Stephen Smith, left, co-chair of WV Can’t Wait, presents a check to Rhonda Gales, who was named a Hometown Hero for The Blessing Closet. Gales’ brother, Stephen Holmes, right, was on hand for the recognition ceremony. Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — What began as a way to honor her mother and father has turned into a passion for Rhonda Gales. Gales was honored on Monday by WV Can’t Wait as a “Hometown Hero” for the Blessing Closet, a project Gales has expanded from what was initially a sharing of a holiday meal and has become a saving grace for many individuals.

“We began the Blessing Closet about a year ago,” Gales said Monday. “It was in honor of my mother and father that my siblings and I decided to feed families at Christmas.”

Gales, along with her brother Stephen Holmes, who was on hand for the WV Can’t Wait recognition, explained that their father would regularly host a holiday open house to provide food for people in the community.

“My brother told me I did such a good job that I should do clothes the same way,” Gales said. “I put out a call to action for clothes and they haven’t stopped.”

Through her brother, Kevin Holmes, Gales said she found needs in the local school system and has provided clothing. She has continued to provide food and educational materials to individuals through what she dubbed the Blessing Closet, “neighbors blessing neighbors.”

Gales efforts were recognized when she was nominated for a Hometown Hero award through the West Virginia Can’t Wait organization.

According Stephen Smith, co-chair of the group, Gales’ nomination stood out among many of the 117 received.

“The nomination came from someone you had met one time,” Smith told Gales, as he presented her with a check for $2,000.

The nomination came from Tracy Riordan, who said she had met Gales when donating some items.

“Rhonda met me in a parking lot to pick up a donation of a few things for an event she had organized called the Blessing Closet,” Riordan wrote in the nomination. “We talked about how she is personally feeding people she knows, getting clothes to high school students, teaching others, including new mothers, to garden to help ease their food insecurity and trying to build a strong network or organization that fills the gaps in the community.”

“In this one short meeting, she left a powerful impression on me,” Riordan added.

“It is long past time to turn our attention to the folks doing the real life-changing work on the ground — our hometown heroes,” Smith said Monday. “They are the people who don’t judge, the people who will feed you before they feed themselves, the people who keep us alive, the people who stand up for what they believe in even when doing so comes at a personal cost.”

Smith said the mission of West Virginia Can’t Wait is to win a people’s government in the Mountain State, led by the West Virginians who work the hardest and bear the greatest burdens.

Recipients of the Hometown Hero award, which was given to 40 nominees this year, received a $2,000 monetary gift to use for the furtherance of their work. In addition, they receive free, ongoing leadership training and coaching, access to mental health and safety services and a network of other folks who are making a difference.

“I am so grateful for the money,” Gales said, adding her biggest need right now is space.

Gales does not have a fixed location for the Blessing Closet; however, she partners with the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department and some local churches to host events. To function in this manner means continually packing and repacking boxes, she said. While her network of volunteers, especially her family members, are always ready to lend a hand, having a dedicated space would allow her to provide more to those in need.

Providing for the needs of others is what Gales now sees as her calling.

“Six years ago, I had a heart attack that made me think about my purpose,” she said.

Surviving what could have been fatal, had Gales quietly listening for what her purpose and calling might be. She believes she has found it in the Blessing Closet.

“What I do is free. I don’t charge any of the recipients who receive food, clothes or educational materials,” she said, mentioning that education is key to helping those who come to her. “Part of the program is education to help them learn so they are not always in need. I don’t want permanent clients.”