Photo courtesy of Dee Doss

Every third Monday of the month, a line of St. Clair County residents forms at the Pell City Recreation Hall on 19^th Street with boxes, bags, and carts. They are there for the monthly Community Table, hosted by the non-profit organization the GoodWorks Charitable Foundation, which provides groceries and hot meals to an average of 500-700 people every month.

Since the formation of their 501c3 in 2015, the GoodWorks Foundation has provided over 165,000 pounds of food to local residents, an average of 6,000-10,000 pounds of food every month, with the help of monthly sponsors.

Most of those meals have been served and distributed through the Pell City Recreation Hall.

Last Saturday, the Recreation Hall received a much needed deep cleaning, thanks to a small group of volunteers from Church of the Highlands and the Pell City High School Varsity Cheerleaders with sponsor Dee Doss.

“Our small group chose the community center because of its many uses by the community but mostly because of the Good Works Charitable Foundation,” said Dee Doss. “My varsity cheerleaders joined this endeavor because we are always looking for a way to serve others. While they cannot participate directly in serving meals through Good Works (because many of the students that come through are their classmates) this was a way they could indirectly help in making sure they have a clean place to eat and gather.”

Volunteers scrubbed floors on their hands and knees, making the floor shine. They scrubbed the commercial gas stove until it gleamed.  They even cleaned the exhaust fan, just in time for Monday night’s Community Table distribution.

“I am so completely grateful for all of the hard work put into the deep cleaning of the Pell City Recreation Hall by the PCHS Varsity Cheerleaders and their sponsor, Dee Doss,” said Jean Speer, Co-Founder and Board Member of Good Works Charitable Foundation. “I wish they could come to my house!”

The GoodWorks Charitable Foundation was founded by Jean Speer and Carrie Leland in 2011, working out of Speer’s basement to provide “direct, immediate aid to those trapped in poverty, abuse or neglect,” specifically providing monthly food and resource share programs to those in need. In 2015, they formed the 501c3 and Tom Gant and Dr. Peter D’Sa joined the GoodWorks Charitable Foundation board.

For information on how to volunteer, sponsor, or donate to the GoodWorks Charitable Foundation, contact Jean Speer at 205-369-8516. For more information on SERVE day visit www.churchofthehighlands.com/serve/serve-day