‘Mama Moses’ gives 180 free bicycles to needy families. She also fends off evictions.
As the sun rose Saturday, more than 300 mothers and fathers stood in line with blankets around their shoulders and hats pulled over their ears, waiting in the cold for a Harnett County angel.
They queued up at dawn because Melanie Stewart, better known around Lillington as “Mama Moses,” promised free bicycles and toys as Christmas gifts — one bike per family, two in special cases.
Stewart, who is also a mental health specialist, sent out a nationwide call for 100 brand-new bikes. She got 180. They filled a room inside the social services office, waiting for feet on the pedals.
“They came from New York,” she said, taking a moment’s break. “They came from Iowa. The mayor of Angier donated 35.”
And one by one, for hours, the parents showed their IDs, told Stewart how many little hands would be ripping open packages on Christmas morning and collected their bicycles — made infinitely merrier.
“This is how we do church,” said Stewart. “This is what church is about.”
At 64, “Mama Moses” has spent a lifetime putting distance between the poor and the street. The daughter of an Angier minister who raised eight children in a house without running water, she knows how to make a lot from a little.
“This is more than DSS could put together,” said Jamie Gleaton, a volunteer and a Harnett County social worker. “She’s the glue. She’s in the trenches. She’s been there for the community. It’s not just words for her.”
Her virtual church, “The Underground Railroad,” operates with a simple motto: Keep plowing.
She asks for $5 donations, and with that money she manages to keep families from getting evicted in counties around central North Carolina — usually two or three times a week. Landlords know her well enough to trust her support and keep the tenants she shepherds.
“It’s cheaper for me to stop evictions than to put homeless people in hotels,” she said. “They’ve got to pay something, too. I’ve got to know they can pay the next month’s rent because it’s not fair to the landlords. I don’t bail everybody out. Some of them, I can’t.”
On Saturday, she insisted parents leave their kids at home, and she trusted them to take only the toys they needed.
“How many children you got?” she asked the next in line.
“I have nine,” said the woman in an overcoat. “But two of them are over 18.”
“Oh my goodness,” said Stewart, throwing up her hands. “We’re closing down. That’s it.”
The next man approached with his face aimed at the floor.
“Hey buddy,” said Stewart. “Speak to me when you walk up here. How many children you got?”
He had two.
“You gonna take care of those babies this year?” she said, waving him into the bike room. “If I find out you aren’t taking care of them, I’m gonna come find you.”
The man nodded sheepishly, and turned to go. Stewart gave him the parting words she had already spoken 100 times Saturday.
“Thank you, buddy,” she said. “I love you.”
To contribute to The Underground Railroad, visit www.mamamoses.org.
This story was originally published December 23, 2023 at 10:34 AM.