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Donna Morris (right) has volunteered for three years to serve breakfast to those spending the night at the cold-night shelter at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center. Junior Sealock is homeless and often spends the night there.
Daw Pomeroy arrives before 6 a.m. to cook a hot breakfast at the cold-night shelter. It's the only hot food many homeless people will have all day. |
By CATHY DYSON
On the bleakest mornings, when it's tough for anyone to leave a warm bed, two women volunteer to go out in the cold.
One is a Buddhist, the other a Baptist, and each has lost someone dear in her life.
But the untimely deaths have brought the friends closer together--and to their meetings in the kitchen of Fredericksburg's cold-night shelter.
It's 5:45 a.m. when the two arrive in separate vehicles, and there's no time for small talk.
Daw Pomeroy gets out her cast-iron skillet and spatula, and Donna Morris unpacks bread, juice and jars of jelly from her tote bags.
As Daw--pronounced "Dow" like the chemical company--hovers over the stove, Donna hovers over the diners.
Most are the chronic homeless, people who sleep at the Bragg Hill Family Life Center when the temperature drops below freezing.
Donna is their confidante and friend, the woman who knows about their health and family issues, where they sleep in tents and what they prefer to eat.
Daw is their cook. She insists on making meals from scratch, on giving the men and women a good start to a frigid day.
"For some of them, it's probably the only hot meal they get," Donna said.
Daw nodded in agreement. The women come from vastly different backgrounds, but each complements the other.
Daw grew up in Thailand. She was in high school when an American soldier visited her home, and she told her mother how much she liked the man.
She eventually ran off and married Barry Pomeroy.
Donna grew up in Fredericksburg, the daughter of Baptist preacher Elwood Campbell. Friends called her "Poo" in the ninth grade, and she can't believe the nickname is still with her at 54.
Daw and Donna knew each other for years, when Donna managed the National Bank of Fredericksburg. When Daw's husband was killed in a boating accident in the Caribbean, Daw was distraught. She didn't know how to handle the grief or the finances.
"When he died, I had to hang on to Poo," said Daw, a 60-year-old who lives in Stafford County.
"Now, we just hang on to each other," answered Donna, a Spotsylvania County resident.
Donna calls Daw every day, not just when the cold-night shelter is open. If Daw is feeling down, she calls Donna, who makes her feel better.
Donna also has suffered her own bouts of depression. Her brother, Tim, died of a massive heart attack when he was 43.
During the weekdays, Donna and her mother, Doris, take care of the child he never saw. Little Emma, or "Miss Em," is almost 3. She was born 31/2 months after her father died.
Donna and her husband, Keith, started attending Fredericksburg Baptist Church to support Tim's widow, Heather. It was there that she heard about the cold-night shelter and the need for someone to serve breakfast.
Donna volunteered, even though she jokes that her idea of cooking is opening a can and pushing a few microwave buttons.
She managed with ready-made foods until three years ago, when she mentioned the breakfast to Daw, who said: "I can help do that."
The two have been cooking together ever since. Volunteers from the eight churches of Micah Ecumenical Ministries help with transportation, food and setting up cots, but Daw and Donna are the only ones who serve breakfast.
"Nowhere else can you get a five-star breakfast like this," said a silver-haired woman at the shelter. "They're very nice ladies, they really are. They cater to you."
This woman doesn't eat pork, so on a recent day, Daw fixed her an omelet without ham. When the same woman asked for an egg to go, Donna toasted two pieces of bread so the woman would have a sandwich later.
Most of the cooking falls to Daw, but she doesn't grumble. She considers Donna's work as greeter and listener just as important.
As Donna left the shelter recently, she chatted with every person she saw.
"What are you doing today?" she asked a long-haired young man.
"Good luck with the job interview," she said to the man who always carries her bags to the car.
"Hope your arm feels better," she said to the one in the flannel shirt who'd fallen a few days earlier.
Daw isn't that talkative, but she feels for those around her. She and Donna know what it's like to go through hard times, but they have family--and each other--to cling to for support.
Some of those in the shelter don't.
"When you fall down so many times," Daw said, "sometimes, it's hard to get up."
