Ray Reggie’s Favorite Charity

Just came across this article from 2008 about the Just The Right Attitude Food Bank.  It is one of my favorites so I thought I would share it.  Here is an excerpt from the article that is available in the Nola.com’s archives…

Woman’s bad times help others

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Sheila Stroup

Just the Right Attitude is more than a food bank in eastern New Orleans.

“Debra South gives out everything from hot meals to hugs,” Ray Reggie said. “She has a personal rapport with everyone. She understands what it means to need help.”

Ray Reggie (now Chairman of the Board of JTRA), managing partner with Premier Promotions, serves on the board of Just the Right Attitude along with Troy Duhon, president of Premier Automotive Group.

In 2002, when the men heard about the little food pantry Debra was operating out of her garage, they decided to offer her a space on the second floor of a car dealership. And Just the Right Attitude began to grow.

“We love her cause,” Ray Reggie said. “Everybody wanted to help.”

— Growing out of need —

The idea for the community resource began a decade ago with a trip Debra made to the food stamp office. She was a mother in her 30s fighting ovarian and thyroid cancer, and she’d had to retire from her accounting job. Her first husband had taken off, and she was surviving on disability checks and help from family and friends.

She didn’t make enough money to feed her son and daughter, but she was rudely told she made too much to qualify for food stamps.

“I felt so humiliated,” she said.

She promised God that if she got better she would find a way to help people who were hungry and struggling.

From that promise, and a few shelves of canned goods, grew a United Way agency that doles out hope and 2.5 million pounds of food a year.

When Ray Reggie asked a man what he’d do without Debra’s food bank, he answered, “I would be hungry.”

— Place to get a hand —

In April, Just the Right Attitude, with the help of Ray Reggie, moved into two buildings next to Toyota of New Orleans on the I-10 Service Road. And since then, Debra has been giving out lots of hot meals, boxes of staples and hugs….

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I think it is good to remind myself why the work I do with JTRA is so important and this does. Have a Blessed day.

–Ray Reggie–

Let’s Talk to Ray Reggie!

Shared with us from Ray Reggie’s Weblog

Ray Reggie shares about his involvement with the JTRA food bank with us –

RRW:  Ray, How long have you been involved with the JTRA?

Ray Reggie:  I have been involved with the JTRA since 2002.

RRW:  How did you become involved with the JTRA?

Ray Reggie:  In 2002, I was watching Fox8 news and seasoned news anchor Kim Holden ran a story about this woman who was giving food away from her garage in New Orleans East.  As she began helping more and more people she began to get pressure from the neighbors to shut it down.  I called the news anchor and asked her for a copy of the report.  When I received a copy of the report I went directly to Troy Duhon, President of Premier Automotive Group and told him I thought we should donate space to JTRA.

Premier Automotive Group agreed and  I called Debra South and told her what we wanted to do.  She thought someone was playing a joke on her at first because of my name and she said,  “What’s your name, Ray Reggie?  Is that a real name?  Is this a joke?”  I told her, “Ms. South, We want to donate space for you to run your food bank.”  After a bit more convincing that my name was Raymond Reggie and that I was for real, I promised her that I was Ray Reggie and I really was going to help her.

Troy and I called New Orleans City Council member Cynthia Willard-Lewis, an advocate for JTRA and the city council member for New Orleans East and she met us at the building space – the new home for JTRA.  Kim Holden came back out and filmed the touching moment – the moment when Troy and I met Debra South, a wonderful lady with a huge heart and a love for God!  I have been involved ever since.

RRW:   What led you to the point of becoming the Chairman of the Board?

Ray Reggie:   The Board under the direction of Debra South Jones, the founder and executive director asked me to take a leadership role and voted me in my position.  I must say, I am very honored to be the Chairman; I am also very humbled and remember that the real success of JTRA is because of Debra South Jones and her wonderful, dedicated team of employees and volunteers.

RRW:  What are some of the accomplishments that you have seen since you have been involved?

