Christian Sharing Center, Inc.
Preventing hunger and homelessness since 1986
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Sharing Center is widely considered to be the premier nonprofit, social-services hub in Seminole County. In addition to expertly meeting the immediate needs of the hungry and homeless in Seminole County through its expanded Pantry and Oasis - respite center for those experiencing homelessness. We aim to focus on implementing solutions that quantifiably reduce the burdens of poverty in the county. The success of ProjectRISE, a workforce development program will move hundreds of individuals and families from economic uncertainty to stability. The Sharing Center’s modernized campus is becoming a one-stop campus to provide wrap-around service providers to provide directly or through partnerships, on-site medical care, mental health and wellness testing, educational and employment opportunities, legal aid, and housing assistance.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Families In Crisis: Critical Assistance to Prevent Home Instability
Families in Crisis: Through Families in Crisis, our case managers are able to provide life-changing essentials to our neighbors in need. When an unforeseen emergency arises such as unemployment, medical emergencies, or car troubles, over 40% of Seminole County residences have less than $400 in savings to cover it. For individuals experiencing acute hardship, The Sharing Center provides relief through rent, mortgage, and utility assistance.
Paired with a case manager, families in crisis will receive compassionate and individualized support including help budgeting, navigating benefits, and employment referrals. Families may also receive basic essentials such as food, household goods, clothing as well as referrals to other community resources. These vital emergency services allow families to prevent evictions, keep the lights on and maintain transportation for work.
LifeBuilder: TSC’s Rapid-Rehousing Program For Long-Term Success
LifeBuilder: LifeBuilder is a 3-year intensive program designed to help financially at-risk families transition out of homelessness, into self-sufficiency and independence. This program offers financial assistance and life skills courses to empower families to escape homelessness, build savings and provide consistent education to their children. Working parents with school-aged children team up with a case manager to help navigate barriers to financial stability and achieve their family goals.
LifeBuilder is designed to help 10 homeless families stabilize through a "housing first" model that settles a family in permanent housing with wrap-around services. Each month families are coached on improving credit, budgeting, self-esteem, and nutrition through expert-led workshops. In addition to financial assistance and lifeskills education, families are able to receive furniture, clothing, food, and basic essentials to support their transition to stability.
Oasis: Seminole County’s Only Homeless Drop-In Resource Center
The Oasis: The Oasis is the only drop-in center for the homeless community of its kind in Seminole County. The Oasis is a safe haven and place of respite during difficult times, helping restore dignity and hope for those struggling with homelessness. Our homeless neighbors in need can visit The Oasis for a warm shower, laundry service, and housing guidance from a trained case manager, all free. Oasis clients can receive mail, charge their phones, find a nutritious meal and take advantage of on-site computers to work on resumes, apply for jobs or other resources as well as to keep in touch with family.
Food Pantry: Seminole County’s Largest Free Food Pantry
The Pantry: The Sharing Center’s food pantry is the largest free food pantry in Seminole County helping alleviate hunger. Everyone who visits the Pantry is cared for with dignity and respect and receives two bags of hand-selected nutritionally balanced groceries for each member of the family. Last year, The Sharing Center provided nearly 65,863 bags of groceries to our neighbors in need. The Sharing Center also manages an auxiliary pantry at the Seminole County Health Department to reach more hungry families in our community. Our growing collaborations with local grocers, restaurants, and schools are helping to distribute more than 1.4 million pounds of food annually. This year, The Sharing Center is on pace to distribute 90,000 bags of groceries to neighbors in need.
Families and individuals can visit The Pantry fives times per year for assistance, as well as 3 times during the holidays at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Where we work
Awards
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Estimated dollar value of clothing and household goods donations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Families In Crisis: Critical Assistance to Prevent Home Instability
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Through The Sharing Center's robust social enterprise retail operation, The Village Shoppes, clients receive gently used clothing and household goods to help give them a fresh start on their journey.
Number of hygiene kits distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Infants and toddlers, Children and youth
Related Program
Oasis: Seminole County’s Only Homeless Drop-In Resource Center
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
For clients who are unhoused, hygiene kits provide respite and dignity while they get back on their feet.
Number of partner churches
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The Sharing Center is proud to have grown our faith-based community support from 17 to 94 diverse spiritual partners who provide referrals, financial assistance, in-kind donations, and volunteers.
