History
In
1983, Candy Johnson and Hita Dickson, from Pearland, Texas, attended an
Episcopal Women’s conference in Bryan/College Station. The Right Rev. Bishop Benitez challenged the
attendees of the conference to see if there were any hungry people living in
their hometowns. Of course, Candy and
Hita thought there were none.
Candy
had been assisting a local woman, “Maria,” who had five children, ages one year
to seven years. Maria’s electricity was
shut off and her husband was unemployed.
When Candy inquired about how Maria was going to feed her family, Maria
showed Candy the molding beans in the refrigerator. Maria simply scraped off the mold and placed the pot on the gas
stove. Dinner was cooking, again.
With
the witness to this single family in need, Candy and Hita contacted the
clergy in the area. To their amazement, many local clergy in our area had been
inundated with people needing assistance. The clergy welcomed the idea of a
Christian organization to be formed that would aid and service this growing
problem. The original nine churches
provided the core of such an organization to be born on April 30, 1984. CHRISTIAN
HELPING HANDS, a ministry of churches to those in need, was in operation by
July 2, 1984.
Christian
Helping Hands is operated by an ALL-VOLUNTEER staff. The member-churches have grown from nine to
twenty-two churches (Baptist, Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian,
Episcopal, Methodist, Assembly of God and Non-denominational) all working together.
Numerous “non-member” churches also participate in the assistance programs of
C.H.H. They all follow God’s command “….therefore
I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and
to the poor in this land.” Deuteronomy
15:11
Being
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization,
Christian Helping Hands has assisted the needy residing in Pearland,
Friendswood, Brookside and Manvel (Texas) with food, rent and utility
assistance, clothing vouchers, gasoline and medical vouchers and emergency
lodging. C.H.H. has also provided
school supplies and Christmas gifts, as well as assistance to those affected by
flooding in the area. In the first
nineteen years, Christian Helping Hands provided assorted services to 41,000 FAMILIES representing 143,000 PEOPLE.