- April 22, 2024
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They say it takes a village to raise a child, but growing up, Deborah Hamm watched her mother do it all.
On a maid's salary, roughly $50 a week, Hamm's mother raised their family of seven children — six girls and one boy — oftentimes singlehandedly. They never went hungry. Mornings consisted of grits, eggs, bacon and sausage, and they would go to school with clean clothes. They may not have had the latest and greatest in terms of new material things, but Hamm never recalls having to go without anything she needed.
“She was the foundation, and no matter what it was, you treat people the way you want to be treated," Hamm said. "She taught us that we didn’t have to have everything that was out — the new shoes, if we could have a pair, fine. But if not, to appreciate what we had. You can’t miss what you never had, that was her favorite slogan.”
Now, Hamm, of Ormond Beach, does her best to help families and people in need have enough food and resources through Cry Women Cry Ministries, Inc.
Hamm founded the nonprofit in 2009 after she retired from her position as a supervisor for the Florida Department of Children and Families, where she helped clients determine their eligibility for food stamps, medicaid and other resources for 30 years. Some of the same clients she saw then are some that still come to her for aid at CWC Ministries, which operates a food pantry, drive-thru food drops, provides meals to the community and hosts a mentoring program for girls ages 7-18.
It's work that keeps her busy, but Hamm wouldn't have it any other way.
“Retirement is for people that can travel and do all those things, but there’s more to it than just self-gratification," she said. "We’ve got to be able to please others, be able to be a blessing to other people, and that’s what I want to do. I want to be a blessing.”
The children and the adults that come into CWC Ministries, located at 54 S. Ridgewood Ave., always express their gratitude, Hamm said. Somedays, she worries that they don't have as much to offer as she would like, and she apologizes.
“Their response is, ‘It’s more than what we have,'" she said. "And that is very rewarding and it really touches my heart.”
"Evangelist Deborah Hamm has a servant's heart and continued to help others through out the community of Ormond Beach as the founder and administrator of Cry Women Cry Ministries, Inc. This ministry has three food drops each month, provides Access Florida System information, and clothing.
She is also the president of Ormond Beach Oakridge Cemetery, Inc. This community is truly blessed to have a volunteer who gives her love, time and help in so many ways."
Erlene Turner, Ormond Beach Historical Society education chair
During her time with DCF, she saw the importance of being kind to others. In fact, one of her slogans used to be "Be kind, be nice, or begone," she said.
“If you can’t be nice or kind, regardless of what we think of the person, because you could be on the other side of that desk at any day, and if we treat people the way we want to be treated, when it’s our turn, we reap that," Hamm said.
Aside from her work with CWC Ministries, Hamm is also the president of the board for Ormond Beach Oakridge Cemetery, where she helps to drum up membership and donations to keep the cemetery clean and operational.
Part of Hamm's motivation to serve comes from her faith. A member of the Church of God by Faith, she said the closer she draws to God, the more she said she is willing to serve so others can also come to know the love of Christ.
"We’re to let our light shine, and if our lights are shining, those that are in darkness can find their way, but if they see darkness, if there’s nothing but darkness, they’re lost," Hamm said. "You can’t find your way in the darkness.”
The words of Psalms 118:24 have always resonated with her: "This is the day the lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Every day, Hamm strives to show kindness in the smallest of ways, which can be a simple hello to a stranger. That doesn't cost anything, she said.
“And God, he gives seeds to the sower, and if we are sowing — and most people think it’s always a dollar — but if we sow love, we’re going to reap love," Hamm said. "And he gives us love, so we need to give it back.”
