Her Story
About Sharon
I've been doing community advocacy work for almost two decades, though I honestly didn't realize it was a field until recently. I just knew I wanted to help people, serve people, and give them hope by connecting them with resources and information they didn't know existed. I'm most focused on seniors because I was raised by seniors after my mother died when I was young, and now it's come full circle. I serve on the St. Louis County Older Adult Commission through our local county council member Shalonda Webb, and I'm Co-chair of Senior Wellness for the Christian Hospital Auxiliary board. Previously, I was a board member for the Community Development Corporation for Spanish Lake and senior liaison for Rustic Root Sanctuary. Spanish Lake is an underserved and unincorporated area of North County, Missouri, and we have it kind of hard sometimes. My typical day involves taking phone calls and calling to see who I can get to help somebody do something, and the majority of the time I'm successful. I've helped seniors learn about programs in St. Louis County that can help pay trash bills, provide home improvements, and access other services they pay taxes for but didn't know about. I've organized community tours on luxury buses so seniors could learn about the beauty in their own community and connect with local farms for fresh produce delivery. I secured grants to provide fully cooked holiday meals from our local Schnucks grocery store, delivered by the Spanish Lake Fire Department to people on dialysis, taking chemo, or physically unable to cook. After a devastating tornado hit the city of St. Louis, I connected with people I'd met through previous volunteer work and brought in Team Jesus ministry from Independence, Missouri, who fed 1,500 to 2,000 people and gave away 120 pairs of shoes. I post information wherever I am, whether it's the library or grocery store, to let people know who does what and who they can go to. One time I posted a flyer about eye care for kids, and it ended up helping a mother get glasses for all three of her boys. My pastor told me I'm doing God's work, and as I've aged, I've learned what that really means. My grandfather used to tell me that if you're in a room and you know the same thing everybody else knows, you're in the wrong room. I try to bring people together and get them to help me help others. My most notable achievement is connection, because when I get to know what someone does, I can connect them with someone else who genuinely qualifies or needs that help. People say everybody needs a Miss Cookie in their community, and I'm grateful for every opportunity to serve.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sharon
01What do you attribute your success to?
I listened to some people, people who told me that I deserve to do this work. People say everybody needs a Miss Cookie in their community, and that encouragement has meant everything. When I reach out and make phone calls for my endeavors, the majority of the time I'm successful, and I think that's because I'm genuine about it. If you're not real about what you're doing, don't do it. You have to like what you do, but you have to mean it, too. I've learned that it wasn't even about the seniors at first, it was just doing something that would benefit somebody. My success comes from connecting people, from getting to know what someone does so I can tell someone else about them who genuinely qualifies or needs that help. It's not me really doing it, it's the people I connect with who make things happen. I just ask, and I try to get them to help me help other people.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was from my pastor, who told me that I'm doing God's work. That really helped me understand the meaning and purpose of what I do. My grandfather also used to tell me something that has stayed with me: if you are in a room and you find yourself knowing the same thing that everybody else knows, you're in the wrong room. You have nothing, it's lost. Those words didn't reach me until later in life, but as I've aged, I've learned what they really mean. The things I heard from the seniors who raised me after my mother died have all come back to me now and shaped how I approach my work.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't do nothing that you don't like. In other words, if you're not real about it, don't do it. You have to like what you do, but you have to mean it, too. I've learned that it wasn't even about the seniors at first, it was just doing something that would benefit somebody, and that's why I would volunteer to help places in my own community. The subject of kindness doesn't cost anything, it really doesn't. It's about uniting people and being human to one another. You can be really smart and have intelligence, but I want to show my compassion, not just how bright I am, because there's always somebody else brighter. I want people to know they can step in my shoes and know that you can do things, you really can do things.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I'm facing right now is trying to see which value-added things or people I can get to come and pick up the things that I am doing. I know that I'm getting old, and the commitments that I'm doing now overwhelm me because it's not like I got a real team. I just got people that will help, but they're not committed to help, they don't even want to commit to help. For example, I got a grant last year for $1,100, and I had spread and shared that grant information so much that they were getting so many applications, they had to be fair and help everybody, so we all got less. They cut the funds, and now you can either do something in the summer or something in the fall, you can't do both anymore. I was doing one program where I could feed the seniors a Thanksgiving holiday, and another where I could take people on tours. I even dreamed of taking a group of people out of here so they could see other places and organizations doing things, but that's a dream I didn't get to do yet. Finding committed people to carry on this work and having enough funding to do all the programs I envision are my biggest challenges right now.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important value to me is that people start being human to one another. That's what matters most in both my work and personal life. I believe the subject of kindness doesn't cost anything, it really doesn't, and it's about uniting people. I want to show my compassion, not just how bright I am, because there's always somebody else brighter. What's important to you may not even matter to me, and that's why we need to be human to each other. Truth makes you humble, and I try to stay on the same level as every senior that's out here and in many more places. I've learned that if you're trying to help people and it hurts you when they tear you down, that's how you know it's a passion. If I didn't care anything about it, it wouldn't hurt me. That's why I know this is my passion, and I just try to make myself stronger.
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