by Mary-Kate Roan
Staff Writer
Ju’Coby Pittman-Peele has been at the Clara White Mission for 17 years, but she’s been involved with nonprofit organizations for the past 20 years. However, her decision to take the job as CEO of the organization didn’t come easily.
“When I first applied for the job, people looked at me like I was crazy,” said Pittman-Peele. “But then I remembered all of the programs that helped people.”
And it was a decision that came with more than just nostalgia.
“I wanted a challenge,” said Pittman-Peele. “And today I don’t really see it as a job as much as a ministry because we’re helping rebuild lives.”
The history at the Clara White Mission’s headquarters on West Ashley Street is overwhelming with memoirs of founder Eartha White’s life filling the walls and, in some cases, entire rooms.
Pittman-Peele added that it’s a “hand up, not a hand out” for those that the organization helps.
The Clara White Mission is also a “one-stop-shop” for those who want to get off the streets and regain something of a normal life. There are already catering and training cafe programs that the organization maintains. But also, there is a new, third program of study to be offered: janitorial and environmental training programs.
It’s a history that stretches beyond LaVilla’s heyday. And it’s obvious by visiting the museum inside the Clara White Mission’s headquarters.
The museum is one that Pittman-Peele admits “not many people know about.” It represents a passion in the organization and Pittman-Peele’s appreciation of history. And it’s not just the fact that the building was one of the few to survive the Great Fire of 1904 or that it is located in what was once called “the Hollywood of the South” as Pittman-Peele puts it.
“What makes (the Clara White Mission) special for me is that I was in 9th grade when I started volunteering at White Nursing Home,” said Pittman-Peele. “And it came full circle in the end.”
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Photos by Mary-Kate Roan