Janet Gillispie, a radiological tech at UAB, has worked at UAB at two very different times in her life. During her first tenure at UAB in the 1980s she never considered donating to the Benevolent Fund.
“I thought, ‘My money’s my money,’” Gillispie said. “I had a whole different attitude back then. I was a lot younger and had no idea how my future would unfold. I was selfish and self-centered.”
Between those three-and-a-half years in the 1980s and December 17, 2000—the first day of her second tenure at UAB—much happened in Gillispie’s life, and little of it positive.
“I got a door opened to drugs, prostitution and homelessness, and walked in it,” she said. “I lived in it for 10 years, on the streets of Birmingham. I had a gun to my head, and I was scared for my life.”
Gillispie will tell you in her own words it was by the grace of God—and the support of local organizations—that she got back on her feet. Her life’s restart culminated with her hire at UAB at the end of 2000, nearly 22 years ago. When she returned to UAB, a Benevolent Fund representative spoke at her new employee orientation. That’s where she learned about the Employee Emergency Assistance Program (EEAP). Through the EEAP, the Benevolent Fund helps UAB employees who need financial assistance because of a crisis, like a fire, natural disaster, accident, illness and more. The program has been in existence since the fund’s formation in 1984, nearly 40 years ago.
Also in that presentation, Gillispie was handed a brochure with the list of nonprofits that the Benevolent Fund supports. She recognized many of the charitable organizations’ names, as several of those organizations—Childcare Resources, Pathways, Magic City Harvest and Catholic Family Services, for example—helped her in her journey to get back on her feet.
“When I looked into that pamphlet, the UAB Benevolent Fund listed pages of different agencies UAB helps and gives to,” Gillispie said. “I was amazed. Five of them I’d used. I thought ‘UAB helped me get back here.’ I wanted to give back. I’ve been given a second chance at life here, coming off the streets, coming off of crack, my needs being met. UAB gives to these places, which turn around and help me and so many others through all kinds of things.”
That’s when Gillispie decided to become a donor to the Benevolent Fund, and she has been ever since.
“I wanted to be a part of that big picture,” she said. “It’s the reason I’m here today. That’s why I give back—I’m able to do it now, and I’m not as selfish as I used to be.”
Gillispie is not shy about sharing her story—“I believe that’s one of the reasons I have a new life, to let other people know that you never know what shoes people here have walked in,” she said—and not shy about encouraging others to donate to the Benevolent Fund.
When she meets someone who doesn’t want to give, she can relate to how they feel.
“I say, ‘I felt the same way and believed the same way,’” she said. “My life took a turn and I found myself homeless on the streets of Birmingham. Had it not been for the agencies UAB gives to and keeps alive, I wouldn’t be here today. I’d probably be dead out there. And I tell people ‘Anything you can give, we appreciate you giving. It doesn’t matter.’ Take off your Starbucks Frappuccino and designate that $5. Just miss that Frappuccino.”
Gillispie had been a loyal donor for 18 years and had even served on the EEAP committee when, in 2018, she used the EEAP herself for the first time to help pay for physical therapy after hip implant surgery. She had to have physical therapy three or four times a week, she said; at about a $45 copay each time, the bills added up.
“I didn’t have extra money, and I came to them for help,” she said. “We need to help each other, especially in these times. Thank goodness for the Benevolent Fund at UAB, where anybody can go, whether you give to them or not, and explain your situation. It’s not a hard process at all.”
Six years into her second chance at life, Gillispie was named the UAB Employee of the Year in 2006—a full-circle moment from where she had been to where she was going.
“I had to pinch myself,” Gillispie said. “I couldn’t believe it, being a dumpster diver and a prostitute to the Employee of the Year at the largest employer in Alabama. I thought ‘God sure had brought me a long way’—and the people that gave out of their pockets to help.”