The Mission

Most people look at their retirement years as a time of rest and relaxation. Hazel Riggs was not most people. Neither is her son Gary Jackson. The Mission was founded by Hazel and Mike Riggs in February 1992. Hazel and her husband Mike owned their own business. When they decided to retire, they sold their business. Once everything was settled, they had a bit of money left over. It was Hazel’s dream to do something to nourish people physically and spiritually. That is how The Mission got started.

When Hazel first got things going, The Mission was a place for folks to gather weekday mornings for coffee, donuts, a prayer if needed, music and fellowship. Hazel went to seminary and was an ordained minister. Instead of preaching from a pulpit, she used her gifts to show the Lord’s love to those she served at The Mission.

In 2002, the original building burned down, and the community came together to build The Mission as we know it today. The rebuild was a big undertaking for Hazel. She was able to procure a grant from the City of Ponca City and raised the rest of the necessary funds from private donors. Around the time the new building was ready, Hazel was looking to truly retire and knew she needed to find her replacement. She had been training her daughter, but she sadly passed away unexpectedly. Coincidentally, Gary had recently taken an early retirement due to an injury, so he had free time and agreed to come volunteer at The Mission.

Gary began helping out on Wednesday each week with another volunteer. He said within a few months he knew he was where he was meant to be. “It just was right. I get so much satisfaction out of helping people. I’ve been doing it for a long time. I know all these people that come in here, every one of them. I treat them like they’re family.” Gary says his mom taught him that they do this work from a place of faith and love, and Gary has certainly carried on this tradition.

Today things look a little different at The Mission. They went from serving breakfast and lunch to just serving lunch. During the COVID-19 pandemic they began packaging meals in to-go containers, and they have kept that routine. It requires fewer volunteers and seems to work well for those who are coming to get food also.

The Mission provides meals to the hungry Tuesday through Friday from noon to one o’clock. They have a set number they make, but always keep reserve items on hand in case more come through in that time. There used to be a sort of ebb and flow to the days in the month and Gary could somewhat predict how many would come through the door, but not anymore. Lately, numbers vary from day to day without much rhyme or reason, so the crew just tries to be prepared for whatever comes at them.

Gary says six volunteers is the sweet spot. It takes three in the kitchen and three out front to run things. Gary works in the kitchen and his wife, who everyone affectionately calls “Miss June,” works out front. Gary plans and cooks all the meals himself. He has others who help him in the kitchen. They always try to have at least 60 meals ready when they open the doors at noon and go from there depending on where the hour takes them.

Gary has lovely things to say about the folks that volunteer and pour their hearts and souls into making The Mission successful. He has a handful of tried-and-true volunteers who show up whenever they can and some of them have been volunteering at The Mission for more than 10 years. They also work with a few local churches, First Baptist Church and Eastern Heights, who provide volunteers and those folks have also been a huge help as well. Over the years so many folks have made a huge impact that there are just too many to count.

Gary is aware he is getting older but says he’s not ready to quit his work at The Mission any time soon. He isn’t sure what will come next for the organization but is hopeful the right person or group will come along to take over when needed.

On top of providing a meal, The Mission also keeps a small selection of donated clothing and shoes that folks can take if needed. The Mission works with a Church in another community that donates bread items, and those are set out for people to take as well. Everyone is welcome at The Mission, and there is never a charge to eat. Any donated items The Mission receives they pass on directly to those they serve.

Shoe and clothing donations can be dropped off Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They go through clothing donations quickly and volunteers put more out each day. These donations are a welcome gift as the opening of big box donation stores have really hurt the donations they are receiving.

A few years ago, Gary was approached by Keller Williams. The company offered to host a golf tournament on behalf of The Mission and this has been a huge help to the organization. Every year Keller Williams employees participate in what they call “Red Day,” which is a day of service where the KW team steps away from the business to pour into their communities. Gary said the money they’ve raised has been a huge blessing and reports the KW team says they plan to host the golf tournament again next year and have ideas to make it even bigger and better than this year’s event.

The Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Gary reports that the cost to run things continues to rise. They are incredibly grateful for their consistent donors who send donations monthly and/or annually. These donors make running The Mission possible.

For more information or to volunteer, you can visit The Mission at 909 E. South Avenue or call them at (580) 765-1426. Monetary donations can be mailed to The Mission at P.O. Box 1424, Ponca City, OK, 74602.

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