Izard County Gr8 Acts of Kindness winner offers help in times of need

IZARD COUNTY, Ark. (KAIT) - For some people, giving is just in their DNA. It’s as easy as breathing. They don’t question. They just “do.” They take charge and get things done.

That is certainly Sue Chrisco.

Just across from the Izard County Courthouse is a lifeline to those in need: The Manna House.

There, you’ll find this dynamo of a woman.

“Please, save all old jeans for a lady to make handbags for people in Peru,” Chrisco reads a note from a bulletin board at the Manna House.

Whether it’s halfway around the world, or just down the street, Chrisco finds a way to help.

“This is the kitchen area,” Chrisco gestures with a sweeping wave of her hand. She stands in front of a room stocked from floor to ceiling with housewares, plates, and appliances.

The Manna House thrift shop sells donated items and the income is used to buy food for individuals and families in need.

“A five-member family would get more than a two-member family,” Chrisco explained in the food room of the Manna House.

Just like the name implies, the Manna House and Chrisco make sure that those who qualify for food do not go hungry.

“Every time I watched the Gr8 Acts of Kindness, her name would come to me,” Deborah Pope explained. “I was like I need to nominate Sue.”

“Sue Chrisco, we have heard so much about you,” I said. “Your volunteerism in this community is legendary. You truly give from the heart always, each and every day. That is why you are the next winner in the Gr8 Acts of Kindness!”

The small crowd gathered in front of the Manna House breaks into applause.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Chrisco challenged each of us to find something we could do in our own community.

“We want to honor you for the service you provide for this community,” said David Daniel, business development officer for First Community Bank. “We are so proud and thankful for people just like you.”

“She’s done so much for this community,” Pope said.

Deborah and Sue might never have met.

“She goes to the jail on Thursday nights and plays the piano,” Pope explained.

Chrisco plays the piano as part of a jail ministry.

“The inmates are a big part of my heart,” Pope said. “That’s because that’s where I come from.”

Pope was incarcerated when they met.

Chrisco opened her home to her after Deborah’s time behind bars was over.

Then, Deborah’s husband, who had also served time, to get a second chance in life.

“I’ve always trusted people until I found that I couldn’t,” Chrisco said. “I just always found that Jesus did that. I don’t think he waits until he knows if he can trust us or not.”

Stepping out on faith.

“The men sat over there and the women sat over here,” Chrisco points to wooden high-backed pews in an old country church near Caney Springs.

Chrisco worked to get grant money to refurbish this church dating back to 1889.

“This was a Presbyterian Church at one time,” Chrisco explained.

Just yards from the church, her husband was laid to rest.

The pair both grew up near here; but not in the same community.

“I was the first lady from Melbourne to go to college on a basketball scholarship,” Chrisco said.

When Amos Daniel, or A.D. and Sue married, they raised three children and were foster parents for many, many more.

“I had one girl,” Chrisco explained. “She looked at me and said, ‘if I hadn’t lived with you and A.D., I would never have known a normal life.’”

So maybe that’s why these words have been etched on the headstone where they both will be someday: “She taught me when I have enough to share it with the poor and never let a needy child go empty from the door.”

Copyright 2021 KAIT. All rights reserved.