Number of youth who volunteer/participate in community service
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of clients receiving the grocery shopping services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Families
Related Program
Food Pantry: Seminole County’s Largest Free Food Pantry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Pantry provides 2 bags of nutritionally balanced groceries or a week's worth of groceries valued at $30 per bag, per household member, for families facing food insecurity.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
AGENCY GOALSPROGRAMS:1. Continue to empower families through our Families in Crisis, LifeBuilder, and REACH programs to help them regain stability by assisting them with advocacy, wrap-around services, referrals through our network of collaborative partners, and emergency financial aid2. Continue to provide clothing, food, and household goods to offset family expenses3. Encourage clients to use our free professional services and increase their participation by 10%: a. Mental health counseling for stress, anger, and anxiety that are at peak levels for families facing economic upheaval b. Career counseling for interview, resumes, job searches, training, and placement c. Legal counseling and advice for legal issues d. VITA income tax preparation services.4.Continue to offer our holiday food baskets, shoe gift cards, transportation assistance, and Amway nutritional and health products. DEVELOPMENT: 1. Continue to steward existing partnerships and develop new relationships for sponsors, donors, and foundations2. Continue to grow our volunteer base by engaging more families and faith-based groups for on-going onsite assistance, and employee teams for corporate-group “day of service” projects3. Continue with grant revenue to replace current non-restricted funding with direct programmatic funding from foundations and other corporate partners.THRIFT STORE/DONATION CENTER (DC):1. Through sales and donations, continue to generate $1M+ in income and $2.25+M in received goods 2. Continue to excel in customer service to donating families at the donation door and shoppers at the thrift store3. Increase efficiency by equipping both the stores and the DC with additional volunteers to sort, price, test electronics, and stock the shelves and clothing racks with fresh inventory.HUMAN RESOURCES (HR):1. Provide HR support to staff and leadership to ensure continuation of agency culture and employee satisfaction2. Continue with all-hands staff meetings to keep all staff fully informed about The Sharing Center 3. Continue to focus on leasing units to services that are supportive of TSC’s mission and willing to be collaborative partners with our client services team.BOARD OF DIRECTORS:•Ensure efficient governance of TSC and Sharing Center Properties with legal compliance with all governing rules and regulations•Seek new ways for Board members expand their roles and responsibilities to ensure our sustainability.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
TSC’s mission of strengthening families when they are financially vulnerable by preventing hunger and homelessness is accomplished through these important strategies:CASE MANAGEMENT AND CLIENT SERVICES PROGRAMS • Continue to provide high quality compassionate and effective case management by maintaining client dignity through program standards• Seek out and schedule additional volunteers to assist in the Oasis and LifeBuilder programs• Continue to seek out and write formal collaborations, for example, for housing, childcare, medical care, dental care, and substance abuse help, bringing needed services on-site for added convenience to clients• Continue to seek funding for thebLifeBuilder program, building financial reserves to enable more housing and other emergency financial assistance• Research ability to offer after-hours emergency contact for potential/existing clients in need of law enforcement.FAITH-BASED RELATIONS • Continue to grow and strengthen our alliances with local faith-based organizations (i.e. HAFA/Hands and Feet Alliance); hold meetings on campus to further support TSC• Keep faith-based communities engaged through food and goods drives, as well as newsletters and quarterly/non-asking letters thanking each group for their involvement; include a success story OR a successful volunteer project. VOLUNTEERS • Continue to grow TSC’s Family Volunteer Night project• Engage more companies, faith communities, and organizations for volunteer opportunities • Continue emailing Volunteer newsletter to keep current volunteers engaged• Utilize online forms to engage more volunteers. GRANTS • Continue to explore and identify potential relationships within Central Florida for corporate and foundation grant opportunities• Continue to explore and identify additional fundraising partners and grant opportunities through community connections, such as TSC volunteers and board connections• Continue to build a robust grants department to replace unrestricted money with programmatic funding, utilizing valuable unrestricted funding to cover administrative costs, build a reserve, start an endowment, etc. DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING • Continue to engage and steward individual, family, and corporate donors• Cultivate new major donors to increase cash revenue and financial gifts • Increase involvement in local and regional civic groups, Chambers of Commerce, etc • Develop communication plans for donor outreach that directly support marketing plan strategies • Establish goal for fundraising at 10% of cash budget• Explore additional fundraising partners through community connections, such as using volunteers as a vehicle to inquire about and receive grant invitations• Conduct annual winter (Christmas) and summer direct mail fundraising campaigns.NEW BUSINESS, PROFESSIONAL, AND CIVIC PARTNERS • Encourage use of TSC conference space by outside agencies to grow awareness of TSC programs.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since 1986, TSC has continued to ensure that our assistance is compassionate, sustainable, and effective. From our client services’ programs to our thrift store to our homeless drop-in resource center, we are continually raising our standards of care, while maintaining our ideology of dignity and respect. UNIQUE OPERATIONS: 1. TSC operates Seminole County’s only homeless drop-in resource center, providing showers, haircuts, laundry services, food, mental health counseling, and case management for our homeless clients.2. TSC operates the largest FREE food pantry in the county, as well as stocking/managing the free food pantry at Seminole County’s Health Department. 