who come to the Greer Soup Kitchen to eat? “They’re good people,” Miss Susan says. “No one is turned away at the soup kitchen. Jesus fed the 5,000. He didn’t say some of you get fed some of you don’t. He just fed them.” And so do all of the good people who work, volunteer, and give to the Greer Soup Kitchen.

PUT AWAY ANY PRECONCEIVED IDEAS OF WHAT YOU MIGHT THINK A SOUP KITCHEN IS WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE GREER SOUP KITCHEN ON EAST POINSETT STREET. With bright, cheerful, seasonal decorations on each table, and a beautiful piano where on any given day an entertainer might be playing, this soup kitchen is a little different. Serving not just soup and sandwiches but a full, home-cooked lunch seven days a week, this place, affectionately dubbed the “Greer Diner” by locals, helps feed the hungry in a place that resembles a comfortable, casual restaurant. There are even showering facilities with toiletry kits for people who do not have a place to wash. But the most wonderful amenity is the staff and volun-teers who bring a loving, warm sense of home to people who really need to feel safe, secure, and cared about.

It all began 16 years ago when Steve Miller saw a man in Greer going through a dumpster. His reaction? “This can’t be happening in my city.” With the help of Merle State and others in the community, the Daily Bread Min-istries and the Greer Soup Kitchen were founded in 1990.

Susan Hawkins, or Miss Susan, a volunteer since the Soup Kitchen began, remembers humble beginnings. “We served sandwiches, Little Debbie cakes, tea, and Kool-Aid in a small space in downtown Greer. We prepared meals at the Presbyterian Church, and got our ice at the fire department. On the day we opened, we served only one person. But as the citizens who needed our help grew to

40, local restaurants started giving us food and we had a little apartment-sized stove where we heated it. Even if we had a little bit of food, we didn’t want to refuse any-one. Always, someone would walk in with just what we needed, like they do today.”

Operated solely by volunteers, as the number of hungry citizens increased to 135 a day, the need for orga-nization and continuity in the kitchen arose. Operations manager Rosanne Walden joined the staff. She recalls how she first became aware of the Greer Soup Kitchen. “My husband and I were moving to this area and we were traveling through Greer when we missed our turn on Highway 101. We went past the kitchen and I said I’d like to volunteer there sometime. After getting my home in order, someone at my church asked if I’d like to help out at the soup kitchen. Merle State and Steve Miller were here the second time I came and they offered me the job.”

With the combined efforts of Rosanne, the many vol-unteers in the kitchen, and especially Arthur, a local man who has been helping out for more than 15 years, the Greer Soup Kitchen has become organized and efficient. Everything that comes in the door is used to create hearty meals. And with the completion of a large new pantry and freezer, no gift of food is ever turned away.

“We are not funded with government money,” Rosanne explains. “We exist solely because of the con-tributions of this wonderful community. When I first started here, a lady came in and said she had just passed

18 GreerNow JANUARY 2007

FEATURE

GreerNow JANUARY 2007 19

FEATURE

Above — Rosanne Walden and Volunteers _______________and ________________________ help prepare the day’s meal at the Greer Soup Kitchen.

Left — Longtime volunteer Miss Susan greets at the window, as volunteer ____________________ hands out plates of food.

“MY ORIGINAL IDEA WAS TO TEACH, TO HELP PEOPLE WRESTLE WITH BIG ISSUES IN AN NON-THREATENING ENVIRONMENT,” says its creator and president, David Rogers. “But it’s hard to just teach without actually doing something to help.”

Joshua’s Way, a Christian learning center David cre-ated in 2000, encourages people to strengthen their faith through helping, teaching and doing. “We try to help people with a holistic approach by providing for their mind, body, and spirit,” he explains. “We are physical and spiritual selves. We try to address the whole person.”

