Helping Hands

WEST WINDSOR, NEW JERSEY

Charles Smith loves his job as a craftsman for the Mercer County Community College. Employed for 27 years as the college's only painter, he spends his workdays applying bold colors to campus walls, turning drab surfaces into glistening facades.

But Smith's hands don't rest after hours. On weekends and holidays, the 56-year-old vice president of Local 2473 (Council 73) uses them to feed the hungry, turning grimaces into smiling faces. An active member of Trenton Deliverance Church, Smith has for several years now been feeding the hungry and the homeless who flock to his church. He also finds time — especially in the winter — to bring cooked food to area soup kitchens where people are lined up waiting to be served.

Because he wanted the meals to be hot when he delivers them, Smith asked his co-workers — Kenny Miller, Mike Urban and Emile DuBois — to help him build a portable food warmer. So they converted a large oil drum into a grill and attached it to a trailer. "Serving a hot meal is important to me," Smith says. "Some people don't have a place to cook, and it's tough to sleep when you're hungry."

For his humanitarian efforts, the college recently honored Smith with a Community Service Award. Staff and students, and Council 73, have also donated food and money to his charitable project.

Gerard J. Meara, executive director of Council 73, describes Smith as "an ideal member who enhances the union's image in the community and makes us proud to call AFSCME the best union in New Jersey."