3. Our case manager programs go far beyond what other agencies do to help prevent homelessness. We are able to accept more low-income families who are turned away from other agencies because our large donor base and thrift store revenue allow financial flexibility. Furthermore, our clients understand that we will advocate for them throughout their journey, providing individual care and resources.4. No other nonprofit operates an agency that annually outreaches $3M+ with a wide array of free services.FY 2018-2019 RESOURCES-EXTERNAL/DONATIONS: TSC received donations of over $1.3M/cash and $3M/in-kind--enabling TSC to continue operations, independent of government or foundation grants. As the majority of our funding is unrestricted, case managers have the flexibility to help clients with fewer restrictions placed by funders.RESOURCES-EXTERNAL/PROPERTY: TSC owns the Fairmont Plaza, where we occupy 70% of 36,050 SF of our property; rental income from the remaining 30% helps offset our expenses and provides sustainability.RESOURCES-INTERNAL/STAFF: Our case managers have over 90 years of combined experience, giving clients the most comprehensive service available in the area. CLIENT ACCESSIBILITY: Our campus conveniently creates a “one-stop” central location for clients because many of our community partners are either tenants or maintain a part-time/free office on campus. Their services include support for sexual assault, medical services, substance abuse, mental health counseling, tax preparation, legal assistance, employment assistance/placement, and food stamps assistance.CONNECTIONS: TSC staff and board have strong community ties, building and stewarding relationships as well as garnering support from faith-based groups, businesses, civic groups, chambers of commerce, schools, local governments, other agencies, and more.LONGEVITY: TSC has been in Seminole County for 34 years, building a reputation as the lead organization for preventing hunger and homelessness in our community. VOLUNTEERS: Over 60 weekly/regularly-scheduled, enthusiastic volunteers work in our stores, the distribution center, and the food pantry as well as group volunteers from businesses who want to donate a day of service. Last fiscal year, over 1,700 people donated over 46,000 hours to help our clients remain stable.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our long-term goal, to eliminate homelessness for at-risk/chronically homeless households through prevention and stabilization, is achievable through case management, in-kind resources, and financial assistance. These elements can prevent a family’s decline into homelessness. ACCOMPLISHMENTS Case managers address client barriers and challenges faced daily: low levels of education, lack of financial understanding and goals, lack of childcare, language barriers, no employment or underemployment, and lack of proper priorities regarding family needs. Our programs offer distinct solutions to help with these barriers by:•Preventing homelessness by assisting families with rapid re-housing and/or expenses that would otherwise prevent housing stability•Providing wrap-a-round services (mental health counseling, legal counseling childcare referrals, employment counseling/training/placement,etc.) to further reduce a risk of homelessness•Providing a drop-in resource center to chronically homeless individuals and families that can address their immediate hygienic, employment, and case management needs•Providing our FIC program to keep families housed through food assistance, in-kind resources, and case management help •Using our REACH and LifeBuilder programs to keep families with children stable and housed through case management, food assistance, in-kind resources, free collaborative partner professional services, and emergency financial assistance•Helping our clients understand that they are not alone and that TSC is there for support and help throughout their journey.LESSONS LEARNED Through our decades of working with at-risk and homeless families, TSC case managers have refined our program tools to better fit our clients' needs. Case managers now:•Perform a more rigorous screening program and assistance screening for our applicant families•Allow clients sufficient time to make progress on their individual goals before making a determination of success or failure•Use HUD’s HMIS database system to eliminate duplication of services•Maintain flexibility with program funding to better address individual family circumstances•Insist on family meetings and workshop participation•Assist coordinating affordable housing for families with multiple evictions and for ex-felons.LARGEST EXISTING OBSTACLE TSC’s lacks sufficient funding to truly impact and halt a family's decline. For our low-income client families who exist on the edge of financial ruin, the smallest financial upset can become catastrophic, often setting forcing them to choose between food for their children or fuel for their work vehicle. One auto accident or one major illness is enough to put a family at risk for losing their home and becomes even more apparent when we cannot place a family in permanent housing due to Central Florida's low inventory of safe and affordable housing. Funding financial support mechanisms is the key to overcoming poverty and homelessness.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Christian Sharing Center, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/08/2023
Mr. Steve Reed
Retired, Ross Stores Inc.
Term: 2021 - 2023
Brigit Zamora
Sempermed USA
Brian Cox
Merrill Lynch - The Burke/Cox Group
Shannon Campbell
Campbell Law
Steve Reed
Retired
Marilyn Moran
Ford Harrison LLP Partner
Ricardo Alicea
Wendover Group
David Dowda
Longwood Police Department
Michael Eastham
Fellowship Financial Group
Cindy Ryan
Ryan Law, LP
Ryan Cipparone
Cipparone & Cipparone P.A.
Patrick Rzeszut
Waste Connections of Florida
Andrew Lannon
Bogin, Munns, and Munns, PA
Cliff Long
Orlando Regional Realtor Association
Pauline Ho
Laus Consulting
Gail Bittman
Travelers Insurance Company
Lee Johnson
AdventHeatlh
Mary Sherris
Sherris Legal, P.A.
Pastor Paul Hoyer
Central Florida Cross Network
Michael Heald
Purvis Gray
Ling Dang
Addition Financial Credit Union
Rich O'Brien
First Colony Bank
Ron Davoli
Wharton-Smith Inc.
Bob Turnage
Retired
Larry Bonner
Duke Energy
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 09/24/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.