Written By: John-Henry Perera
(Houston Chronicle Staff Writer)
Soon, Timothy Glover will oversee his own nonprofit foundation. The 501c3 will be the capstone of his mission: spreading cheer and goodwill among the citizens of League City.
Or rather the career capstone of his "superhero" alter ego, Dash Gordon.
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Glover, a father of eight, has been working in the car industry for about 30 years. In an unfortunate turn of events last year, his wife had a health scare. In need of extra money, he signed on with food delivery service DoorDash. But months after doing so, he became frustrated — no one opened their front doors to receive deliveries.
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"I needed to create an experience. So I created a persona: Dash Gordon," said Glover, 57, of his spin on the character Flash Gordon. "People got a kick out of it and they started thanking me."
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At the end of April 2022, he convinced his wife to buy a Flash costume. On his first night out in costume, he created quite a commotion: "Restaurant managers were like, 'You gotta go.' All the talk on League City social media was like, there’s this guy dressed in a Flash costume..."
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His food deliveries came to an end after a few gestures of goodwill caught the ears of the media. The first happened on the Facebook group Talk of League City, where a woman had posted about her hardships. Glover left his calling card in the comments: "Dash Gordon to the rescue." He said he knocked on doors to get donations, diapers and cash to help out.
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In April, the news reached the ears of Sonia Bourgeois, a Dickinson mother of three who was having her own share of troubles.
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"At the time, my babies were sick, and they were going through diapers," she said. "I was like, I don’t know what to do. My family didn’t have anything."
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Glover came through in a clutch with with pull-ups, diaper wipes and some cash.
"He’s been such a blessing. I see everything he does for everybody and that’s amazing," she said. "My ex mother-in-law passed away. I don’t have funeral clothes. He asked me if I needed anything, and I told him about the funeral and he said he’s going to help."
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'A tough road'
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"I’ve always been a giving person. I believe God has put this journey together and made me his vessel to deliver," Glover said. "When you go from being a foster child like I was — it gives you a different outlook.
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In 1974, Glover said his biological parents placed him for adoption. Six foster homes and two shelters later, he was finally adopted out of a Methodist home when he was 9 years old.
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"The home I was in was a little bit … extremely … a bit much. I didn’t want to be there anymore, so I left at 17 and found my real parents in Rochester, N.Y., in November 1982."
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The reunion was a happy one, but it ended on a tragic note toward the end of Glover's college experience. At the age of 38, he said he found his mother dead from an overdose on her bed. Weeks later, his father passed away due to cardiac arrest — the night he graduated.
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"I think he was just waiting for that. He loved my mom immensely," he said. "I had a tough road the first 20 years of my life. You get a different perspective when you solidify your place."
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A new foundation
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Recently, Glover and others put on a winter formal for special-needs kids in the community. Within seven hours of promoting the event, it had already hit capacity.
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"If you look at the footage from the winter formal, it was all done in three weeks and we never hiccuped," Glover said. "Now we know we need a bigger venue. People want to donate dresses and outfits because some people can’t afford it: ballgowns, shoes, etc."
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The success of the event led to calls for Glover to start his own nonprofit. The Dash Gordon Foundation intends to target five areas: human trafficking, special needs, autism, foster children and general assistance. The charity is expected to launch at the end of the month.
Glover still works as a corporate trainer with Cox Automotives, so it's a side hustle, of sorts.
"I use my evenings and weekends to put all this together. I work until the endless hours of the evening, coming up with content. Rita (Garcia) asked me when does this end. I said when the community doesn’t need me anymore."