After 10 years with the High Plains Helping Hands food pantry, Rose Mizer has retired as the executive director. Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, where the food pantry is located, hosted a retirement party for her in January.Mizer, who served as executive director for seven of her 10 years with the pantry, started out as a volunteer and then became an administrator; and, when they decided to apply for a 501c3 status, she joined the board of directors. When the previous director, Jean Woolsey, resigned because of medical reasons, Mizer took over as executive director.The time she has given to HPHH has been ìenjoyable,î she said, especially watching the pantry grow and change venues. But now, Mizer said, ìI want to spend much more time with my family; and, in particular my grandchildren.îThe HPHH Board of Directors worked with Mizer to hire her replacement, David Edson, who moved to Colorado Springs in March 2015 with his wife, Kara, and son, Jax. Prior to his new role with HPHH, Edson served as the international projects manager for Convoy of Hope, an international relief and development organization. Edson officially began working for HHPP Jan. 4, but has been working side-by-side with Mizer through January to create a smooth†transition.ìOne of my deciding factors to take the job was just seeing how much the community loves her,î Edson said. ìI have big shoes to fill.îMore on Rose Mizer: a Q & ANFH: What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment? †Mizer: Sharing the love of Christ with those in need and helping to develop an environment of love and compassion within the Helping Hands ministry. †Also, I, the board, staff and volunteers have brought†HPHH to a standard of excellence in all of our operations and programs.†In addition … Iíve worked†to build a strong team of leaders with each one specializing in a particular area.NFH: How has the organization grown since youíve been there? †Mizer: As the number of people needing assistance continued to grow, Helping Hands quickly outgrew their facility at Falcon Storage.†In November 2011, we†relocated the pantry to the Mountain Springs Church Campus, where part of a building was completely remodeled specifically for our pantry.†Within two years, our ministry had outgrown that space; so in 2013, we began a building campaign for an expansion. Through the generosity from donors, fundraisers and grants, the project was completed in October 2014. On Nov. 19, 2014, we unveiled our new large room, the walk-in cooler and freezer and outdoor storage pod ñ- all surrounded by a privacy fence.During 2014 and 2015, our leadership team has grown as new board members and other volunteer leaders have come forward to oversee and lead various areas of the ministry.Our clientele continues to increase at a rate of 10 to 14 percent per year.NFH: What are the challenges for Helping Hands going forward? †Mizer:†One of the challenges for HPHH continues to be how to help clients move from dependency to self-sufficiency. Although†clients with medical disabilities and senior citizens†will probably need ongoing assistance, others should be able to†eventually†move to self-sufficiency. We continue to look for ways to help them through various classes and job skills. †NFH: Besides spending time with the grandchildren, is there anything else you want to add about the ìnew chapter?î †Mizer: With more free time, my husband and I would like to travel; my “dream” has been to go on an Alaskan cruise. I also†love to sew, garden and hike,†so I plan to spend lots of time doing those activities — and also find time to rest and be refreshed!
