A Heart for Service

DARLENE POWELL’s commitment to volunteering is not just a pastime; it’s woven into the very fabric of her life. As the president of the Cape Fear Guardian ad Litem Association and a council chair at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina’s Wilmington Branch, Powell is a dedicated advocate for many in her community.  

Originally from Bertie County, North Carolina, Powell has called Wilmington home for over thirty years. Her journey into volunteerism took root early but blossomed significantly after the COVID pandemic. “I was always a volunteer, but I jumped in even harder after COVID,” she says. “So now it’s my life. It’s a full-time job.” 

Her roles are diverse yet interconnected, fueled by personal experiences that shape her understanding of community needs. At the food bank, she describes the innovative approach of having both a food bank and a choice pantry under one roof – a model that presents unique challenges but also immense opportunities for outreach. “There’s nobody to follow, basically,” she notes, emphasizing the importance of adapting to serve her community better.  

Powell’s work with the Cape Fear Guardian ad Litem Association further illustrates her dedication. This local nonprofit organization supports children in New Hanover and Pender counties who have been removed from their homes due to neglect or abuse. As president, Powell helps lead efforts to provide essential resources and experiences for these children, such as tutoring, summer camps, and recreational activities.  

“We focus heavily on one-on-one tutoring,” she says, highlighting that many foster children face educational setbacks due to frequent moves. 

The association also raises funds to support the unique needs of these children, ensuring that they have access to experiences that foster growth and stability. “We want them to know that they are more than the consequences that brought them to this little place in life,” Powell says, adding that it’s important to her to advocate for a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive. 

Despite the challenges she faces, including the harsh realities of hunger and family fragmentation, Powell finds profound rewards in her work. “Serving on the capital committee and knowing that I had a hand in this food bank being built and how much it serves our community is incredibly gratifying,” she says. 

Reflecting on the simple yet powerful bonds she forms with the children she advocates for, Powell says, “Just to have little two-year-olds who want to be held – it’s so great.” 

In the future, she says she hopes to see increased focus on kinship care for abused and neglected children and better access to educational and mental health services for foster youth. Powell says she’d also like to approach the language around hunger relief differently. 

“The other day, I called the meals prepped in the commercial kitchen ‘emergency food.’ That is not emergency food, that is supplemental food. Emergency food – that’s going to a disaster.” she says.   

Ultimately, Powell says she hopes the work she does affects people for the long term and also shifts the way society views and addresses its challenges.    

“There’s a lot of shame around food insecurity,” she says. “There’s a lot of shame and anxiety around being a foster kid. I would like for those two things to not be true.”

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

Want more WILMA? Click here to sign up for our WILMA newsletters and announcements.