If you have three meals every day, be thankful. Not everyone in the Coastal Empire is that fortunate. A Savannah man certainly has the heart to help those people who are hungry and put food on their tables.
This is a story of never slowing down and giving back. This is what makes Richard “Dick” Williams a WJCL/Fox 28 Champion of Change.
On a sunny Monday morning, there’s a buzz inside America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. “You want to put beans in this cart,” asks Richard Williams.
Just days after turning 95 years old, Mr. Williams is on the move. You have to be on your toes and focused if you plan on keeping up with him.
As the sorting of food begins, Richard Williams jokingly proclaims no one can tell him what an old man can’t do.
Mr. Williams is the conductor of canned goods. He carefully orchestrates the volunteers from Messiah Lutheran. Every month they spend several hours at America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia sorting cans and stocking shelves.
It’s just a labor of love. “I guess it's the fact that I have been so fortunate in life,” Williams said. “I feel a responsibility to help those who have not been so fortunate who are suffering perhaps from hunger or disaster. There’s a lot of hunger in this town.”
“He completely organizes the groups that come from his church,” said Mary Jane Crouch with America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. “Just seeing someone like that with that energy level makes you feel good. It makes you realize that he's 95 years old, and he's still giving back to his community every day. “He really cares a lot about the food bank, and he's really good to us.”
Richard Williams arrived in Savannah in 1977. As he settled into retirement at The Landings, he now had the time to do things that touched his heart. “If you've been blessed with adequate living funds then you have a responsibility to help other people,” Williams proclaimed. “I feel very strongly about that. “I just think it's wrong to enjoy your wealth or your riches and not have a desire to share it and help other people.”
Born in 1915, Mr. Williams grew up on a farm in Iowa and went on to become a mechanical engineer. “I wanted to get into the Corps of Engineers, but I could not pass the physical,” Williams said. “I wasn't healthy enough. I think there is some irony in that. I'm sure the doctors that said I wasn't fit enough probably died long ago.”
Mr. Williams did end up serving our country. He spent time in Morocco during World War Two. He developed a fascination and curiosity about that country and returned there for a visit last fall, and he even rode a camel.
“I didn't care much for it,” Williams explained. “As I've told other people, that's my first ride on a camel and definitely my last ride on a camel.”
At 95-years-old, Richard Williams still drives without any problems. He enjoys spending time with his three daughters and eight grandchildren. Mr. Williams certainly cherishes the memories he has of his wife of 62 years. The love of his life died in 2008.
His good works are not only found at Second Harvest. Mr. Williams works through his church to crusade against world hunger. He spent ten years as a volunteer firefighter and a decade helping victims of domestic violence at SAFE Shelter in Savannah. “I proposed to the board one evening that we start planning on building a new building which sounded like a ridiculous idea because we didn't have any money,” Williams said. “But it came to fruition, and we have a beautiful building that does Savannah credit.”
People a third his age would have trouble keeping up with his pace. He stresses the younger generation to have priorities. Take care of yourself, your family and your job; however, don’t forget about finding time to give something back for the greater good of society.
The golden years are certainly the giving years for this Champion of Change. “People get more from seeing what you do than what you say,” Williams said.
After a quick laugh, it was time for the man of action and our Champion of Change to get back to his task of stocking shelves.
