ST. PAULS — Jansen King has stepped down from the board of the Robeson County Department of Social Services.

But King says she does not plan to step away from the mission of DSS.

“I think I’m always going to find a way to help my community,” said King, who also chairs the board of Robeson House and serves on the St. Pauls Chamber of Commerce board.

One of the longest-serving DSS members, King retired from that board at the end of June after eight years. King, an educator and former social worker, replaced the late Bill Herndon on the DSS board. Commissioner Berlester Campbell was appointed to replace her.

“When people or neighbors would bring things to my attention as a board member … I would call the director,” King said. “When you are handling thousands and thousands of people, it is not unusual that something would get buried in a pile of papers. The issues would always be taken care of immediately.”

King received a plaque of appreciation at her final meeting on June 30.

“I’m going to miss working with the board and the staff,” King said. “It is nice to be part of a group that really cares about the community it serves. But I told them that I’m only a phone call away.”

King said she is most proud of the effort to complete the long-awaited DSS complex. The two-story, 105,000-square-foot glass, steel and wood building was dedicated in September 2011. Located between N.C. 711 and N.C. 72, just west of the county’s Health Department, the complex cost $17.5 million.

King said the project had been in the works for years to provide a larger facility for Department of Social Services staff and the county’s growing number of clients.

“The board’s biggest accomplishment has been helping acquire the new building that is serving the public and the employees so well,” she said. “They are no longer in a building that was built in 1935. It is a milestone in this county.”

King is also proud of her own efforts to recruit student volunteers for the Empty Stocking Fund, an annual community fundraising program that DSS sponsors with The Robesonian. The fund has raised $1.2 million to provide Christmas gifts to about 24,000 needy children in this county since 1996.

“There were no student volunteers when I first got there,” said King, who serves as a career development coordinator at St. Pauls High School. “The Empty Stocking drive had about 20 ladies from area churches and that was about it.”

According to King, hundreds of people would line up at DSS before 8 a.m. to fill out an Empty Stocking application.

“It would sometimes take two days to get the applications done,” she said. “I thought maybe we could use resources like our students. I knew there were good students at every school that were more than happy to volunteer.”

King said the program attracted about 10 student volunteers for the first year. Today that number has grown to more than 100.

“What was once a two-day process went to four hours,” she said. “It is wonderful when we can partner with the educational system.”

King said the experience is also valuable to students.

“Working with the Empty Stocking Fund also helps these students learn more about the community they live in,” King said. “That first year, one of students said ‘I didn’t think I had much until I interviewed these people and now I’m so thankful for what I do have.’ So it makes education so much more valuable when students can see how people are living that don’t have an education or a job.”

King began her professional career as social worker after graduating from the College of William & Mary.

“I began working in the court system but I was not satisfied with what I was doing to help children,” she said. “When I got into education, I felt that I was seeing them every day and I could do something to make a difference.”

King, a Virginia native, has worked at St. Pauls High School for 17 years.

She and her husband, Mac, have four children.

Scott Witten| Civitas Media | Jansen King with the plaque presented to her by the board of the Robeson County Department of Social Services. She retired recently after serving eight years on the board.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_king_IMG_1646_cmyk1.jpgScott Witten| Civitas Media | Jansen King with the plaque presented to her by the board of the Robeson County Department of Social Services. She retired recently after serving eight years on the board.

By Scott Witten

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Scott Witten can be reached at 910-865-4179.