Floretta Williams and Flora Kelly are twosisters determined to make a difference in their community.

    So far, it appears they’re succeeding.

    The sisters are instrumental to the success of the Greater HopeFoundation and have no plans to slow down.

    The Greater Hope Foundation is the ministry arm of Greater HopeMissionary Baptist Church. Both are located in the New Sightcommunity, but aid those throughout Lincoln County.

    The foundation opened a food pantry on site about eight or nineyears ago, with Kelly in charge of it.

    “It’s been my baby since it began,” she said. “It just kind of fellin my lap.”

    Most of the food in the pantry comes from the Southwest MississippiFood Bank, associated with Brookhaven Outreach Ministries, run bythe Rev. Jerry Durr.

    However, donations of both food and money are also instrumental tokeeping the Greater Hope food pantry going. Kelly said thefoundation supplements what it receives from the SouthwestMississippi Food Bank and donations by buying meats and otherperishable food items.

    Just in time for Christmas, the foundation will soon receivedonations through The DAILY LEADER and Bank of Brookhaven HolidayFood Drive.

    Local residents may financially contribute to the drive at eitherbusiness up until Dec. 16. The total proceeds will be split amongthe recipient food pantries. In addition to the Greater HopeFoundation, participating ministries and aid groups are: theEpiscopal Church of the Redeemer, St. Francis Assisi/St. VincentDePaul, the Martha Sykes Widows and Orphans Center and Union HallBaptist Church.

    The Greater Hope pantry distributes food on the second and lastThursday of each month from 9 a.m. until noon.

    The food pantry probably reaches 130 to 150 people a month, Kellysaid. Of those recipients, the majority tend to be the elderly.

    “Sometimes after paying high utility bills and paying for medicine,the elderly have no money left over for food,” Williamsexplained.

    The foundation resulted from the dedication and vision of Williamsand Kelly, but they can’t keep things going alone. The work of25-26 active volunteers keeps the foundation going.

    “No one gets a salary because everything that comes in goes backout to someone in need,” Kelly said, emphasizing the role ofvolunteers in the foundation.

    The food pantry is only one part of what the foundation’svolunteers accomplish.

    Across the building from the food pantry is located thefoundation’s thrift shop, open since 2005. The store sells items,but also directly gives to those in need, including the homelessand those whose homes and possessions have been destroyed infires.

    Out of the thrift shop, the foundation is also able to give to theGateway Rescue Mission, a homeless aid ministry in Jackson.

    The foundation also hosts classes for the community, some targetedto the young and some to adults. Class topics have includednutrition, marriage counseling, quilting and crocheting.

    “The goal is to teach and inform needy people how to have a betterlife, a healthier life,” Williams said.

    The work of the church to aid the needy is not new, but was given amore expanded direction after Hurricane Katrina struck the GulfCoast in 2005.

    Prior to that, Williams said the ministry was more inwardlyfocused.

    “We were working out of church providing services to needy in thechurch,” Williams said. “Then Katrina brought moreopportunity.”

    The foundation became a distribution site for relief materialsduring the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The church saw that itcould not go back to the way things were before.

    “The vision grew,” Williams said.

    The sisters see that vision as deeply tied to the mission of thechurch.

    “God told us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked,” Kellysaid.

    Williams agreed, and described her motivation as “obedience to theScriptures.”

    The Rev. Jerry Earl, pastor of New Sight Missionary Baptist Church,said he considers himself blessed to have Williams and Kelly in hiscongregation. He’s been pastor of the church a year and said he haslearned things from the sisters.

    “This is the first church I’ve been a part of where outreach wasmore than a benevolence offering,” Earl said. “I’m so thankful toGod they’re as dedicated as they are.”

    Earl said the women have given him a new way of seeing thecommunity around him.

    “Sometimes we live and don’t see the need,” he said. “These womenhave truly inspired me.”