Brunswick nonprofit has helped roughly 400 people

The ladies who run the new Glynn County-based nonprofit Saved By Grace have had a big year. The group began helping people in need locally in November 2016 and since has directly impacted the lives of roughly 400 people.

Whether they are homeless, living in difficult situations or simply down on their luck, Saved By Grace is willing to help.

The nonprofit continued that mission and spread a little Christmas cheer last week with a simple gesture of giving. Using about $1,000, Saved By Grace paid for people’s groceries at a local Winn-Dixie. This is a major expense for many people, especially single parents or people who may be struggling.

But for Saved By Grace founders Donna Howard, Maria Gamble and Honey Sparre, it is par for the course.

The three women began the nonprofit by driving around Glynn County with a car full of supplies like food, pillows, blankets and clothes in search of homeless people.

Since then, the group has partnered with restaurants, businesses, churches and individuals to even supply things like furniture for families that need it. They have targeted their efforts on places like hotels where transient families and people find themselves as they struggle to find affordable housing or to get back on their feet after a difficult time. They recently also expanded their efforts to Brantley County, where they use a donated house to store supplies and food.

This is not a group that will sit around and wait for donations and aid to come to them or for people who need help to find them. Instead, the ladies at Saved By Grace started the group with the sole purpose of taking the aid to where it is needed most.

A woman who attended a Thanksgiving lunch in Hortense last month illustrated just how meaningful a simple act of kindness and grace can mean to a struggling person or family.

“Had it not been for Saved By Grace and these people helping me out, I don’t know where I would be today,” the woman said. “I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you three.”

That is the kind of direct impact not even larger charities are able to accomplish. By keeping the mission and the structure simple and straightforward, Saved By Grace has been able to make lives in Glynn County better. We applaud their effort and thank them for their selfless service to our community.

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