Signature: Pamela Denise Nelson

Age: 57
Occupation: Volunteer Coordinator, Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Hometown: Ferriday, La.

Ask any saint: Heavenly work begins with the hands.

It’s simple, really. Plunge into water filled with detergent. Wash dishes. Drive a forklift. Paint over places where plaster pushes through.

Pam Nelson sees that it all gets done.

After she retired from a 23-year career at Georgia Pacific, she brought her hands here, to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

At the homeless shelter, she is the volunteer coordinator and administrative assistant. She meets most everyone who comes through the door.

“You do what you need to do,” she says. “You don’t have one specific job. Whatever comes along, you figure out how to do it.”

She points to where she wants the cereal and hundreds of cans of vegetables in jewel tones.

She shoves beds into place and folds blankets, then fundraising letters.

She glued the Virgin Mary’s fingers back into place after the statue was donated a few months ago.

There’s something about this statue. It shines.

Maybe it’s the way that Nelson has cradled and cared for her.

Care is Nelson’s trademark.

Poverty doesn’t stain the soul, she knows.

Intellectual reasoning, philosophy, politics and busy lives put the work of feeding the hungry at a comfortable distance for many.

Nelson tugs gently to close that gap.

Anyone can serve, she says. And it can be a joy to serve. The givers have to get something back, every time, too, or it doesn’t work.

That’s a belief Nelson lives by.

She’ll be at the shelter this Christmas morning. Her tradition.

Here, she says, “Christmas is awesome.”

It sets the tone for the year to come.

Nelson might not be able to fix everything in the lives of those who call the shelter home. But she’s made it a mission to up their comfort during every waking moment they are with her.

It’s a mighty, uplifting calling.