Holly has helped thousands of people in need feel warmth, comfort and love
After being homeless, Holly Jackson knew firsthand just how hard it was to ask for help when you feel alone and full of despair. So she came up with a unique, loving way thousands of people in need could get the basic necessities—without having to ask!
Holly Jackson was driving home one crisp November afternoon in 2018, when a group of people walking along the sidewalk in shabby clothes caught her eye. With the air cold enough to see your breath, the Cleveland woman was surprised to see the adults and children without coats, hats or gloves…and even wearing flip-flops! Her heart sank as she realized they were homeless.
As she drove to her comfortable middle-class house, Holly couldn’t get those shivering people out of her mind or heart—because she knew exactly what it was like to be out on the street with nothing.
Nearly three decades earlier, Holly had left her Akron, Ohio, home with nothing but the clothes on her back. Seven months pregnant, she’d finally summoned the courage to leave her abusive husband.
With no place to go, Holly had slept in her car, longing for even a simple toothbrush. Eventually, she’d moved into a homeless shelter, got a job and saved enough money to get an apartment for her and her baby. In time, she’d remarried and went on to have a good life.
But the struggles she had been through led her to many hours of volunteer service, doing everything from ladling soup at a soup kitchen to swinging a hammer to helping build Habitat for Humanity homes. In 2011, she received the presidential gold award for service to her community.
Still, Holly had a nagging feeling she needed to do more. She just didn’t know what until God led her to drive past those homeless people.
No one should have to do without something as basic as a coat in winter, she thought, her heart aching.
Holly knew the city had outreach programs, but she also remembered how hard it had been for her to ask for help, and all the requirements she’d had to meet. Holly found herself thinking how great it would be if there was
a magic wall where people could find basic necessities hanging on it for the taking.
That’s it! Holly thought, excitedly. I’m going to make this happen.
A clever outreach program
Her mind churning, Holly envisioned setting up “walls” throughout the city. Like pop-up shops, only everything will be free, she smiled. And she knew just what to call them: Walls of Love!
Holly called city officials, who gave her idea the green light. Thrilled, Holly began planning her first wall. With the help of family and friends, using her own cash and a bonus from work, she purchased 150 coldweather items, like hats and gloves, and placed them in plastic baggies to protect them from the weather. Then, where to hang them? Holly wanted the wall to be in a well-lit, safe place. She decided in front of a police station would be perfect. With no fence or wall available, she tied the baggies to a bush and posted a sign, letting people know they could take what they needed for free.
Holly checked on the “wall” every few days, each time finding fewer items remaining. After two weeks, it was bare!
Thinking of all the people she had helped, Holly’s heart swelled, and she put up a second wall—this time including toiletries— on a fence, near a friend’s restaurant. Local TV stations caught wind of her project after the third wall, and as news spread, Holly was flooded with requests from people asking for a wall in their neighborhood and other folks wondering how they could help. This is turning out to be better than I had imagined, Holly beamed proudly.
Providing comfort and hope
Through donations and collection drives, Walls of Love ( Wallsoflove.com) continued to thrive. In just six months, Holly put up her 100th wall, marking 10,000 items given away. Often, people will take a bag from the wall even before the wall is complete. The looks of gratitude and the “thank you’s” and “God bless you’s” she receives melt Holly’s heart. Today, Holly, who personally helps put up every wall, has built 200 Walls of Love, ranging in size from 10 feet to 200 feet, and helped more than 27,000 people feel warmth, comfort and love.
“God has shown me what a huge difference one person can make,” she beams. “We’re not just giving people things. We’re letting them know, you matter and somebody out there loves you!”
“God has shown me what a huge difference one person can make!”