Shawna Hanes

The term “social safety net” is generally reserved to describe social service groups and organizations that help people who are struggling and in crises. You could say New Jersey’s Heartland’s 2019 May Heartland Hero – Shawna Hanes – is a one-person social safety net.

Shawna’s charitable efforts go way beyond the work she does in and around holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas, making sure no families – and especially no children – want for anything during these special seasons. She has opened her house to six people in need over the years and travelled throughout South Jersey providing meals and comfort to those who would otherwise go without. She has also served as a women’s advocate, wanting to put an end to domestic violence. And like most of our Heartland Heroes, Shawna is 100% selfless, seeking nothing in return and nothing in the way of recognition for her good charitable deeds and the labors of love that have changed the lives of so many people she has touched.

A friend likes to tell the story about how she witnessed Shawna give her last $5 to a man at a gas station who needed the money to put gas in his tank so he could get to work. Shawna did so without caring for a second that she then had no cash to put gas in her own tank.

For these and too many other reasons to recount, Shawna Hanes was nominated and chosen as a New Jersey’s Heartland Hero.