Community Champion: Abbie Hinton
It’s time to recognize this month’s Community Champion — an honor given to people making a positive impact in the community, in partnership with Leaders Credit Union.
“I think that people who volunteer just do it. I just think that people give a part of them self, they get a whole lot back,” said Abbie Hinton.
Abbie Hinton has a passion for giving back to her community.
She is the Executive Director of the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association, and has been a part of the neighborhood for three decades.
“There’s a lot of people in this area that have worked and volunteered over the years,” Hinton said. “Because they care about Lambuth, they care about the University. I remember the things we went through when we were thinking and were afraid that Lambuth may close”
It was members of LANA who played a significant role in keeping Lambuth University from closing before it became the University of Memphis — Lambuth campus.
“As an organization we did everything that we could,” said Hinton. “And we prevailed with the state and everybody of any authority that might work on our behalf to make sure that it did not close.”
Hinton says losing Lambuth would have impacted the Hub City as a whole, not just their neighborhood.
But not all calls for action are grand. Sometime it’s small acts of kindness that can hold significant meaning, like taking care of the neighborhoods most vulnerable.
“A couple of years during bad weather, we would have what we call the “duck brigade” and we just take turns,” Hinton said. “But people are always so joyous to do those kinds of things. And they would buy the grain, and when it was their day, they would bring it down and feed the ducks. We’ve been able to keep them around.”
From animals to the elderly, the fight doesn’t stop. Hinton has also joined the City of Jackson’s commission on aging.
“There’s been a lot in the works to get a senior citizen center for a while, it takes a long time for these things to come together,” Hinton said.
As a seasoned volunteer in the Hub City, Hinton shares one of the benefits of taking a selfless journey in life.
“It is very important for people to be involved and to support their neighborhood,” said Hinton. “Volunteer when you can, when you can’t you can call on your neighbors. But it makes a community, it makes a home.”
If you know someone doing good in their community, you can click here to nominate them for the Community Champion award.
