Bigger sandbox needed as giving continues

COVINGTON — Four years ago Virginia Pearson didn’t think she’d find herself managing a non-profit group.

In 2004 she and her daughter, Julie, both members of Park Place Baptist Church in Snellville, wanted to help out soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sting of being separated from a loved one had come with the departure of Julie’s fiancé, Marine Sgt. James Kines, III.

Soon enough snacks, toiletries, and other items were being collected and shipped to the two countries. Support continued and in November friends – and the IRS – suggested the ministry become a non-profit.

Pearson said her daughter and son-in-law now live in Buford, S.C., following his third tour in Iraq as a Marine staff sergeant doing reconnaissance missions.

“The Lord had been telling me it was time to branch out,” she said. “The amount of giving was starting to cross over into IRS regulations.”

Since then Operation Sandbox GA has moved from Park Place to renting office space at the National Guard Armory in Covington, home of the 48th Brigade Combat Team. Pearson acknowledged some butterflies in making the jump. A conversation with her pastor, Jeff Clegg, helped smooth her nerves.

Fighting the apprehension of stepping to a different level in responsibility, Pearson’s decision was soon affirmed. One day she was praying over the legalese of the move, asking God for help in making sure Operation Sandbox GA jumped through the proper hoops.

“Ten minutes after my prayer the phone rang,” she beams. “It was an attorney who said he would donate his time to help me.”

Another instance came as Pearson fought a four-and-a-half-month illness. One Sunday morning she woke up and couldn’t walk – “It felt like pins in my feet.” – due to a pinched nerve in her lower back and other problems. Only able to devote a couple of hours a day she considered shelving the ministry, but a group of military moms came in regularly to pick up the slack.

“They sorted materials and mailed them each week,” she said. “If we had more items distributed they would come in an extra day. Each step we’ve taken in this ministry has been on faith.”