Ray Reggie:  Since I have began my time with JTRA, we recruited a very dedicated and well rounded board of directors.  We are working diligently to secure a larger facility to house the food bank that will also provide a hot meals program and a life skills program.  The board, with the help of Debra South Jones and Betty Thomas, are developing on on-site training program.  This program will train individuals a much need skill set, housekeeping and bell services for the hospitality industry.  We plan to have a model “hotel room and bath” in our new facility to give hands on training.

This training program will allow us to take under and unemployed people who really want to work and teach them a skill set and then help them get a job at a local hotel.  With tourism being the number one industry in New Orleans, the board felt that we should dedicate our focus to teaching housekeeping and bell services that will provide jobs for these people after they learn the skills needed.  Bell men  and women are in short supply in New Orleans.  We are opening a new 5 star hotel in the fall and will have an even more increased demand for maids, housekeepers and bellmen/women.

Our board has also been successful in securing additional funding sources to run JTRA.

RRW:   What kind of problems are you facing today with the JTRA?

Ray Reggie:  We face a few challenges at JTRA.  We need more food, a larger facility, more volunteers and funding partners.

Food – We get an 18 wheeler of food every Monday – which is completely distributed by Thursday, sometimes we run out of food before Thursday, so we can always use more non perishable food items.

Facility- We need a building that we can build out for our training programs with a larger kitchen for a hot meal program

Volunteers – We can always use more volunteers to help make the food baskets and it’s nice if we have volunteers to help carry the food baskets for the patrons. The boxes weigh a lot and so many people have to struggle to carry the box to their car or to the bus stop.  We could use some teenagers over the summer who want to get a work out carrying the food boxes, without having to pay for a gym membership!

Funding -  Our sponsorship and grant money has been reduced because of the economy.  We have been blessed with additional sources of funding, but to provide the hot meals and to start our life skills programs we need the support of many.  We are looking for partners who will commit to a $100 a month.  We need these partners to learn more about JTRA, come out and see what we do and how we do it and then financially support us.

RRW:   What can people do to support the JTRA?

Ray Reggie:  The JTRA is happy to receive any support that they can whether it is in the form of volunteering, donating non-perishable food items or by simply making a donation.

RRW:   How can people find out more about JTRA?

Ray Reggie:  Find out more about the JTRA by going to our website at  http://www.JTRA.org. You will see us in action!

You can also make a secure donation on our site.  I also would encourage people to come out and volunteer.  Come help us for a few hours.  Bring your kids – let them see how fortunate they are at their home.  They will learn to appreciate a full pantry and learn not to waste.  My children are regular volunteers at JTRA and they leave feeling fulfilled because they can see that they have done something good, something to help someone else.  They also have learned to have a respect for those that don’t have enough to eat and they don’t waste food.

RRW:   What can people in other cities do to help their local food banks?

The biggest thing that people can do is to get involved!  Go volunteer a few hours a week!  Your help is always needed!

You can also buy a few bags of rice, beans or canned goods and drop them off at a local food bank.  A cash (tax deductable) donation is very helpful, especially during these times.  Believe me, anything that you can do to help, no matter how small will mean a great deal to a hungry person.

Why Ray Reggie Makes Time for the JTRA Food Bank!

My name is Lisa and I am a guest columnist here at Ray Reggie’s Feed the Needy of New Orleans for this post.  Mr. Reggie is a friend of mine and one of the things that strikes me every time that I speak with him is that one of the things that is always at the forefront of his mind is the JTRA food bank in New Orleans that he is the Chairman of the Board for.  In fact, I tease him about how devoted he is to it.  He speaks of it every time, always trying to find ways to do more for the food bank and make sure that they have enough food for all the needy people in New Orleans.  New Orleans is his home and it and it’s people are his heart.  He sent me an email recently pointing out an article to me, which you can read here, that explains that a horrifying 3.5 million American children under the age of five are going hungry.  On top of that, Lousiana has the highest rate of hungry children.  Being a mother of four, I hung my head in shame for ever teasing him about the work he does with JTRA and I will thank God every day for people like Ray Reggie that keep the food banks going so that if I ever find myself in an unexpected situation and I need that food bank to feed my children, I know that they will be there for me.

