Her caring hands help provide for Macon’s homeless

Connie Washington began her Caring Hands Outreach Ministry in 2006. She and about a dozen volunteers have performed what she calls “community acts of kindness.’’

They have provided food, clothes and other necessities to local homeless shelters, nursing homes, schools, churches, housing projects and shut ins.

But if you ask this kind, humble woman when the seeds of her ministry really began, she must turn back the calendar 60 years.

She was in the seventh grade and was being raised by her aunt in Forsyth.

The late Elizabeth Head was a teacher in Monroe County for 44 years. She never married or had children. She had a heart for service and dedicated her life to helping others. She never saw a need she did not try to meet.

“When children did not have shoes or clothes, she would purchase what they needed,’’ Connie said. “She was a role model for me. I had friends who would come to school who didn’t have lunches, and I would give them my lunch.’’

Several days each week, Connie loads her 2003 Honda Odyssey van with home-cooked meals, snack bags, clothes, personal hygiene items and cleaning supplies.

She makes her rounds, but her primary stops are Daybreak Day Resource Center and Loaves & Fishes -- two downtown faith-based agencies that minister to Macon’s homeless population.

“You know how when you go to your grandmama’s house, and she can immediately see what everybody needs by looking at them? That’s the way she is,’’ said Valerie Sewell, the director of operations at Loaves & Fishes. “She’s like everybody’s grandmama. She comes down here and determines the needs of our clients. The next thing you know, she’s coming back the next day.’’

Not much stops her, or even slows her down. Three years ago, she had open-heart surgery. Some folks might use that as a reason to scale back their busy schedules. But Connie never missed a beat when it came to her commitment.

When COVID-19 closed doors across the city last spring, and the pandemic then spilled over into the summer, the needs of the less fortunate reached critical levels.

Although her volunteer ranks thinned, the crisis only strengthened Connie’s resolve. She put on a mask and carried on.

Jake Ferro, the former president and CEO of the Cherry Blossom Festival, took over as executive director at Loaves & Fishes this past July.

He has been impressed with Connie’s labor of love since the first day he met her. In August, the agency recognized her dedication and commitment with a reception.

“She feels strongly she has been called to give back and provide help for people in need,’’ Ferro said. “And she helps many organizations, not just ours.’’

The Loaves and Fishes building on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard does not have kitchen facilities, so Connie does all her prep work from her daughter’s home in Jones County, where she lives with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

She cooks for dozens of people and delivers it in aluminum pans. The staff at Loaves & Fishes then prepares it for clients as a carry-out meal.

“I don’t want to give them anything I wouldn’t want,’’ Connie said. “I make sure the presentation looks good, and the food tastes good.’’

Connie is famous for her pound cake. After a 30-year career serving mentally and physically disabled people, she worked as a nutritionist in five Bibb County public schools.

Five years ago, Valerie was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was told she had six months to live. She started working for Loaves & Fishes in 2018. She said Connie has been an inspiration to her.

“I tell her all the time how much I admire her,’’ Valerie said. “A few weeks ago, she said the Lord picks certain people, and we are called to do his work. Every time I see her, it’s a blessing.’’

Ed Grisamore teaches journalism at Stratford Academy in Macon. His column appears on Sundays in The Telegraph.