Operation Provider began in 1989
when Holland Lowe, a community
philanthropist and activist, a Christian
woman who became troubled by the problem
of hunger in her  mountain
community. A resident of 35 years,
Holland found herself disturbed by the
profound lack of services to families in
need as the community, largely known as
a resort area, turned a blind eye to the
social problems of hunger and the large
population of families in need. Holland
was troubled by the hunger she saw: Low
income families collecting AFDC or SSI,
seniors living on a fixed income,
homeless people (including teenagers),
disabled people, and single parents, the
working poor, struggling to make ends
meet.
The Mission of Operation Provider
is to provide food, clothing, utility
assistance, referrals and emergency
assistance, a warm smile, a shoulder to
cry on, a lending hand to families and
individuals residing in the mountain
communities of San Bernardino County.
Operation Provider normally distribute
groceries twice weekly from Operation
Provider’s facility, centrally located
in the mountain communities to over
hundreds of families each week, adding
up to well over 1,200 unduplicated
clients per month. Operation Provider
sheds light throughout the Holidays
providing Turkeys and Baskets for
Thanksgiving to about 250 families. On
Christmas Day Operation Provider has an
FREE Christmas Celebration with dinner
and dessert and with entertainment.
Every child will be given lots of toys
by Santa himself. These toys are the
only toys these children will receive
for Christmas. This is what Operation
Provider is all about to shed Love and
Joy and Peace throughout Holland’s
mountain community.
 Since
the fires of late 2003, the Old Fire
Operation Provider has expanded programs
to include Disaster Relief Services and
have served over 2,000 unduplicated
clients from the impoverished
communities of Cedar Glen, Rim Forest,
Valley of Enchantment, Crestline,
Running Springs, Blue Jay, and Cedar
Pines Park. Immediately after the
evacuation ended, when everyone returned
to our offices and reestablished an
expanded version of our service
provision as of November 6, 2003. The
area was without electricity from
October 25 until November 4, so all of
the food Operation Provider had in the
freezer had spoiled and had to be
replaced. Thanks to the generosity of
Los Angeles Times Family Fund/KTLA-5
Charities Fire Relief Campaign,
Operation Provider was able to replenish
the pantries and freezers and feed the
hungry people of our community. In
addition, with that grant money,
Operation Provider was able to begin
providing Disaster Relief Services to
families affected by the disaster.
The Grass and Slide Fires, 2007,
Operation Provider has provided
groceries and clothing to over hundreds
of people who were affected by the
fires. These are people who were
evacuated or have lost homes or damage
to their homes or loss of jobs due to
the 2007 fires, are underinsured,
unemployed or underemployed, and come
from various communities around the San
Bernardino Mountains. Operation Provider
has been able to provide these people
with
food, clothing, and emergency
assistance, rentals, transportation gas
vouchers, utilities, and temporary
shelter with motel vouchers, gift cards.
We are realizing, however, as Operation
Provider strives to help those in need,
the problems continue to exist because
our community needs time to recover and
heal. Operation Provider expects to
indefinitely provide long-term recovery
relief to these families.
Operation Provider is an organization (a
place) where people can come to and find
real help given, by volunteers who care.
They will find the love of God there.
This has become a long lived dream of
Holland Lowe to have enough funding to
keep the doors open to extend a helping
hand to the hurting in her community.
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