“What started as a seed of an idea, grew into something bigger than we could have ever imagined,” said Rose Marie Arnold, founding Boca Helping Hands Board President.
"The idea of Boca Helping Hands started as a question," said Rose Marie, who was Director of Outreach Ministries at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church back in 1998. “A parishioner asked if a soup kitchen could be started in an affluent community,” she said. “Since Day One, we battled the stigma that Boca Raton didn’t need our services.”
It wasn’t all a battle though; the Soup Kitchen Planning Group, as they referred to themselves, began gaining momentum as more and more people attended their monthly meetings. In July 1998, they renamed themselves Boca Helping Hands, and by November, BHH opened its doors and served 152 meals in its first week.
In her eight years as board president, Rose Marie prepared the foundation for BHH’s future growth. A significant accomplishment during that time was recruiting enough volunteers to handle the growing number of clients seeking the organization's services. However, with more clients coming through BHH’s doors, it was apparent that additional programs, from hunger to monetary assistance, would also be necessary. The development of a client database to monitor and track those coming in for help facilitated a more holistic approach to serving clients. As more community members sought BHH’s services, the need for a larger building to house the organization grew.
While she may not have been able to foresee a multi-building campus and 4 mobile pantry locations that touch nearly 35,000 lives annually, Rose Marie’s leadership started BHH on that path. “I could have never imagined BHH developing into what it is today,” she said. “I’m so happy to see the organization thrive.”
