Stories of Change


Becky Gifford

CWS’ Helping Hand

The first time Becky Gifford remembers hearing about CWS was in the late 1960s/early 1970s when her church participated in CROP Hunger Walks. Today, she is married to a methodist minister who is well acquainted with CWS, thanks to our longstanding partnership with UMCOR. She remembers hearing about CWS again in adulthood and thinking, “aha! That’s what that was.”

Over the years, CWS has become like a family business, with multiple generations of supporters coming together to build a better world.

After Becky’s oldest son, Andrew Gifford, joined the CWS team in 2013 she soon began her own journey as a CWS volunteer. She began organizing CROP Hunger Walks and then accepted the responsibility of managing a Kit Depot for the Festival of Sharing once a year. She explained that the Kit Depot they set up had all kinds of signs and information pulled from the CWS Kits Website to ensure everything was done properly. “We used everything!”, Becky said.

Volunteering with CWS is the perfect role for Becky who told us, “I’m an organizer. I like to do that kind of stuff. It’s in my wheelhouse.” She added that what matters to her the most is, “what it goes towards” and said, “when I saw how everything was used, I was sold.”

Thanks to her many years of volunteering with CWS, Becky said she is ready to help anyone who might be interested in volunteering with CWS.

“Everyone needs a helping hand,” she said and she’s right! Without volunteers like Becky, we wouldn’t be able to do all the work we do here at CWS. We are thankful for helping hands like Becky (and like you!) whose generosity allows us to make the world a better place.

To learn more about CWS Kits and find out how you can get involved, click here.