Community Hero: Greer mom recognized for giving 'tirelessly' to aid children, families in need

Jen Holly has a behind-the-scenes activity she’s so passionate about that talking about it, sometimes, brings her to tears.

Each year, the married mother of two uses an annual holiday party at her home to collect gifts and items for children in need.

Last year, her efforts for Communities In Schools — Greenville (CIS) led to 29 kids having a more joyful Christmas.

Those efforts and others to benefit CIS are a reason that Holly is being recognized as The Greenville News Community Hero for January.

The Greenville News Community Hero program, sponsored by Greenville Federal Credit Union, is our way of highlighting the generous, noble and unselfish work of those among us who work tirelessly — often behind the scenes — to make our community a better place.

“Sometimes we can live in our own little bubble and not remember that there’s other people that need support and help,” said Holly, who lives with her husband and children in Greer.

“Whether it’s little or big, we should all do what we can do,” she said.

Involvement

Holly, an insurance broker, has been involved with CIS for 10 years.

She’s served as a board chairman and secretary, head of the organization's annual golf tournament fundraiser, a one-on-one tutor, as now as a board member.

CIS is a national organization that works to builds relationships that empower students to stay in school and succeed in life, its website said.

The organization partners with teachers to identify challenges students face in class or at home and coordinate with community partners to bring outside resources inside schools, the site said. The immediate needs CIS provides can range from food or clothing to counseling or emotional support, the site said.

Most of the students in the CIS program are in elementary schools up to middle schools, Holly said. The organization helps at-risks students with the likes of mentoring, tutoring, and afterschool programs to get them moving in the right direction, Holly said.

As board member, Holly has helped raise money so the Greenville staff can help students.

“Like I said, I’m kind of behind-the-scenes, but obviously it helps allow the people who are really good at being in front of the scenes and in front of the kids do what they do best,” Holly said.

Holly was cited for giving tirelessly of her time, money and energy to the organization.

"She personally, and through her company, supports the agency financially and in different ways every year, even purchasing and delivering ice cream to an entire grade level at one of our program sites," the nominating letter said.

"Jen always responds when asked to meet a need and has always sponsored multiple CIS families and children at Christmas.

"Several years ago, Jen decided she could do more, and help more children, if she got her friends involved," the letter said. "So at her annual holiday party, to attend, Jen 'required' her friends to sponsor a CIS family and or/student," the letter said.

Love for children

Holly has always had a special love for children.

After graduating from Eastside High School in 1997, Holly went to the University of South Carolina where she majored in elementary education and psychology. Her intent was to become a school teacher.

She started working for her current employer before graduating.

“One thing led to another and instead of going to get my masters (degree), I went down the insurance broker line,” Holly said.

After the Holly’s 10-year-old daughter was born, a family friend who was already serving on the CIS board introduced Jen Holly her to the CIS organization.

“It just felt right, helping kids that need help and guidance,” Holly said.

It was five or six years ago that Holly said she began to reach out to her friends for help to benefit CIS children.

“We told all of our friends that Brian (her husband) would cook and, if they could bring one present or two presents we would deliver it to Communities in Schools,” Holly said.

Her efforts to collect gifts for CIS children are part of a larger program within the national organization, involving more kids, she said.

“I just gravitated to as many as we can,” she said.

Brian Holly, an Eastside High and Clemson University, graduate, loves to cook, his wife said.

Those who attended the party enjoyed the meal he prepared and lots of toys and gifts were collected, Holly said. For the following year, a CIS staffer asked that Holly to consider sponsoring specific kids if she decided to continue with the effort.

That first year, she said, her group had just compiled items and CIS dispersed it.

“Probably, administratively, that was harder for them because they were kind of filling in holes everywhere,” she said. “So, the start of the second (year) is when we drew names of specific children and handed them out to my friends.”

Holly said she'd emailed her friends, asking them if they wished to adopt a child in the CIS program, for Christmas. She and Brian adopted five.

Beyond gifts and toys

Beyond toys and gifts, the children being served have need of personal care items such as towels and soap, Holly said.

“We’re all very blessed so when you see that kids need towels and soap, it’s hard,” she said. “Obviously that’s why everybody has gravitated toward helping.”

Also with gifts and personal care items, the group collects food for the children. Most of the children in the CIS program are on free or reduced lunch, Holly said, and rely heavily on the meals served in school.

When they’re out of school for the two-week Christmas break, they’re not getting the breakfast and lunch they receive on a day-to-day basis at school, Holly said.

“So they (CIS) encourage the gifts, but they also encourage a box of food to try to keep them full of food while they’re gone,” she said.

A reminder

Holly said, the initiative, with the help of great friends, grew from 18 kids served in 2016 to 29 this past year, she said.

The party has become an annual event.

Brian Holly cooks and more of the couple’s friends and neighbors arrive with “big trash bags full of towels, toys and bikes.”

“It’s just a great reminder of how lucky we are but then how we need to help those who are not as lucky,” she said.

Holly said those friends helping to fulfill the wishes and needs of less fortunate CIS children are mainly ones they’ve grown up with or who live in their neighborhood.

“They don’t even question it,” she said. “They just tell me how many they want and then go way overboard in taking care of them.”

Holly said her friends are “awesome and they love my husband’s cooking.”