OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Karla Greenway has always had a heart of service. Even before she worked with Interfaith Emergency Services (IES) in Ocala, she served others.
“I moved to Ocala in 2002 to work with the state Guardian Ad Litem program and was there for about nine years,” she said of her work with the program.
How she ended up at IES is a different story. She calls it kind of a “God assignment.” Karla had her mind set on becoming a missionary.
In an interesting twist, she received a phone call from Scott Hackmeyer, a former longtime IES board member and an advocate for the homeless, offering her a position with the organization. He told her about how he had helped get a homeless family out of their car and into a hotel earlier that day and helping another family with food. And, without knowing what Karla believed to be her calling, he said, “Just think, Karla, you could be a missionary right here in Ocala.”
“When he said that, the light just went off and I knew, ‘Okay, God. This is what I’m supposed to do,'” she explained.
Flash-forward 21 years later: Karla is CEO of IES, an organization now in its 40th year.
IES has grown from humble beginnings in the backs of several local churches to a continuously growing facility assisting those in need with anything from food and clothing to shelter and medical assistance.
Programs, Karla says, are designed as a hand-up for the people who need them. There is a timeframe in which to get those individuals and families on their feet and back into the workforce, enabling them to move into their own homes and pay their own bills.
“What’s inspired me for our next season [is that] we’re building an engagement center,” she revealed. “And part of that’s going to be a little laundering service that we can use to launder the towels for our free shower ministry. But we’re going to utilize our homeless friends to do that work and give them responsibilities, give them oversight, and even managerial duties and show them that they do still have value because what we’ve found was when we entrusted them [to serve], it changed their lives.”
IES will be represented in the Ocala Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 9, with its recognizable box truck and volunteers walking alongside or behind it collecting nonperishable items from paradegoers. Make sure you bring a canned or boxed food item to participate in “Cans for Candy.”
“We give out good candy,” Karla laughs. “We give out the chocolates. We don’t play. We do good candy.”
Other ways you can help:
- Volunteer your time
- Donate nonperishable food
- Donate hygiene items
- Make a donation (one-time or recurring)
- Donate clothing and household items to the IES thrift store
For more information on IES and the services it offers, click here.