ORANGE PARK – When the Sophia Fleming Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution asked for nominations for its Community Service Award, the organization probably never realized it would get such a deserving, much less two, candidate.
One has spent 36 years as the Director of the Food Pantry of Green Cove Springs, Green Cove Springs Planning and Zoning Board and Tree Board and a volunteer for the NAS Jacksonville Pharmacy, while the other was the former Mayor of Orange Park, the founder of Impact Clay that spearheaded the College Drive Initiative, Impact Clay Train and a mobile care team that travels to underserved areas of the county to provide medical and mental health check-ups, benefits, food and clothing distribution, free haircuts and showers.
On Tuesday, March 10, the DAR honored Wynema Lovell and Connie Thomas with its Community Service Awards during their meeting at the Orange Park Lions Club.
Clay County School Board member Beth Clark presented both with the prestigious award.
Lovell started the Food Pantry with her husband and son in 1989, and it’s grown into a group that provides emergency food for thousands of families and individuals every week in Green Cove Springs, Fleming Island, Middleburg, Fleming Island and Keystone Heights.
Lovell helps keep the shelves filled with food by organizing food drives, donations and creating partnerships with Waste Not Want Not and local grocery stores.
In 2024, the Food Pantry served 13,932 individuals – all with 90 volunteers and no paid staff.
Thomas’s Impact Clay makes a monthly stop at one of four underserved areas of the county – Clay Hill Elementary, Green Cove Springs Junior High, Keystone Heights Junior High and Grove Park Elementary – where an assortment of free services are provided without appointments or registrations.
Another one of Impact Clay’s programs has been the creation of Linksy, a website that coordinates the county’s nonprofits and services in a single place. All residents are encouraged to sign up at impactclay.org/linksy.
Thomas’ organization also helps in disaster relief, organizes community partnerships to collectively solve problems and offers a low-cost business suite at its office at 151 College Dr., Suites 1 and 2.