Linda Lovelace, operations director for Valley Churches United Missions, learned all about giving at an early age. Her parents had a big influence on her, especially her dad. Helping others was their way of life, whether it was taking home someone who needed a place to stay or giving them a Christmas tree and food for the holidays.
“Like Robin Hood, we were always giving to others,” Lovelace said. “Of course, when I was young, I didn’t realize that our family of seven was also poor. If a neighbor had a need, we would try to find a way to meet it.
“I thought it was pretty appropriate that my maiden name was Hood,” she added.
When Lovelace got older, she ran a chicken coop with her neighbors and bought fresh fruit and vegetables at wholesale prices for the seniors. She married Tom Lovelace and moved from her hometown of Baltimore, Md., to California.
“We were headed for Seattle but liked the Santa Clara Valley so much that we decided to enroll our son in school and stay there,” Lovelace said.
In 1980, her family moved to Ben Lomond, where Lovelace started a business making custom canvas sails and awnings. Three years later, she branched out to sell gift items at the De Anza Flea Market and other events. But she also faced a series of misfortunes in that decade.
“The devastating winter storms of 1982 hit our area, and we had to go back and forth to town in a boat for five days. Next, a severe windstorm demolished our home in Ben Lomond. We moved to Boulder Creek in1989 and built another house, which was severely damaged by the Loma Prieta earthquake,” Lovelace said.
Valley Churches United Missions was born out of the ’82 winter storms. A grassroots group was organized under the direction of Annette Marcum to help victims of the disaster. After the earthquake and aid from VCUM, Lovelace was able to rise above her own loss and began volunteering at VCUM. She made a weekly commitment, joined the board and became a shopper at Second Harvest Food Bank in Watsonville.
Valley Churches is a unique community agency. It has no government funding and relies entirely on dedicated volunteers and donations.
“VCUM was an all-volunteer organization until 2001, when the board decided to hire me as a part-time helper to oversee daily operations,” Lovelace said. “The job morphed from 15 hours to a full-time position. During the holiday season, I work seven days a week, even though a second person, Linda Myers, was hired.”
VCUM not only gives out bags of food year-round, but also has many other programs. Their two major fundraising drives are the Valley Christmas Project, which donates grocery bags of food, toys and gifts for needy families and seniors, and A Buck for Hunger. Another gives hundreds of new backpacks filled with supplies to kids returning to school.
“We’re blessed by the number of volunteers year round,” Lovelace said. “So many have signed up this year that we may have difficulty scheduling them all. Many people are out of work and want to keep busy and maintain structure in their lives.
“We’re finding out that, even though many are giving what they can, we’ve lost a lot of donors in this economy. Our client list has doubled, and it’s hard to keep up with the unprecedented demand,” she added. “It’s very, very scary.”
At 60, Lovelace is passionately involved in helping others. She enthusiastically showed me the Holiday Boutique, which had just opened for the holidays and was already swarming with customers. I had heard about VCUM but had no idea of the extent of personal and community involvement or the scope of services performed. There’s a tremendous amount of camaraderie among the workers because of what they do.
Lovelace is a reminder that happiness comes from what you give, not from what you get.
She concluded: “Ask and you will receive. If you don’t ask, the answer is ‘no.’ One grocery bag can go a long way, especially during the holiday season. We’re asking for any help the community can offer.”
Sandi Olson of Scotts Valley is a writer, speaker and teacher. She writes about interesting people in Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley. E-mail her at
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