Truck driver and traffic volunteer doing God’s work at StreetWise

His two favorite activities? Fishing in his canoe and volunteering at StreetWise.

Like many of StreetWise’s regular volunteers, recent retiree John Cox started serving because of the loving push of someone close to him. 

And just like others, his passion is what keeps John involved today.

“My wife Karen [StreetWise’s former Executive Assistant] is how I got started at StreetWise. She probably just told me they needed help and roped me in,” John said. “This was back in 2018 – I was mostly working at the Mobile Food Pantry on Saturdays.

“From the very beginning, I became one of the street people, doing traffic control out front when clients first come in, and I’ve been doing that ever since.”

But that’s not all. John has since grown his commitment of time and effort by a great degree, serving at least weekly in a largely unseen capacity.

In 2019, John started driving and riding on StreetWise’s 26 foot refrigerated box truck and refrigerated van to help pick up food donations from various local grocery stores. This isn’t a job for the faint of heart. 

From the 5 a.m. start time to the hours-long route around Gwinnett County to numerous pickup locations – not to mention the physical labor of picking up each box and moving each pallet – this volunteer position takes a lot of time, strength and commitment.

But for John, every pound, every mile driven and every early morning is worth it.

“My volunteerism has everything to do with 1. I really believe we’re doing God’s work and giving back. I think about that every time I’m here,” he said, “and 2. I retired in 2022, and serving at StreetWise gives me something to do to keep active and keep busy.”

Most of John’s hours spent serving with StreetWise are behind-the-scenes interactions with partners and other truck driver volunteers. 

He loves it – but he also loves the opportunity to come face-to-face with the reason for everything StreetWise does: its clients.

“Almost all of my interactions with clients are at our Mobile Food Pantries, and because of where I serve, I talk to every one of them; I know many by name,” John said. “I usually check them in to make sure they’re registered, so I’m the first face they see when they arrive and the last they see when they leave.

“I’ve become friends with a lot of our clients, and I know there are other volunteers who have really been able to build relationships with people – they’ll follow up with them and know what’s going on in their family.”

StreetWise has an impressive history, hundreds of regular volunteers and an expansive reach throughout the region. But many don’t know who StreetWise is – and certainly not the extent of its work.

John has his own idea of what everyone should know about StreetWise and what he’d like to see it grow to do in the future.

“My dream for StreetWise is that it will continue to be able to reach and support more people,” John said. “We’ve increased that number since I’ve been here, and I know that’s still the goal because the need is so great.

“I think about this a lot when we’re out and about: the truck says ‘StreetWise’, but many people don’t really know who we are. It really all goes back to our purpose, that we’re providing for others in need and doing God’s work. That’s the message that we would want everybody to know.”