2020-04-29

A story from Courage Does Not Always Roar.

"Courage is the ladder on which all virtues mount."

- Clare Booth Luce

Debra W. South Jones knows first-hand what it's like to struggle, but she also knows how to turn a tough situation into a solution - one that allows thousands to go to bed at night with a full stomach.

A mother in her 30s who was fighting ovarian and thyroid cancer, Debra had to retire from her accounting job. That left her in a catch-22. After her first husband left her, she didn't make enough money to feed her son and daughter, but was told she made too much to qualify for food stamps. So she survived on disability checks and help from family and friends.

"I felt so humiliated," she said.

She promised God that if she got better she would find a way to help people who were hungry and struggling. From that promise, and a few shelves of canned goods, grew a United Way agency, Just The Right Attitude (JTRA), that now doles out hope and 2.5 million pounds of food a year.

Established in 1999, JTRA quickly expanded its outreach, providing food for 850 families out of Debra's converted one-car garage.



 

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