Firstcoast411 Search
Sponsored by:
ABC Video Player - Watch ABC Shows Online ABC News Video Player WJXX ABC 25 Programming Schedule Watch NBC Shows Online WTLV NBC 12 Programming Schedule

12 Who Care 2009: Joanne Hickox

 Jamie Valet  Deanna Fene     Created: 9/21/2009 1:42:46 PM    Updated: 9/23/2009 6:40:37 PM
Advertisement

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Right on schedule a bus arrives carrying senior citizens ready to go to work and help those in need.

"Second step ... one more .... you got it."

The driver is Joanne Hickox. She learned to drive this large twenty-six passenger bus so she could pick up and transport seniors to their daily mission trips.

"Alright darling ... thank you."

And this is just the start of her busy day. On this day, the seniors are mending and sorting clothes.

Hickox says, "we sort it first. Then there are the machine sewers if it can be machine sewn. If it can't be done here, they'll put a patch on it."

While the seniors are all working, Joanne races to the kitchen to start fixing lunch for everyone. She knows they have a lot to accomplish in a short time.

"Our typical day is from ten to two. If we don't finish the job by 2 pm, we go to 2:30 pm or 3 pm," says Hickox.

All the clothes are then brought here to the clothing warehouse, where three times a week they are given to families in need.

David Tuttle with Presbyterian Ministries says, "these seniors are the reason we're in business because if we couldn't take clothes that needed repair, we wouldn't have enough clothes to give to the folks that come through our door."

Eighty-four year old Valerie Mitchell agrees. "It's great to be able to mend them for somebody else to be able to wear them. It keeps us all very busy."

Every senior is working hard and with great big smiles.

"You have everyone busy in here. Everyone is working and has a particular job. And the neat thing is everyone is working at the best of their ability," says Hickox.

This is just one of the many mission trips Joanne plans for seniors. They also check and stack books at a local elementary school, sort papers for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and organize school supplies for the Salvation Army.

"I've done this for a decade and I do it because I love senior citizens. I do it because I want to see them be all that they can be."

The seniors are giving back and making the most of the years they have left. Thanks to a volunteer who has devoted her life to helping them.

That is what makes Joanne Hickox one of 12 Who Care.

©2009 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.



In your voice

Read reactions to this story