Residents of a neighborhood in Gloucester are coming together to do what they can to help their fellow neighbors in need.

Led by Quinton Andrews, a shed called “The Giving Box” was set up in the front yard of his home he shares with his partner Crystal Hall, off Davenport Road.

In it are donations for those in the community who are in need. The Giving Box holds items such as frozen food, canned goods, clothes, baby items, books and more. There is also an area for those who need garden seeds to grow, for fruits and vegetables.

“I want to help out the neighbors who need a helping hand,” said Andrews.

Born in Georgia, Andrews is a Navy veteran, who served for five years. He has lived in a lot of different places, but moved to Gloucester in 2015. Not too long after moving here, he joined an app called Nextdoor. He joined, because he wanted to help his neighbors get rid of their stuff. He started asking neighbors if they had things that they wanted to give away and he would post the items on the app to give to those who may need it.

In 2019, he saw a YouTube video about a woman in Chicago who had a food fridge located in an area that is in a food desert. After that, he started the original Giving Box. This did not work out because the shed was not roomy enough to put items in it. He later built a new shed after a recent widow paid him to take down a shed in her yard and help clean up around her property.

“I got to take the lumber with me, because most of it was still in pretty good shape,” he said.

Most of the lumber and nails he had recovered from taking down the shed he used to build his Giving Box. The paint he used for the box was also donated by neighbors. The outside of the box is painted to look like a U.S. flag and the inside is painted according to its category from bathroom items to lawn and garden items to food.

Andrews talked about how he has “been on both sides of the fence.” He recalled growing up on welfare. He also spoke about how he worked for a nuclear plant, bringing home a nice income.

“When tough times hit, it’s nice to have somebody out there that knows what its like and knows how to give you hand up and not a hand-out,” said Andrews.

He said that he also partnered up with Nifty Thrifty, a thrift store located in Hayes across the street from Franktronics.

“Neighbors donate to this (The Giving Box), whenever I reopened it, Tanya Buck (Nifty Thrifty) donated a bunch of stuff back to it. I have already lost count. I don’t have enough fingers of how many families that I have helped.”

Andrews also said that he wants the community to “help him find people who need help.”

The Giving Box located at 9083 Davenport Road, across the street from Morning Glory Baptist Church, and is open typically during daylight hours and especially in times of a neighbor’s emergency. For more information, stop by, call 423-987-6230 or reach out through The Giving Box Facebook page.

RUBY WILLIAMS / GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Food items (at left) fill one of the coolers inside The Giving Box. At right is the “Seed Exchanger,” for those with a green thumb.