OneCompassion serves the community in a variety of ways

CLAYTON — One would expect the “about” section of a charity’s website to paint a rosy picture of its plans to improve the community it serves.

So it’s no surprise that the people behind OneCompassion state that they, “are ordinary people working to make an extraordinary impact in our local community, and each is passionate about bridging the gaps in Johnston County through their different ministries.”

Make no mistake, however. OneCompassion’s impact on the Clayton area goes far beyond words.

“OneCompassion was founded by Reid and Jaclyn Smith in 2014,” OneCompassion Executive Director Christine Woodall said. “As residents of Johnston County and the owners of One27Homes, Reid and Jaclyn wanted to focus on the community just as much as their new business and share God’s work through random and unexplainable acts of compassion.”

The organization accomplishes that task through several different outlets.

“OneCompassion is able to come alongside Johnston County’s families in a multitude of ways,” Woodall said. “(We can) mentor children, provide home-cooked meals, help during financial crisis or ensure families in need are able to celebrate Christmas. The common thread sewn into all these programs was a sense of compassion towards the people of Johnston County, specifically those in need.”

That thread starts with the Build Ministry, a year-round program designed to help people in need.

“We build metaphorical bridges with people who have proof of crisis,” Woodall said. “Individuals, schools and organizations come and nominate a need and we map out where are they now, where are they going, what is the place of self-sustainability and how can we help get them there?”

Another constant need in the community is the fight against hunger, which is where the OneTable program comes in.

“OneTable is a special monthly neighborhood event series designed to encourage togetherness, community, inclusiveness and compassion,” Woodall said. “With the help of a community sponsor, we are able to provide a free meal to anyone and everyone in our community! OneTable is hosted behind the Paper Company Building in downtown Clayton (114 W. Main St.) and the monthly sponsor provides the meal.”

Building the future is also important to OneCompassion, and that’s why it established the Mentor Program.

“OneCompassion has partnered with Cooper Academy to provide a oneof-a-kind Mentor Program,” Woodall said. “The OneCompassion Mentor Program envisions empowered youth as successful decision makers in our school and community. We are dedicated to strengthening community connections while modeling and developing positive life skills for growth and success.

“Our mentors commit to building a relationship with a mentee throughout the school year. While being supported by OneCompassion and Cooper Academy, mentors build relationships with mentees, develop students in selfreflection, reinforce lessons learned from a setback, advise mentees on goals and action steps and celebrate accomplishments.”

Of course, the holidays are a time of particular need for many people in the community. OneCompassion’s Holiday Ministry works to address that.

“Through our Holiday Ministry, we want families to experience the joy of giving and receiving grace and compassion just as we have,” Woodall said. “For this reason, we enable parents to bless their own families with a decorated home, Christmas gifts for the entire family, food for a Christmas dinner, food for the entire holiday break and household cleaning and toiletry items.

“We spend months preparing and identifying and vetting families to ultimately provide a Christmas to deserving families right here in Johnston County. The Holiday Ministry is only made possible by countless hours put in from our volunteer team and the generous gifts from donors. Because of the generosity of the last year’s donors and family sponsors, we were able to serve the needs of 33 families in our community!”

Woodall is quick to point out that this sort of work wouldn’t be possible with community support.

“Our community partners are individuals and businesses who are invested in their community and are passionate about serving those in need in Johnston County,” she said. “Our community partners like One27Homes, Jaclyn Smith Properties, and many others are critical to the success of our mission. These partners make up our volunteer teams and sponsors for events like the Holiday Ministry and OneTable, which also provides OneCompassion with opportunities to share what we are doing with their employees.”

Want to get involved? Here’s how: Volunteers are needed for long-term projects and monthly events. If there is a specific ministry that you want to get involved with, let us know through an email to info@onecompassion.com. Or, to make a donation, visit onecompassion.com/give.