Helping Hands in

the New Year

 

 

By: Morgan Hall

The Greenup Beacon 

Dan Blevins with Greenup Helping Hands loves his community and has a heart for service. Blevins describes his humble beginnings.

"I grew up in Flatwoods and graduated from Russell in 1992. I earned a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of the Cumberlands in 1998 and Master of Arts in Education from the University of Phoenix in 2005. I came to Helping Hands as a volunteer in 2011 and was named Assistant Director in September 2012. I became Executive Director in January 2020. In addition to my employment at Helping Hands, I am the music director at Danleyton Missionary Baptist Church, a member of the King’s Daughters Medical Center Patient and Family Advisory Council and a member of the Executive Board of the Greenup Baptist Association. I am a 2012 graduate of the Ashland Alliance Community Leadership Development Program and am a Certified Food Protection Manager."

Blevins explains his introduction to the nonprofit sector was by pure happenstance. "My transition into the non-profit sector happened totally by accident. After leaving teaching, I took a job with the COSI science center. Over the next three and a half years, I worked in various roles within the organization, including outreach education, guest relations and volunteer management. When I moved back to Kentucky to help with ill family members, I was hired by the Highlands Museum as their Director of Operations. I remained there for right over a year and a half, before coming to Helping Hands." 

Like most nonprofits, the pandemic directly affected how they operate, raise funds and serve clients. Blevins shared how Greenup Helping Hands operated during the pandemic. "As is the case with everything else, COVID-19 forced non-profits to modify how they operated. We had to think very much outside the box to stay open and continue to service our clients. It also made us significantly modify how we raised funds. In 2023, I would like to see Helping Hands continue to return to a level of normal operations, both in providing our services as well as our fundraising, while at the same time continuing to implement some of the changes we made during COVID-19 that worked well into our regular operations."

Volunteer organizations are always in need of extra hands to lighten the load. 

"We are always in need of volunteers. As we only have myself and three part-time employees, our volunteers are the backbone of our operations. We have a variety of jobs available from working in the food pantry to sorting clothing for our thrift store."

If you were wondering what donations are needed. Blevins elaborates on the needs of the organization. "In addition to volunteering, we always appreciate donations of food, clothing and thrift store items. Financial donations are also appreciated; as we can use them to not only maintain our operations and facilities, but can also be used for food. As we are working with our partners at the Facing Hunger Foodbank in Huntington, convert one dollar into 10 lbs. of food."

If you are a Greenup County resident and you're in need of assistance, Helping Hands offers services anywhere in Greenup County. Some programs, such as the food pantry have maximum income guidelines while others may not. It is best to call and the staff and volunteers can give people the best information for their need. Primarily they offer food and clothing assistance. They also assist with utilities and prescriptions when funds are available.

There are two different mobile pantries partnered with Helping Hands. The first unit is the monthly mobile pantry at the McKell Library in South Shore, where they distribute CSFP boxes to qualifying seniors 60 and older as well as regular food boxes to clients in the South Shore area. Additionally, they work closely with the Facing Hunger Foodbank on their mobile distributions at the Greenup County Fairgrounds. These typically occur every other Wednesday since last summer, based on the availability of the fairgrounds and other factors.

In conclusion, Blevins reflects on his job and being part of Helping Hands. 

"Honestly, the best part of my job is being able to talk to people in our community and provide them with whatever assistance we can. There are so many people and businesses to mention, that I’m afraid that I may miss one or more mentions. We have been very blessed by our community. No matter if it is helping us financially, with donations, manpower or just prayer, the individuals, businesses, churches and civic organizations in Greenup County have been a huge blessing to Helping Hands and by extension, those we serve.

You can find them on Facebook at

Helping Hands of Greenup County 

412 Main Street 

Greenup, KY 41144

606.473.6916