Loving Thy Neighbor: Sharing Dignity
A Career Shaped By Faith
For President and CEO of The Sharing Center, Nina Yon, faith goes hand in hand with her everyday career. In an interview, she states,
“I know that God brought me here. After three mentors encouraged me to apply for the job, I felt that it was a confirmed sign that this should be my next step.”
Nina Yon has been President & CEO of The Sharing Center for nearly three years. When asked the question “What has been your favorite experience so far at The Sharing Center?” she quickly responded,
“The tradition we started for Thanksgiving! We had our Third Annual Thanksgiving Neighborly Lunch this year. It’s a time for families and individuals experiencing homelessness to come together for a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. It is so inspiring to see partners come together for this event. There are so many moving parts but everyone– non-profits, corporations, restaurants, tent rentals, jumps in to serve.”
Over 18,000 people visited our campus this year and whether it was to receive a cart full of groceries, take a warm shower, get help with rental or financial assistance, or even shop for new clothes – every person was met with compassionate care.
Our programs worked together to be a place of respite and refuge for the one family, the one elder, the one veteran, the one single parent, and the one-child who needs it most. In response to the dedication of loving your neighbor, Nina passionately states,
“In relation to The Sharing Center, loving my neighbors, is so simple. It’s treating every one of our guests with the kindness that I would want. It could really be any one of us. It could be your neighbor, someone at your church, a coworker, someone with a degree. I would not ask my team members to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I am all in. And treating every single person that walks on this campus with compassion and dignity is of the utmost importance.”
Every single service and program that The Sharing Center provides works hand in hand with showing compassion and sharing dignity to families and individuals. When Nina Yon first started, she implemented Mission Moments. It is a time to invite guests to share their journey at Board meetings. She states,
“Hearing every visitor’s story over the last 2 years validates the work we do. The work we put in every day is impacting families directly and giving them hope for the future. Stories like that continuously remind me of the importance of sharing compassion and dignity.”
Towards the end of the interview, Nina shares her favorite bible verse, which is her “why” for what she does in her position at The Sharing Center. James 2:14-22
“14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
