14 • Progress 2022
Stronger Together
Franklin Cooperative Ministry
Helping people deal with life’s unexpected situations
By Titus Mohler Franklin Cooperative Ministry is about community helping community. “All the support that we receive is local,” FCM Director Margaret Anne Smith said. “Our grants are local. We don’t receive any government assistance.” In its quarterly newsletter, the ministry is described as a centralized outreach program serving Franklin, Southampton County, southern Isle of Wight County and the 23437 zip code of Suffolk. FCM was founded in 1991 by community members, churches and social workers who wanted to create a “one-stopshop” by combining the community clothes closet with emergency food pantries operating out of different local churches, the newsletter stated. This also provided the opportunity to centralize record-keeping. “Our database currently has files on 5,922 households,” ministry officials stated in the fall 2021 newsletter. The newsletter pointed out that every organization is unique and has something to bring to the table, and FCM is no exception. “We have an emergency food pantry,” officials stated. “This means we have non-perishable food on hand at all times, always available during regular business hours. We recognize that life can throw a
SUBMITTED | MARGARET ANNE SMITH From left, Franklin Cooperative Ministry Administrative Assistant Sallie Wood, volunteer George Wood and FCM Director Margaret Anne Smith unload holiday food pantry donations. The ministry relies upon volunteers for its success, and food donations are accepted every weekday. curveball from time to time; Franklin Cooperative Ministry was created to help people dealing with life’s unexpected situations.” Smith, who has been FCM director for four-and-a-half years, knows the history of the organization well. She said that in 1995, the ministry had a balance of $3,912.54, with no outstanding bills, and its leaders decided it needed to expand its programming in light of this strong balance. “The first financial assistance we did was dental, because at that time, Medicaid had not expanded,” Smith said.
“There was no adult dental assistance in the area, so it’s the first thing they added.” The ministry’s fall 2021 newsletter outlined how FCM has grown to operate eight different programs now: • the clothing closet, • dental extraction, • prescription medication, • rent, • eyeglasses, • transportation, • food • and utilities. The newsletter then described each of these programs, starting with the clothing
closet. “Our clothing closet began in the trunk of Mrs. Mildred Burgess’s car,” officials stated. “It is currently located at 511 N. Main St. and offers shopping areas for men, women and children. Everything available at the clothing closet is donated, so shopping is free. The clothing closet offers shoes, undergarments, clothing, diapers, accessories, feminine hygiene products and incontinence products. Neighbors in need may shop by appointment (to help accommodate social distancing during the pandemic), and emergencies, such as house fires, are handled on a
