By Cindy Sexton
Eyewitness News Anchor
CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) -- Our Jefferson Award nominees are all remarkable people. Folks who work diligently to make our communities better and to help others.
This weeks nominee is a man who has all the qualities of a self-less volunteer but the causes he supported three decades ago required courage as well.
Jim Samples has been called the volunteer's volunteer, when no one else can, Samples will.
In the 1980's he helped start the community kitchen to serve the needs of the homeless, today it serves hundreds.
Another issue was coming to the forefront, in the early 80's people across the us were becoming ill, the outcome was almost always death.
We were first learning about aids and HIV, it was spreading in the homeless community because of IV drug use and it was spreading in the gay community.
"At that point there was people in hospital that wouldn't even treat them. When a patient came in they didn't want anything to do with them," says Samples.
Few people understood the illness and everyone was afraid of it.
"It was a scary time I guess," says Samples.
Jim Samples was among the first to spread the word about prevention. He opened an office in Brainerd.
"I was there for 3 weeks they asked me to leave, We don't want your kind here. Hurt business...I got death threats that I was going to get my house burned," says Samples.
Samples didn't let that stop him. He went to Nashville for classes on aids prevention and paid for them himself.
"So I could educate somebody else they could pass it on, so we could get something started," says Samples.
Samples started Chattanooga Cares in 1986, with a 12-hundred dollar grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation opened the doors next to the Community Kitchen. It has grown into a full service facility.
"We have two infectious disease doctors here we have a full case management and preventive education staff that speak to over 20-000 people a year. That wouldn't have happened if he hadn't started on Brainerd road 25 years ago," says Mark Hite, Board of Directors President for Chattanooga Cares.
Members of the Board of Directors are grateful Samples is still on the board and working for the cause.
"Just always saying what else can we do to help get people knowledgeable about HIV and to help them know about Chattanooga Cares and that you can get treatment here," says Mike Tullos, Chattanooga Cares Board Member.
Samples, himself, is grateful for the Jefferson Award nomination because it can help get the word out.
"Yes we will help you 58 we help people with food with rent we help people with transportation, but we can't help you if we don't know about you you've gotta make the first step," says Samples.
