David Gart has been a champion of Boca Helping Hands’ mission for 25 years. On January 19, 1998, David attended a meeting on behalf of his synagogue, B’Nai Israel, along with representatives from other local interfaith communities. Together, they discussed the possibility of starting a soup kitchen in Boca Raton to meet the rise in community hunger they were seeing.
“At first, our only concern was food,” David said. The group went on to look for possible locations to host the proposed soup kitchen for a trial run. Finding a location that would be accessible to the needy population was a priority.
The Soup Kitchen Planning Group, as they were originally called, began referring to themselves as “Boca Helping Hands” in July of ‘98 - and by December, Boca Helping Hands was officially serving hot lunches and distributing bags of groceries three days a week.
Along with being a founding Boca Helping Hands board member, David was a full-time lawyer. He devoted himself to Boca Helping Hands by offering legal advice and guidance, as well as writing the articles of incorporation and helping BHH become established as a Boca Raton nonprofit organization.
“The first challenge we initially faced was finding volunteers,” David said. “We only had about 20 or 25 at first, but look at how much it’s grown,” he said, referring to the present day roster of devoted BHH volunteers.
By 2003, BHH was serving clients five days a week, distributing at least 250 pantry bags and serving 1,000 hot meals a month. David often volunteered himself, preparing pantry bags because “it really is a warm feeling, doing this kind of work.”
The original board and volunteers had high hopes for what the organization would become. “The goal was always to expand our programs - and with the move to our current building, we’ve been able to accomplish that,” he said.
David sat on the BHH Board of Directors for 11 years and has served as an honorary BHH board member for the past 7 years. But following his recent retirement from Shutts & Bowen LLP, he felt a calling to resume regular volunteering with Boca Helping Hands. “I’m so impressed with how far we’ve come,” he said.
“25 years: wow.”
