Helping others is natural outlet for 2-1-1 Call Center volunteer

Fran Weaver-Holden does not believe in sitting on the sideline. When it comes to helping her neighbors, she wants to be involved.

Her love of community service led her to the Wiregrass United Way 2-1-1 Call Center. She gives eight hours per week to answer the Call Center telephone. At the other end of the line are individuals in need of assistance. The 2-1-1 Call Center is a one-stop resource center that allows volunteers like Weaver-Holden to put those in need in touch with the community services and resources that can assist them.

“I just feel so good coming to work,” Weaver-Holden said during the recent first anniversary celebration held at the Call Center. “I have the opportunity to listen to people who have problems and know that we’re here to help.”

Volunteering is nothing new for Weaver-Holden. The Mississippi native had volunteered numerous hours with Habitat for Humanity.

“Unfortunately, I had to give that up, when my knees got too bad,” Weaver-Holden said.

Undaunted, she sought other avenues where she might volunteer her time. The Wiregrass United Way Food Bank was a perfect match for her.

“I was looking for something where I could sit,” Weaver-Holden said. “I found that spot at the Food Bank.”

She bases her desire to help others on a passage from the Bible found in Isaiah 61. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

“I just feel that volunteering is an anointing to help people,” she stated.

In July 2008, she found a new avenue of service.

“David Duke (executive director of Wiregrass United Way 2-1-1) was looking for volunteers,” Weaver-Holden recalled. “I really liked the idea (of 2-1-1). There are people with needs. There are organizations that can fill those needs. But the two can’t find each other. We’re the missing link to put them together.”

Weaver-Holden says there is rarely a dull day for her at the Call Center.

“We really receive an amazing variety of calls Weaver-Holden said. “There are a lot of people in need, and their are so many people in Dothan who want to help others.”

Wiregrass United Way 2-1-1 is here to connect those in need with the agencies and organizations that can fill those needs.

For more information about Wiregrass United Way 2-1-1, call David Duke, executive director, at 836-1963.

For information about the statewide 2-1-1 network, visit http://www.211connectsalabama.org.