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425| SPIRIT OF GIVING is a holiday series about those who make life better for others. This is the final installment. See a list of all nominees on C8. |
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Other residents nominated for the "Spirit of Giving" series include:
Dan Butler of Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue: Works tirelessly as a volunteer and is a patient instructor to those learning medical procedures. Dentist Cathie H. Butterworth: Provides free dental care, especially to needy children. Has Spanish-speaking employees on hand to help Hispanics. Doug Cantrell of Big Daddy Leather: Always looking for ways to serve the community, especially the chronic homeless. Louise Childress of Spotsylvania: Prepares food for shut-ins and helps care for sick and disabled. Emily Chilton of Bowling Green: Does volunteer catering for the Ladysmith Rescue Squad and is a reading buddy at Bowling Green Elementary School. Judy Clift of King George: Bakes homemade bread and other food for elderly shut-ins and those who are sick. Victoria Cooke of Colonial Beach: Devotes her time to missions, including local efforts to take food, clothing and personal items to the homeless in Fredericksburg. Also has led trips to foreign countries and helps those involved raise travel money. Ann Cooper of Stafford: Involved with many volunteer activities as a musician and an advocate for the mentally retarded. Helps deliver Meals-on-Wheels and organizes holiday drives for food and toys. Arch DiPeppe of Fredericksburg: An active volunteer who organized a fund-raiser for a young man in a wheelchair and helps others in need. Jo Ferrell of Falmouth: Takes care of fellow members of Falmouth Baptist Church, as well as schoolmates and neighbors. Visits shut-ins, helps with food and household chores and stays super busy even though she retired from Dahlgren years ago. John and Steven Groth of Spotsylvania: Father and son have collected enough coins to buy 23,000 pounds of food for the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank. Dottie Grizzle of Fredericksburg: Takes people to the store or to appointments and regularly visits nursing homes. Bob Hall, member of American Legion Post 320: Drives veterans to Richmond for medical appointments and provides gifts to veterans during the holidays. Shirley Heim of Stafford: Has gotten more active since surviving cancer. Helped build playgrounds and started a county museum. Reads to residents of adult-care facilities. Penny Hicks of Spotsylvania: Bakes bread for nursing home residents and sends cards and homemade casseroles to ailing neighbors. Kip Hull of Bealeton: Created "Kip's Kids" to provide medical and social assistance to needy children. Raised more than $60,000 in two years. Maggy Journigan, a teacher at King George High School: Collects money, food and clothing for students or co-workers having problems. Sponsors Fellowship of Christian Athletes, volunteers at the Thurman-Brisben Center and helps with church productions. Jo Kuser of Spotsylvania: Takes friends to appointments, washes and rolls their hair for Sunday services and does errands for non-drivers. Munira Marlowe, Fredericksburg Refugee Service Center coordinator: Helps refugees from the time they get off the airplane until they're settled and employed. Carla Nammack-Wenger of the Chance Foundation in Fauquier County: Operates a one-woman animal-rescue league, financing most of the operation herself. Oya Oliver, executive director of the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank: Helps needy families. Arva Priola, outreach coordinator at the disAbility Resource Center: Works to get help for people with disabilities, especially those with hearing loss. Xavier Richardson, MediCorp executive: Mentors James Monroe High School students and supports community programs. Bradley Smith of King George: Trains drug-enforcement agents and works tirelessly to make sure students pass the academy. Does volunteer work at the academy with Scouts, bakes casseroles for neighbors and lends money to those in need. Doug Stewart, supporter of Friends of the Rappahannock: Purchased riverfront land and put it in easement to protect FOR and its programs. Rev. Jim Stone, executive pastor of Spotswood Baptist Church: Supports New Vision Center, a faith-based organization for female ex-offenders. Jackie Sullivan of Stafford: Gives those in need food and money, helps them with legal problems and takes them to doctors' appointments. Kristie Torline, director of therapeutic riding at Hazelwild: Goes well beyond her paid duties to match riders and horses and motivates youngsters with ribbons, prizes and props that she pays for herself. Don and Lisa Willis of Salem Fields Community Church: Lead the Motorcycle Outreach Ministry, which collects stuffed duffle bags for the homeless, teddy bears for children in the hospital and assists with the area's cold-weather shelter. Butch Wimmer of Trolley Tours of Fredericksburg: Lends trolleys to those who visit nursing homes and shut-ins during the holidays. |
