A Call to Serve: Carey Madison Moore '64

You can ask Carey Madison Moore ’64 about stepping out of her comfort zone. Moore spent many years traveling and doing mission work in India with her husband Rick, a current member of Hutchison’s Board of Trustees. When they slowed their traveling abroad, Moore said the Lord moved her to do work closer to home. Moore, who graduated from the University of Kentucky, has four daughters and one granddaughter who graduated from Hutchison (Catherine ’89, Emily ’91, Grace ’94, Maddi ’07, and Bess ’13) and four granddaughters currently attending.

 

In 2013, she and Rick bought and supervised the renovation of a house in Memphis’ Orange Mound neighborhood at the corner of Semmes and Carnes. It became The House of Orange Mound and serves as a resource center for the Neighborhood Christian Centers, which was established 39 years ago. At The House, volunteers teach women who live in the community domestic skills that have been lost in generational poverty, as well as GED classes, résumé building and job readiness, faith and finance, and Bible study. The idea is to link two cultures in friendship and respect.

 

Moore then took another step toward actively helping the women in the neighborhood. She purchased a tea company called My Cup of Tea from Mary Beth Bryce (mother of alumnae Missy Bryce Perkins ’97 and Emily Bryce Bowie ’00) and renovated another house on Semmes that serves as the packaging and distribution center for the tea. The tea company’s website states it clearest: “Our mission is to walk with women beyond the boundaries of poverty and neglect and assist them in finding their purpose.” Women who have been trained in a Tea Life class at The House can apply to work at My Cup of Tea. Moore’s promise is that if they finish all of the courses, she will hire them. They learn all about tea and how to package, label, inventory, market, and ship the product.

 

“My desire was to merge resources with need,” Moore said, helping women move toward “whatever it is that the Lord wants these women to be. For the majority of our women, it is their first income stream.” She said the women work together, become friends, and learn to appreciate each other’s talents and differences. “The tea is our toolbox. It’s the relationships that will have eternal strength and value. Lives have changed. That was always the motivating piece … to make a difference in a few people’s lives, and give this historic community a chance to lift its head.”

 

My Cup of Tea products are sold around Memphis at farmers markets and in stores, as well as online. Tea names and packaging have taken on Memphis themes such as “Bluff City Chai,” “901 of a Kind,” and “Riverboat Queen.” Moore said they also own the property across the street from the distribution house and hope to build a larger facility there, when they can. She stressed that whatever they build, they will maintain the architectural style of the neighborhood.

To read the full story from the April 2018 edition of the Hutchison School Magazine, click here.