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Faith led businessman to charity
By MOLLY MOORHEAD LUTZ -- Dan Johnson and Christian Social Services seem to have found each other at just the right time. Johnson, who for years made his living in the fast-paced corporate world, is now development director for the burgeoning Christian charity in Land O'Lakes. "I've had a lot of good things, but now that I've had them all, I'm happy to do (this)," Johnson said. For 21 years, Johnson, 53, was a national sales executive in New York City for the Topps Co., maker of Bazooka bubble gum, Ring Pops and baseball, basketball and football cards. During his tenure, Johnson figures he sold more than $20-million worth of Topps products. He later came to Tampa and worked for Fleer/Skybox International, a comic book and sports cards company. For five years he was vice president for sales, frequently jetting back and forth to Philadelphia. Then, two days before his 50th birthday, Johnson's job was eliminated. That left him with some free time. He set up a business selling phonograph record mailers from his home in Hounds Run. In its third year, ToppsGuy Internet Marketing is about to turn a profit. Also during that time, Johnson, a member of Tims Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lutz, joined the board of directors of Christian Social Services. "For years I'd been a friend to CSS through donations and volunteer work," he said. "I found I was spending more and more time there." Because of his business background, the other board members asked him to write a job description for a fundraising position. But with very limited resources, the organization would never be able to hire an experienced development person, Johnson said. He told the board he would take the position. The move was a drastic change from the way Johnson had spent his professional life, but he said his faith in God told him it was the right thing to do. "It was the train running down the track, and he put me in the middle of the track," Johnson said. Christian Social Services was formed in 1986 by a group of churches in the Land O'Lakes area. It's an independent agency governed by a board made up of church members and ministers. The organization gets no state money. Its support comes primarily from the thrift store it runs from its bright red office building on U.S. 41. Gifts from member churches and individual donations make up the rest. Though it began as an emergency food ministry, the organization has expanded to include many other services. Last Christmas the group's Little Angels ministry collected and distributed three gifts each to 651 needy children in central Pasco County. The organization started the Habitat for Humanity for Central Pasco chapter out of its office. The group is about to complete its first house. At the start of the school year, the agency provided backpacks full of school supplies to kids. The group has done all this on a meager budget using a staff of volunteers and without the benefit of advertising or fundraising. That's where Johnson sees his challenge. He said Christian Social Services has given away more than 70 tons of food in the past two years, "but you've never heard of us." So Johnson plans to make public relations a big part of his work. "People will give to organizations that they know and understand what the organization does," he said. He hopes the group can fill a void in the middle of the county. "There's plenty of agencies in the east and west sides of the county. But there's like this desert in between those two areas," he said. "There's nothing there to help." But Johnson emphasized that Christian Social Services doesn't discriminate geographically or in any other way. "You could be an atheist wearing an 'I hate God' T-shirt, and you're going to walk out with more food than you can carry," he said. "We're people with compassion that don't require anything but a Social Security card and a statement that you really do need help." So after piling up more than a million frequent-flier miles during his long sales career, Johnson said he's content to occupy himself with Little Angels and Christmas dinner baskets. "It was a life-changing thing," he said. "It was a sense that I have enough stuff." How to get helpVisit Christian Social Services, 5514 Land O'Lakes Blvd., Land O'Lakes. Bring a Social Security card for every family member and proof of address. How to donateMail checks payable to Christian Social Services to P.O. Box 783, Land O'Lakes, FL 34639. Bring new, unwrapped toys for the Little Angels ministry to the office through Dec. 16. The food pantry accepts canned and nonperishable foods year-round.
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