The most recognizable aspect of Joshua’s Way is Operation Christmas Child, a national Good Samari-tan project that spreads joy, hope, and the gospel to the world’s needy children. Each year in the fall the Greer community gathers toys, books, and supplies to fill shoe-

box sized containers that are then shipped to children in other countries. The gifts are received by poverty-stricken children who may be refugees of civil wars or survivors of natural disasters. Joshua’s Way acts as a collection center for the Greer area. “We typically fill about two tractor trailers with shoe boxes,” David says, “and take them to the national processing center in Charlotte. From there they go out to children all over the world.”

In addition to this annual project, Joshua’s Way has reached out in other ways. “A friend introduced me to Atu Bekele, a young woman from Ethiopia,” David says. “Having been here for 25 years, she had a real desire to be more intentional in helping her home country. I didn’t know much about Ethiopia but I went over and met with her brother, a brilliant man and pastor who received his doctorate in the United States. I asked how we could help.”

In 2005 the Ziway Outreach Development Center was officially dedicated. This facility, built and completely financed through Joshua’s Way, gives the community of Ziway, Ethiopia a place to worship and a place for children to learn. Actively helping wherever they can, Joshua’s Way also provides food, medical care, eye and dental exams, and helps construct simple homes.

David has also helped create the Ethiopian Women’s Life Empowerment, a new project for Joshua’s Way and the Beza International Ministries. The one-year program teaches women — some have been prostitutes, some are HIV-positive — basic character development, nutrition, health, and food preparation to better arm them with skills needed for livelihood and employment. The pro-gram aspires to educate and empower the women, giving them confidence and job skills, and ultimately helping overcome the region’s extreme poverty. David recalls meeting a group of the women: “Here I am in a coat and tie, a sign of respect in Africa, explaining the Joshua’s Way mission. Several women started to cry. It was the first time in their lives that someone didn’t want anything from them, just to help.”

Another new program adopted this year by Joshua’s Way, Cross Culture Network, is making a difference right here in the Upstate. “We work with about 90 international students who attend Clemson and Furman Universi-ties, helping to acclimate them to this country,” David explains. “Florin Palaghia, originally from Romania, and his wife Amy, a South Carolina native, plan trips for the students to get to know our country and culture. They help with practical things, like getting furniture and driver’s licenses, and also talk about faith issues in a low-key environment.”

Joshua’s Way also provides financial assistance to Christian churches in Venezuela, and sponsors the Mercy Riders Motorcycle Ministries, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who minister to the community and to people in the prison system.

As Joshua’s Way continues to grow and change lives, the Greer community continues to lovingly give their time, money, and support to make it possible.

20 GreerNow JANUARY 2007

FEATURE

GreerNow JANUARY 2007 21

FEATURE

Joshua’s Way

AT SOME POINT, WE’VE ALL BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF CHARITY. It might have been as simple as a warm cup of coffee, a good meal, or a coat when it was cold. Or it might have been a fresh start, a new job opportunity, or a place to live. Someone has helped make your life better. As we start a new year, why not give back a little to the community who needs so much? Give of yourself, your time, your donations. There are many ways to be charitable, not only to the three organizations mentioned here, but to all churches, local, national, and interna-tional charities, or just by helping a friend or neighbor. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you could be that one person who helps make someone else’s life better. d

Greer Community Ministries

864-877-1937 www.gcminc.org

Randy Kemp, Executive Director738 S. Line Street Ext.Greer, SC 29650

Send Donations to:P.O. Box 1373Greer, SC 29652-1373

Daily Bread Ministries

864-968-0323 www.dailybreadministries.com

Rosanne Walden, Operations Manager521 E. Poinsett StreetGreer, SC 29650

Send Donations to:P.O. Box 2344Greer, SC 29652

Joshua’s Way

864-801-4464 www.joshuasway.org

David Rogers, President1001 W. Poinsett StreetGreer, SC 29650

Send Donations to:P.O. Box 1605Greer, SC 29652

Florin and Amy Palaghia (left) work with international students at Furman University.