Helping Hands Change Makers volunteer Eleisa Walker points at reindeer the group says was purchased with volunteer-raised funds. The Garland Board of Commisisoners voted unanimously to return money to the group Monday night.
The tree inside town hall that Helping Hands volunteers say was purchased with volunteer funds. The group had its fund-raising dollars returned to members Monday night following a unanimous vote of the town board.
Garland town commissioner Jo Strickland who last week said she would not support returning money to the Helping Hands Change Makers volunteer group, actually voted with other town board members Monday to do just that.
Garland town Commissioner Jo Strickland
GARLAND — A non-profit group that has worked to help the community of Garland received some surprising news at Monday night’s meeting.
It was a turnaround from a town meeting one week ago, on Dec. 3, when the Garland Board of Commissioners ignored a request from the same local non-profit to return money it was holding for the group. Seven days later, on Monday night, that same board returned the requested money, and added a little more to it.
During the Dec. 3 meeting, the Garland board was approached by the 501c3 group, Helping Hands Change Makers Inc., formally known as the Garland Volunteer Group, and asked to return money that had been raised by the volunteer group through various fundraisers. The group approached the board with three simple requests: money for the 2024 toy drive in the amount of $1,500; receipts of money spent since they lost control over those funds; and documentation of the money currently in the account. Those requests, especially the final one, stemmed from accusations of a commissioner misusing funds.
This started last year, in December,when Commissioner Jo Strickland took over the group’s funds,” noted volunteer Mary Smith, in an interview last week after the Dec. 3 town meeting. Smith, who is a Garland native, has been active with the group for a number of years. She explained that the group has always worked in collaboration with the town of Garland and members have spoken to other commissioners who have expressed a desire to give the group its money back, but Strickland had dismissed their request.
Helping Hands, which became active in Garland in 2012 under the guidance of former Mayor Winifred Murphy, had access to the fund-raising dollars and was entitled to reimbursement until December 2023 when members claimed they were approached by Strickland, after she was made liaison over the volunteer group. Strickland, they said, at that time requested the funds be put under her care. The town commissioner promised the group would still be able to use the funds and the card which carried those funds, with town permission.
“We were told that the funds were taken away due to us not being a nonprofit, and that we had been using the town name in fundraising, therefore, the money belonged to the town,” explained Shelia Smith, president of the new 501c3 formed by the volunteer group, during an interview last week.
The group felt as if they were being pushed away from their cause, and the funds they had raised.
“We do nothing but help the town; we raise our own money to do our activities. We don’t understand why the town has decided to turn on us,” said one volunteer. The group then decided to listen to suggestions from the board to begin filing for a non-profit status in an attempt to gain access to the funds they had raised. Helping Hands received their 501c3 status in August.
Also interviewed last week, Strickland, noted, “Until the money is carefully looked into by me as well as Mid-Carolina (Council of Governments), I do not plan to make any action on funds as there are some discrepancies.” That was the reason, Strickland said, she had not returned, nor would she vote to return, funds until that audit was completed. Strickland also insinuated that the discrepancies arose due to a former employee who worked for the town of Garland, though the employee was not named.
While that may have been Strickland’s stance last week, other town board members thought otherwise.
“She does not want the volunteer group in Garland and has said so several times, but she wanted one of the other board members to start the motion and (she) said that she would second it,” said Commissioner Lee Carberry after the Dec. 3 meeting.
Either way, Strickland apparently changed her opinion in the days leading up to Monday night’s special called meeting, which lasted little more than 15 minutes.
After Monday’s meeting was opened, Commissioner Anthony Norris immediately made a motion to return the volunteer groups money, to the tune of $5,000, $800 more than what had actually been in the fund when it was turned over to Strickland. Board colleague Ralph Smith Jr. seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, with Strickland among those agreeing.
There was no discussion.
Members of Helping Hands were surprised but pleased with Monday night’s vote.
Before closing the meeting, Smith also addressed an issue raised by The Sampson Independent about the town board failing to follow the N.C. Open Meetings Law.
Smith also addressed the public at Monday’s meeting, apologizing for how the N.C. Open Meetings Law had been broken.
“That had no place going out of hand like it did, and I think I speak for the entire bored when I say that I am ashamed of the way things were handled last week and that I know that we can do a heck of a lot better. So, I do apologize to the citizens of Garland for how last week’s meeting went” said Smith.