“A lot of people in Northern Moore County are out of work because of plant closings,” Haywood says. “Helping Hands Ministry has been furnishing some food and clothing to the needy in that area. We try to make a trip with supplies every two weeks.”

Haywood and his wife Donna, members of Grace Church in Southern Pines, founded Helping Hands Ministry (HHM) in June 1996.

“We deliver goods to Mission Agape, a Spanish mission in Robbins,” Haywood, 50, says. “They take care of the distribution. They also have a small church. We supplied turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as sponsoring an angel tree for the children. On Christmas Eve, we delivered toys to the children at the church.” The Haywoods also ship supplies overseas.

“We’ve established a relationship with Compassion Medical, a ministry in Durham,” Haywood says. “One of their members helps get medical supplies for us. These supplies, which would ordinarily be thrown out, consist of samples, ordering mistakes and manufacturing changes.”

In August, Haywood sent a container (a container measures approximately 40′ by 71/2′ by 7 feet) to Honduras.

“Medical supplies valued at $750,000 were shipped in that container — and that’s just the medical supplies,” Haywood says. “Our November shipment contained enough supplies, which were donated by a local cardiologist, to open a heart catherization lab in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In all, we shipped three containers to Honduras last year.”

HHM also shipped a container containing clothing, shoes, blankets, medical supplies and furniture to a missionary in Romania in 2003.

“And we had a long-standing request from another ministry wanting school furniture,” Haywood says. “Someone in Lexington offered us a building full of furniture, so the other ministry paid the fee for a container. We and some volunteers made the trip to Lexington to help sort furniture and load that container. We shipped it to the Dominican Republic.

“We are now working with a doctor from Sierra Leone. We’ve been collecting medical supplies for him for quite some time. He wants to establish clinics in his country.”

The Haywoods have shipped two ambulances and many types of medical, farm and school supplies since founding their ministry in June 1996. HHM is supported by several churches, and some individual contributors. Haywood reports to an HHM board of directors and works part-time to “pay bills” while donating time to gather and ship donated items. Donna Haywood works at Southeastern Tool and Die Company.

“Like many families, we struggle financially, but God has blessed us,” Haywood says.

When they began their ministry, the Haywoods collected items donated to HHM and stored them at their residence. They now utilize a warehouse, located on the east end of the old Stanley Furniture building in West End.

“I have a lot of volunteers who help me,” Haywood says. “They show up and help load containers, sort through mounds of clothing and medical supplies, help haul dental chairs, furniture, medical supplies and other stuff. They collect stuffed animals, book bags, school supplies, and pat me on the back when it’s been a really bad day.”

Haywood, a lifelong resident of Moore County who was born at Ft. Bragg during the time his father served in Korea, says he gets a good feeling by helping people.

“I get phone calls from places I’ve never heard of,” Haywood says. “Somehow they hear about us and offer supplies. A lot of businesses donate, and we receive dental equipment, hospital and medical supplies from clinics and doctors’ offices.

“HHM is planning a medical trip to Honduras in September. We need people with medical backgrounds to go, but we also need people just to go and help. This will be a hard trip with long hours and not much time for resting.”