It was only my third day on the job when trusty colleague Don Coble invited me to Mercy Support Services.
The purpose: Clay SafetyNet Alliance was hosting its monthly assembly for “New to Clay” nonprofits. When Don mentioned, “There will be some people there you ought to meet,” he was spot-on but understated his sales pitch.
At first, I had thought the gathering would be a standard meet-and-greet wherein 15 to 20 folks sip coffee, make small talk about organizations, and then exchange business cards with “contact info.”
As it turns out, my assumption couldn’t have been more delusional. The first indication of what was to come at Mercy Support Services occurred outside, where the modest-sized parking lot was chockablock with vehicles three rows deep into the adjacent grass.
The get-together took me by storm in a positive way – not an easy thing to do.
For the uninitiated (which included me until last week): Clay SafetyNet Alliance is “a network of Clay County faith-based nonprofit, local government agencies” that provide social services; moreover, it operates in conjunction with Shaping Clay enrichment programs.
As I waited in the lobby for my coworker Don to arrive, it wasn’t two minutes before Janey Fox greeted me.
Rather than merely say, “Hi, welcome” before moving on – but Janey took time to converse and handed me a sign-up sheet to provide my name, occupation, email address and so forth. The extra effort was a clear sign those involved were genuinely interested in welcoming newcomers and keeping us in the loop.
Several dozen attendees were mingling before the business, which set up shop in a spacious room with occupied chairs wall to wall.
While striving to shoehorn myself into one of the few remaining seats, a woman asked, “Are you Jim?” Instead of turning around to see if she was addressing somebody of the same name, I nodded as we exchanged pleasantries.
The lady was Don’s dutiful wife, Nancy, who had saved a chair for me.
That morning’s surprises would continue: After a brief opening prayer, all attendees – whether scheduled guest speakers or not – stood up and introduced themselves. It dawned on me the domino effect would soon reach my corner, where I literally rose to the occasion as the new face of Clay Today’s editorial department.
The interactive approach broke the ice; any preconceived tension was thawed.
It wasn’t long before I sensed the meeting and organizations were better than advertised. Everybody was sincerely concerned with helping one another improve the county and its residents.
One by one, the nonprofits’ representatives described their services and mission while answering questions from curious audience members.
A few of those good Samaritans in the house: Associates from T.E.A.M. Dad, which mentors and empowers new fathers; UF Health Jacksonville Dr. Leon Haley’s Brain Wellness Program, which helps military veterans and first responders who sustained concussions; and Florida Epilepsy Alliance, whose health professional YaSheika “Ya Ya” Solomon gave insightful tips about how to react to seizures (for starters, it’s a matter of TRUST).
For upward of two hours, the room was teeming with meaningful discourse. The gathering was a treasure trove of philanthropy – not to mention a goldmine of story ideas – on full display.
The meetings occur on the “third Thursday of each month,” which means the next one – if my smartphone’s calendar is accurate – will be March 20. If you were me, you wouldn’t hesitate to appear and chime in.
