Recently one of our founders went on to Heaven. Madge Wilson started the food pantry for Christian HELP back in the early days of the ministry. She stepped out on faith, and along with her husband Dick, heeded a call by God to leave the retail gift business and go into ministry.
She battled with diabetes all her life. Diagnosed at age 6, she would later have a kidney transplant. While her body was not so healthy, her spirit and work ethic were. Madge made sure the pantry ran smoothly, everything had a place, there was a rhyme and reason for why things were done the way they were.
A meticulous record keeper, Madge made sure things were done fair and equitably. She made sure the employees and volunteers were good stewards of all that came in. Clients were always put ahead of everyone else.
One of the things that struck me when I came was the loyalty of the volunteers who worked in the pantry. We have volunteers who have been with Madge since the beginning. Gwen, Eva, Miss Annie May, John, and Ron have all been volunteers for years and they have been fiercely loyal to her.
I love that. I love that her legacy will live on. The building is named in her honor, and donations that have come in will be used to upgrade some of our freezers with a brand new one. She would have liked that.
Sandi
