Community Spotlight: Helping Hands Rockwall TX
No one in this country should have to go without food, shelter, or medical care. All three are basic human necessities, but unfortunately, many families and individuals go without these essential needs every day. Realizing this, Rockwall Helping Hands is here to lend a hand to underserved members of the community.
About Helping Hands
Helping Hands is composed of staff members filled with compassion, kindness, and integrity to help and serve those that need it most. Helping Hands has been providing services since its creation in 1976 under the leadership of Bob Reeves, the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Rockwall, and Claudette Johnson.
They firmly believe that no human being should go without the basic necessities and, with the help of volunteers, they expanded services to include a thrift store and a food pantry. In 2016, they celebrated their 40th anniversary, and are still going strong to serve those who need it most!
Services Offered
The services Helping Hands provide can be broken down into four distinct categories:
- Assistance and Referral
- Thrift Store
- Health Center
- Food Pantry
The Assistance and Referral branch of their operations includes serving their members in times of financial crisis. They’re able to help people get back on their feet by providing utilities, shelter, food, clothes, furniture, and household items. They also offer bilingual services during their business hours where their clients are welcome to bring their own interpreter to help with the process.
When you shop at Helping Hands’ thrift store, not only can you find great apparel and decor for your home, but you’ll also have the opportunity to donate to a great cause to help those most in need! Some items you can expect to find include household goods, furniture, new and gently used clothing, antiques, books, CDs, DVDs, video games, and more! You can also bring in items to donate.
Health care can be really expensive, but luckily Helping Hands provides a multitude of health care services and a variety of affordable health care plans. Through their income-based sliding scale program, patients can often qualify for free or reduced rates. Some of the health services they provide include low-cost lab fees, routine checkups and physicals, pregnancy testing, prescription assistance, referrals, and more!
Through a partnership with the Assistance and Referral Program, Helping Hands is able to provide food to those who need it most. For individuals and families in need of emergency food assistance, they offer nutritious meals that can last for 14 days. Much of their food comes through individual donations as well as food drives facilitated by schools, churches, U.S. Postal employees, and youth groups such as the Boy and Girl Scouts.
How to Get Involved
There are a couple of ways to get involved to help the organization further its mission. The first is through donations where you can choose to give monthly donations or participate in a fundraising event such as the Annual Helping Hands Golf Tournament or Festival of Trees. Another way is through volunteering where there are applications available for both adults and the youth to be able to get involved.
Lending a Helping Hand
Rockwall Helping Hands makes it their mission to make sure people in their community don’t go without the basic necessities. To volunteer or donate, contact them with a phone call or visit their Facebook.