The History of DOC-UP
DOC-UP, Dalton Organization of Churches United for People, began on a bitterly cold, snowy Thursday, January 28, 1987 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. A small band of downtown area church laypersons and ministers, deeply concerned about the growing number of families in need seeking assistance from churches, met to discuss how they might address these crisis situations. How could they insure that fellow Daltonians experienced the warmth of hearth and home they each lived?
The initial group included Rev. Joel Mason, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Mike LaChapelle, United Methodist Children’s Home, Regional Office, Nancy Hyatt, First Presbyterian Church, Teresa McGuire, First Methodist Church, Barbara Roy, Marian Hudgins, Sister Irene, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, and A.W. Smith, Central Church of Christ. Upon learning about the group, Rev. Lloyd Tripp, First Baptist Church, Rev. Tom Davis, First Methodist Church, and representatives from the Salvation Army, DFACS, Fellowship Bible Church, Voluntary Action Center, Grove Level Baptist Church, Cohutta Presbyterian Church, Dawnville Methodist Church and Grace Nazarene Church joined in the discussion. Soon other churches also followed.
Monthly discussions revealed common concerns: 1) the frequency with which the same persons came to churches for help, 2) the fact that some petitioners capable of work travelled from church to church to supplement or to substitute wages. (Record keeping became an obvious need.) Several solutions presented proved worthy and the group sensed the need for a formal organization.
Within six months of the initial meeting, a name for the organization was agreed upon and a Statement of Purpose was drafted and adopted. Guidelines and By-Laws were written, initial application forms and office records were devised, and a listing of community agencies and resources was created. Through hope, prayer, and sheer determination, DOC-UP offices opened in a small room at the First Methodist Church and volunteers interviewed the first clients in September, 1987.
Exactly one year later DOC-UP became officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. By 1996 membership in DOC-UP included more than 20 Dalton/Whitfield County churches, representing most of the area’s denominations.
Today, DOC-UP offices are located in one section of a duplex at 511 Valley Avenue, courtesy of First Methodist Church. Monies from area churches as well as generous individual donations keep DOC-UP moving toward its goal. Yet as the Dalton unemployment numbers rise to 12 and 13 percent, so do the numbers of families in dire need of assistance. Monies remain a constant need and concern. Presently DOC-UP opens only 3 mornings a week to insure monies can be distributed evenly for one budget year.
DOC-UP Presidents
Rev. Joel Mason 1987-1988
Bob Spaeth 1988-1990
Rev. Jesse Haigler 1990-1992
Becky Kenney 1992-1996
Dr. John Rossing 1997- present
DOC-UP Office Directors
Perdita Rollins 1987-1991
Lorraine Roberts 1992-1994
Norma Tate 1994-1996
Betty Brant 1996-2011
Ginny Bridges Ireland 2011-present