Based in Morrisville, North Carolina, the non-profit group specializes in connecting community members in need of assistance with organizations that can help.

MORRISVILLE, NC, USA, April 27, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Shamille Garris received a vision in 2016, and that vision has transformed into a start-up non-profit that serves a population of around 325,000 people in Durham County, North Carolina. Annointed Hands Ministries, based in Morrisville, NC, is the result of putting that vision into practice. Through Annointed Hands, Garris said she hopes “to shift the trajectory of the Durham community by investing in our citizens and our county through education and life empowerment.”

Though in the process of receiving 501c3 tax-exempt status, Garris is already hard at work connecting community members in need with services and organizations that can help. At the moment, Annointed Hands is functioning much like a referral service, where Garris can connect clients to churches who can help with payments on rent and utilities. “A lot of the organizations that exist today don’t have updated lists,” Garris said. “I reach out to the churches in the area and make sure they’re able to help the client and not send them on a scavenger hunt for services that aren’t available.”

Annointed Hands Ministries is already collecting success stories as it becomes fully operational. Garris’ organization recently helped a young woman and her son evicted from their apartment complex. She connected them with an organization that could pay for a few nights’ stay in a hotel so they would have a place to go. “I’m looking forward to more success stories,” Garris noted.

Garris says Annointed Hands is effective in its mission because she understands these hardships personally. In 2017, Garris moved from Texas to the Durham area for an employment opportunity with the postal service. While working at the post office, she was involved in a car accident that made it so that she could not work. She reached out to social services and different churches and found that “it was a real struggle to find help.” After several dead ends, she finally connected with a church that could help her pay her rent: “I was able to stay in my apartment, and I ended up getting a job after that so I could get back on my feet.”

This event in her life further inspired Garris in her vision to start a non-profit: “I hate to see people go to social services and they fall into this hole to where they can’t get help.”

“There’s a lot of people that need this assistance,” Garris added. “There’s a lot of donations out there that would help Annointed Hands ministries, so I’m excited to get it started and to actually start helping people and making a change in the Durham community.”

Despite still working on claiming tax-exempt status, some clients need help right now. Garris said that she’s working with a mother and daughter who were evicted, staying in a hotel, and had reached out to try and get help to ensure they had shelter. Garris is accepting donations to pay for hotel rooms of displaced and evicted clients through her PayPal account, nccugirl7@gmail.com. Though donations collected at this time can’t be claimed on taxes until Annointed Hands’ tax exemption finalizes, Garris wanted to be clear that her 501c3 status is just around the corner.

“I know a lot of people are struggling. I really want to get this up and running,” she said. “I’m hoping by December I can get it fully operational so I can help more. Any help right now would be appreciated.”

Garris regularly updates a blog on the website for Annointed Hands detailing her journey in helping the people of Durham county. More information about Annointed Hands Ministries can be found on their website or by calling 252-410-1246.

Shamille Garris
Annointed Hands Ministries
+1 252-410-1246
info@anhami.org
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