So, I would just like to say, to Ray Reggie and all the others that devote their time and labor and money to America’s food banks and shelters, I thank you!

–Lisa–

Just The Right Attitude’s Press Release

Just the Right Attitude, or JTRA, is a food bank in New Orleans that I am the Chairman of the Board for.  Excerpt from the new press release:

“Local food bank, Just the Right Attitude (JTRA) is at capacity.  They are assisting the largest number of first time applicants in their history.  Families who formerly were in an economic position to donate to the food bank now find themselves seeking assistance.”
Full Press Release Here on OpEdNews.com

Please read this and help if you can.  Every little bit can make a big difference now and we don’t want anybody going hungry.

–Ray Reggie–

Big Week At The JTRA

We had an eventful week at JTRA, New Orleans’ largest food bank.   With the unemployment lines rising,  the lines at the food bank are steadily increasing.  JTRA (www.JTRA.org) will distribute 3 million pounds of food this year which is the equivalent to over an 18 wheeler a week.  Sadly, we had to close for the day as we ran out of food.  The demand was greater than the supply.

On Friday, JTRA founder and Executive Director Debra South Jones put on a huge spread with the Annual Fish Fry.  The fish fry is a favorite fund raiser for the food bank. This year they served a little over 400 meals of Fried Catfish, pasta, and green beans!  The reviews were great!

–Ray Reggie–

Pets Need Food Banks Too!

We know the Country is in a sad state of affairs when people can’t even afford to feed their pets anymore but that seems to be the case more and more.  Pet food banks are popping up around the Country to help allow people to feed their pets in hopes that they can hold on until things get better without having to give up their beloved pets.  Many people have had their pets for a number of years or those pets are all they have in the world and to take that away from them at time when there is already so much stress and uncertainty seems to be the cruelest type of icing on the cake.  Read more about pet food banks here. Maybe you could start one in your city?

Food Banks Begin Growing Their Own Foods

Kudos to this food bank for realizing before it’s too late that we as a country have a problem and it is going to get worse before it gets better.  Some food banks are already feeling the squeeze of not having nearly enough food to keep going.  They are running out of food, they are running out of help and they are running out of time.  At the same time, with the economy the way that it is, more and more people are in need of food and turning to food banks for help.  Luckily, the workers at this food bank used their heads and figured out that if they started growing their own food, they could help more and more people and not have to count solely on donations and government funding.  By growing their own food to distribute, they are not only saving money and increasing the number of people that they can help but they are also offering natural, organic food grown themselves which is a much healthier alternative for everyone.  Looks like a win/win to me!

–Ray Reggie–

Judging… As told by Ray Reggie

I learned a valuable lesson one day at JTRA, the food bank that is near and dear to my heart.  I witnessed a lady drive up in a very expensive/luxury Sport Utility vehicle.  I asked the Executive Director of the food bank, “Why is that lady that is driving a vehicle like that coming to get a basket of free food??”
Debra South Jones, the hard working, loving director of JTRA said, Ray, don’t judge the book by the cover.  Why don’t you go talk to the lady.
So I made my way over and began speaking with the woman driving the vehicle.  What I came to find out made me hang my head in shame for quite some time.  I found out that the “luxury SUV” she was driving had 150,000 miles on it and that it was not only the only transportation that the lady and her two young children had, it had been their only home since Katrina.  I couldn’t help but cry when she showed me where the little girl slept and where the little boy sleeps on small mattress air mattresses. Then, she showed me how she heated food up on a hot plate connected to the cigarette lighter.
I was in shocked, embarrassed and stunned that this lady had to come to JTRA to get a free basket of food for her family in their house on wheels.  Everything, and I mean everything, they owned was in that vehicle.  To say that I learned a valuable lesson that day is an understatement and it has made me remember to be thankful to God every single day for the blessings in my life.

–Ray Reggie–