Page 17 - June/June HER 2020

17 JUNE HER
Caring for the community
Story by Grace Brown, photography by Grace Brown and submitted
It does not matter which page of the calendar you turn to, the Eleanor Klugh Jackson House continuously serves the community, even in the midst of a pandemic. At the helm of this vital nonprofit is no other than the founder’s daugh- ter, Janie Smith.
For the past 20 years, she has served as the executive director of Jackson House, making sure funding and donations keep coming in while food and items to meet basic needs go out to those most in need. However, due to COVID-19, Smith had to reevaluate how she runs the nonprofit in order to ensure the com- munity’s needs stayed met, and her staff and volunteers stay safe.
“We have to think about who we’re serving,” Smith said. “We have to be here for lunch six days a week. Yes, we have a plan B, but still, we have to provide food. We’re doing all of our interviews by phone. We’ve totally changed the way we’ve operated.”
When the very first cases of COVID-19 in China started making the news, Smith said she began planning for the worst. She began re- searching and organizing her board members,
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HER MAGAZINE ¯ JUNE/JULY 2020 17