After more than three decades, Daytona's Mary Barrs to retire God's Little Angels charity

DAYTONA BEACH —There are angels all around Mary Barrs in her cozy home — and not just the ceramic figurines that adorn so many of the shelves in her kitchen and living room.

“Angels are real, baby,” said Barrs, 79, who is retiring after more than 30 years at the helm of her grassroots charity organization God’s Little Angels. “They are all around us.”

Those who have witnessed Barrs’ tireless efforts over more than three decades to help children and others with everything from clothing to food to educational opportunities and emotional support will tell you that she most certainly is among the angel population in Daytona Beach.

“Mary is the first one to give you whatever she has,” said Carol Pringle, 70, a retired teacher at Spruce Creek High School, who met Barrs roughly 30 years ago and struck up a lifelong friendship as she and her students volunteered and collected food and clothing for a multitude of community-elevating projects.

“Mary has helped in so many different places, with Christmas programs, Thanksgiving dinners, back-to-school supply drives,” said Pringle who retired from teaching recently amid the COVID pandemic. “She has had a tremendous impact on the community. I don’t think people realize all the groups and individuals she has helped over the years.”

Now, as Barrs faces imminent hip replacement surgery and a milestone 80th birthday in May, she has decided that she needs to take a break from helping others to care for herself.

“I’m going to take time for Mary,” she said, brushing her fingers across the wings of one of her many angel figurines. “I’ve done everything for everybody and I never did too much for myself.”

Although word has spread through her network of local contacts that God’s Little Angels is winding down, the phone still rings with offers of goods to be donated as well as the requests of those in need.

Occasionally, Barrs wavers, suggesting that she’s not completely closing the door to future charity work.

“I hope to get back to work when I feel better,” she said. “Maybe do some small things. If somebody needs blankets, I can find somebody who can get them some.”

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At her kitchen table, Barrs recalls how the inspiration for God’s Little Angels, the nonprofit organization she started in 1990, came to her in a dream.

In the vision, she said, she looked over a fence at children in need and started to clean and clothe them. A voice told her to “ask for what you need,” she said. “There are people who have things they don’t know what to do with.”

In addition to God’s Little Angels, Barrs at various points has originated and worked on more than a half dozen like-minded projects: Bread From Heaven (a Thanksgiving meal program); Forever Mine (Mother’s Day program for low-income women); and Sympathy Corner (to provide clothing for families to bury relatives), among others.

Helping others 'just part of her life'

Even as she talks of retirement, Barrs has been working with Pringle to collect bicycles for needy children through a local church.

After more than 30 years, the need for such assistance is often more desperate than ever, she said.

“It never stops,” she said. “With the virus and all, nobody works and it’s getting worse,” she said. "Everybody’s calling me for help, but I can’t help them right now.”

Another longtime friend who has worked alongside Barrs to help those in need attests that her instinct to assist remains powerful, despite her retirement decision.

“It’s just part of her life,” said Sandi Thompson, who met Barrs about a decade ago when she was operating a similar project to assist low-income residents.

“She said to me, ‘I’m going to retire.’ Then, next thing I know, she’s asking me ‘Do you know anybody who has clothing?’ because somebody called her about someone in need,” Thompson said. “She just can’t say no.”

Her friends also acknowledge that Barrs has earned the right to relax.

“It’s time for somebody else to fill in with helping the community,” said Pringle, who encouraged community residents to find a way to reach out to Barr with a card, visit or a helping hand with grocery shopping or other needs. “She would never ask, but I hope someone thinks of her.”

In addition to decorative angels and a collection of 180 dolls, Barrs’ home also is packed with prestigious awards bestowed by everyone from the NAACP to the City of Daytona Beach.

The honors aren’t what she hopes people remember.

“If someone is going to tell my life story, I want them to say that I love the Lord,” Barrs said. “I love people and I did everything from dreams to visions that was led to me by the Lord.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mary Barrs to retire from God's Little Angels Florida nonprofit