Helping Hands celebrates 40 years providing for underserved families in Rockwall

(ROCKWALL, TX – May 20, 2016) Helping Hands of Rockwall County celebrated a remarkable milestone of serving the needs of the community on Thursday, May 20, with a 40th Anniversary “Ruby Red” Dinner Party at Culpepper Steakhouse (309 I-30 Frontage Rd). Supporters of Helping Hands were invited to enjoy food stations, live entertainment, a silent auction and a wine pull during the celebratory event.

Helping Hands was founded in 1976 by volunteers under the leadership of Bob Reeves, the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Rockwall. The story is told that volunteers gathered items for Christmas for needy children in the area. Then household goods and clothing were collected. When Bob ran out of room in the trunk of his car, Claudette Johnson stored items in her garage. In 1977, the organization moved into a trailer, donated by Don and Mary Turpin, at the corner of Emma Jane and Goliad.

Ada Mooney became the first Thrift Store manager when the store moved to Bourne and then on to Kenway Shopping Center.

Rockwall Women´s League established the Children´s Medical Assistance fund, to be administered by Helping Hands, with a $1,000 donation in 1982. In 1987 United Way of Metropolitan Dallas conducted a campaign in Rockwall and awarded Helping Hands a $17,500 Venture Grant. That allowed the agency to hire its first executive director, Sarah McCormick.

Margo Nielsen was hired as the agency’s executive director in 1989 and went on to serve for 25 years in that capacity. Helping Hands saw amazing growth under Margo’s leadership, and under her guidance became the main provider of local social services, health care and financial assistance for underserved families throughout the county.

In 1991 the Board began raising funds to build the Robert D. Reeves Social Service Center at 102 S. First St., which became a hub for a dozen social service providers including CASA, Habitat for Humanity, Rockwall County Committee on Aging, the Rockwall Bar Association´s monthly legal clinic, Community Services, Inc., the Community Resource Coordinating Group, and others. On May 15, 1992 the agency moved into the 13,000 square foot facility with Helping Hands Thrift Store, Food Pantry and Assistance and Referral program on the upper level. The Texas Department of Human Services, Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services and the Texas Department of Health leased space from Helping Hands on the lower level.

In 2000 the agency opened its own Health Center. Under a state grant, Rockwall women who did not qualify for Medicaid were able to get prenatal care at the clinic. In cooperation with Lake Pointe Medical Center, women were able to receive quality prenatal care and delivery in their home County.

By 2002 the agency once again ran out of space. On retreat the Board recognized that a significant portion of the annual revenue came from thrift store sales. In 2004 the Board purchased the Lakeside Church of Christ campus at 950 Williams Street. In January of 2005, after major remodeling, Helping Hands moved onto the site. In that same year, the agency established a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) clinic for victims of rape and sexual assault.

As portions of the county around the Royse City area began to see some tremendous growth, and with more than a third of applicants served by the agency living in that area, Helping Hands opened a Thrift Store in Royse City.

When current Executive Director Jon Bailey came on board following Margo’s retirement in February 2015, Helping Hands embarked on a five-phase capital campaign project to better serve the needs of the county. Phase I of the project began in August 2015 and saw the agency’s Assistance and Referral program relocate to a newly-renovated Reeves Center. The center was expanded to nearly twice its original size to make room for a larger Food Pantry, reception area and office spaces. The next phases of the capital campaign project will involve renovating Building A located at the Helping Hands main campus and moving the boutique into that building. Phase 3 will see an expansion of the Thrift Store and its sales floor, followed by the construction of a covered 10,000 sq. ft. processing facility in Phase 4.

Last but not least, the Helping Hands Health Center will be expanded so that both it and the Emergency Assistance program can operate in the same location together.

The projected budget for all five phases comes in at $2 million.

Last year, Rockwall Helping Hands provided more than 23,000 bags of food to its clients through its expanded food pantry and the Health Center served over 10,000 patients.

Today, the agency operates around a $2.7 million budget, with 42 full time and part time employees. Helping Hands serves over 13,000 families throughout Rockwall County through its Assistance and Referral program, Food Pantry and Health Center.

“I want to thank each one of you for being here tonight,” Bailey said. “It’s exciting to be celebrating 40 years of Helping Hands. It’s amazing to think that 40 years ago, Bob Reeves ran this organization out of the trunk of his car, and Dawn and Claudette Johnson used their garage as a warehouse and storage unit. Helping Hands is what it is today because of their passion and commitment to help those in need in Rockwall County.”

Helping Hands of Rockwall County invites those throughout the community to become a monthly donor and help keep the agency positioned to mobilize immediately when crisis or disaster strikes. Equally important, monthly contributions provide a steady stream of income to the organization and allow more valuable resources to be directed to program services. For more information about how to become a monthly donor visit rockwallhelpinghands.com.

Story and photos by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor.

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