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In the midst of boxes of clothing, toys and baby supplies, one Christmas gift stood out from the rest at the Harriet Tubman Women's Shelter at DC General Health Campus: a new computer lab provided by a local church.

The lab, which features three computers, three flat-screen monitors and one printer, came from the Helping Hands Ministry of Greater Saint John Church in Upper Marlboro. The ministry, which typically brings food and clothing to the shelter once a month, provided gifts on Christmas Day as well as the computers to help the residents search for jobs. The ministry also is paying for Internet access.

"We wanted to give the women the tools that every American home has to find a job," said Minister Norman Hicks, who founded the ministry about three years ago.

The ministry works in partnership with Catholic Charities, which supports the shelter. Helping Hands volunteers began going to the shelter about a year and a half ago after hearing about the women's needs. The shelter houses about 115 women, Hicks said.

The ministry is waiting for one more computer for the lab, Hicks said. He plans to inform employers and job recruiters that shelter residents have computer access and seek work.

"We need people to help them open e-mail accounts and write résumés," he said. Some residents are computer literate; others have very little or no computer skills at all.

"The most phenomenal part of the day was seeing the women's reactions," said Bishop Kevin V. Gresham Sr., who pastors the church. "They were crying and showing all kinds of emotion because they received a tool that will help them with job searches as well as house hunting."

Ministry volunteer Letetia Latney of Upper Marlboro played a vital role in acquiring the computers, Hicks said. Latney, a federal government employee, approached Giant and Wal-Mart as well as companies in the Washington, D.C., metro area. "A lot of companies must refresh their computers every two or three years, so I thought they might give them to a good cause instead of throwing them away," she said.

VSD, LLC, based in Virginia Beach, Va., provided 10 computers and a $1,000 donation. Latney had worked with VSD's managing director, Chuck Wythe, on previous projects. Q.E.D. Systems, also based in Virginia Beach, provided an additional $1,000 donation. The ministry tentatively plans to give the six remaining computers to a transitional housing program connected to another church in the District. Latney now plans to get laptops for the church's 2010 high school graduates.

Hicks said he hopes to play a role in opening a shelter in Prince George's County in the future.

"The homeless population is the fastest growing community right now," he said.

Helping Hands Ministry

How it makes a difference: This ministry of Greater Saint John Church provides food, clothing and more to the area's homeless. For more information, call 301-675-6190.