LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
SHARON POMAVILLE
It has been an honor to serve the Center for the past 17 years as a board
member, committee volunteer, donor, and Executive Director. I am deeply
grateful for the opportunity to serve our community through this work. As we
celebrate 43 years of service to Kenosha County, I invite you to join us in the next
chapter of our story: The Sharing Center’s Brick By Brick Growth Campaign.
Over the years, I have witnessed both tremendous challenges and extraordinary
resilience. From the 2008 recession to the COVID-19 pandemic and their lasting
economic impacts, community needs have continued to grow. In response, the
Center has expanded services, strengthened partnerships, launched new crisis
programs, and increased our capacity to meet unprecedented demand.
The progress we have achieved together is remarkable. When I became
Executive Director in 2012, our annual budget, including in-kind donations, was
under $200,000, supported by the equivalent of two full-time staff members.
Today, our budget approaches $2.7 million, the amount of food and essential
goods we distribute has quadrupled, and our work is powered by a dedicated
team of six staff members and more than 600 volunteers.
This campaign builds on that momentum. The Growth Campaign will fund a
critical expansion of our facility, allowing us to serve more families, respond
more effectively to community needs, and create the capacity required for
future growth. It will also strengthen our ability to invest strategically in
programs and services that help families move from crisis to stability.
I hope you will join me in traveling this highway together for the next few
years as we will break the cycle of poverty and trauma for generations to
come, increase employment and education for all, and create a brighter future of
health and happiness for rural Kenosha families.
BUILDING EXPANSION
Expand our facility to increase service capacity, improve efficiency, and create dedicated space for programs, resources,
and community support.
GROWTH
CAMPAIGN
PRIORITIES
PROGRAM GROWTH
Enhance and expand programs that address food insecurity, housing challenges, and other barriers to self-sufficiency, ensuring more neighbors receive the help they need.
WHY NOW?
We’ve simply out grown our current space and in order to position ourselves for the future, expand programs, and scale our impact, we need to make a transformational investment into The Sharing Center.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?
Increased capacity for all program positions enables the Center to meet the increasing community need and be prepared for decades to come. Need has not decreased in more than a decade, and capacity is what allows NGO’s to be responsive, efficient, and impactful.
HOW WILL THIS TRANSFORMATIONAL GROWTH BE SUSTAINABLE?
Our campaign is based on stewarding and maximizing the resources you entrust to The Center. A top priority is to make sure we keep our current programs and staffing levels stable: we’re keeping the lights on. The other priorities focus on careful, intentional, and achievable plans to address growing needs, a growing population, and the fact that we are western Kenosha County’s only emergency crisis center. We intend for new programs and facility growth to carry us for another four decades.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T REACH OUR GOAL?
We will continue to offer high quality service and respond to crisis. We will assess our financial resources and campaign progress and make decisions that best steward the resources you entrust with us. For our building project, we must have at least 75% of funds raised to begin this process.
HOW WE DO IT
From our 5,000 sq. ft. Trevor resource center and warehouse, we distribute all of the resources that are entrusted to us by our supporters. We have a pantry distribution schedule, community programming, and by-appointment services. Our space provides us with the flexibility and confidentiality to serve over 6,100 unduplicated individuals, distributing nearly 500,000 pounds (250 tons) of food, and generating an economic impact to the community of $2.4 million.
Over the last 40 years, our programs have grown, innovated, and increased in their scalability. These programs include food supplies, career connection, housing assistance, domestic violence counseling, school meal & supply programs, as well as clothing & resource distribution.
