Circuit Court Clerk Jennifer Hardesty Besecker has made it her mission to change the perception of her staff of 34 at the Morton J. Holbrook Judicial Center.
“When people come down here, they are not in the best times of their lives,” she said.
The Circuit Court clerks assist with anything from driver’s license renewals to legal proceedings for divorces, drug offenses and criminal matters.
“This building is not viewed as a happy place to be,” she said.
So when reading the community section of the Messenger-Inquirer, Hardesty Besecker said she noticed wish lists for a number of local nonprofits asking for supplies and thought her staff of 34 might answer some of those needs.
“We all have a good job,” she said. “I just felt like we needed to give back to our community.”
During an all-staff meeting, Hardesty Besecker proposed the community outreach idea and it was well-received. The staff decided that each person will bring in one item so that they can collectively donate 34 items each month to a different organization. Hardesty Besecker chose the Boulware Mission for May.
Mens shirts, facial tissue and tape were the specific requests of the shelter according to their wish list in the newspaper, so that is exactly what the ladies of the Circuit Court Clerk’s office bought. A small group delivered the supplies to Boulware, which did not know the donation was coming.
Hardesty Besecker is letting each of her staff members take a turn selecting the nonprofit for their monthly community outreach. This month they will support SparKy.
Colleagues in the County Attorney’s Office heard about the outreach and asked to jump on board. So Hardesty Besecker said their office will choose July’s charity.
Community outreach is something Hardesty Besecker said she encourages in her employees.
“I want them to be out in the community,” she said.
She and a few of her employees answered a call from the H.L. Neblett Center, who needed adults to read to children.
While Hardesty Besecker said it only takes 15 to 20 minutes out of the work day every other week, her employees must use their own time to volunteer. She said both her employees and the Neblett Center have had great responses.
“They are getting so much joy out of it though,” she said. “And when they are happy they do good work.”
Hardesty Besecker said she hopes more offices get involved and her staff continues to participate in donating items to nonprofits, although it is not required.
“Small acts, when multiplied by 34 clerks, can transform the community,” she said. “We just want to say that we care about the people who comprise this community and we hope that through our small acts of kindness, one charity at a time, we can help make a difference in someone’s life.”
