Handmaid Blessings has been a part of the “Helping People” business since the early 1970s. Our organization was made a Florida Non-profit and Federal 501(c)3 in 1984. Started in Mulberry Fl by Jack and Mary Ann Clark as a county Jail and local Prison ministry. Over the years the Clarks were part of several local Polk County Churches and were touching many lives. In 1995 a local businessman named J.D. Purdue donated a 14 acre track of land in Ft Meade, Fl. The Clarks used this property to support several families and ministries as well as established a food pantry for many families in the Southern Polk County area. A sudden passing of Many Ann Clark in 2008 put the ministry in a holding situation as Jack Clark’s health began to deteriorate. The Board of the organization decided that it was time to attempt a new direction and approached Darrel Pelham as a board member and consultant to propose a new direction.
In 2010 Darrel and Judy Pelham were asked to move onto the property and build a direction for the organization. From 2010 to 2018 over 50 families were involved with building the Handmaid Blessings teams. The food pantry began to feed families, eggs from the chickens, produce from the gardens of the team, and these resources were distributed all around Polk County. We had gardening classes, and taught canning, fermentation, and animal care. Our biggest problem was that our property was in the middle of South Polk County over 30 minutes from the nearest town. Most of the team members couldn’t help others and afford traveling. In 2018 the Board Members decided that the overall organization would benefit from selling the property and buying a parcel of land and facilities closer to the population of Central Florida.
In 2021, right in the middle of the covid issue we found our new facilities. Situated 15 minutes from I-4 in Lakeland and 5-10 minutes from just about anything you need.
Here it is 2023 and our team is ready to help some people in North Polk County. Can you imagine a family living in a house but due to circumstances they have their utilities turned off? Or an elderly person living on their home property but can’t afford or do the upkeep and has no one to help? This is what our team has helped with for years. Establishing our team members so they can help someone else. One of our favorite sayings is “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and feed him for life!”.
Email us for more information so we can share all that we can do.