From Clowns to Counselors: One of StreetWise’s longest-standing volunteers still standing with the ministry
New recruits are always welcome, but we appreciate our long-term devotees just as much.
Janice Clay is one of StreetWise’s longest-standing volunteers, faithfully serving for over two decades.
“I started about 20 years ago back with Baskin ‘n’ Sonshine doing inner city ministry; I would go to the special events they had,” she said.
Terry and Pat Powell – also known as Baskin ‘n’ Sonshine – were ministry clowns began in the mid 1980s and performed all through the 1990s, throughout the southeast US and even with Billy Graham.
They provided food and clothing drives for low-income residents, along with sharing the gospel, in inner city Atlanta. Their ministry grew and changed over time to be the StreetWise we know and love today.
Janice shares her first meeting with the duo, saying,
“They came out to my house and asked about a place to park their buses.”
Go forward 20 years or so, and Janice is still involved with Streetwise, as is her husband Taylor.
“Now I’m a counselor at StreetWise, and I love doing that and getting to tell people about Jesus,” Janice said. “I got tired of telling my walls about Jesus; all four walls already know. So I wanted to tell other people about Jesus.”
Taylor has worked tirelessly for StreetWise from mowing the lawns to building tables, displays and clothing racks to picking up food and much more. His quiet and humble spirit has been a blessing, and he’s been by Janice’s side every step of the way.
Not only does Janice relish telling people about Jesus herself, but she also loves to hear the testimonies of the people she finds herself working with.
“Recently we had an elderly lady talking about her faith and how good God was to her, and that was just awesome. I told her she was such an encouragement to me!”
Janice endorses getting involved at Streetwise, saying,
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