Impactful, meaningful, and driven organizations are built by those who hold unwavering kindness and love for others. The Sacramento Kindness Campaign (SKC), a Sacramento-based nonprofit organization, is one such entity. Founded on a foundation of unwavering compassion, SKC is dedicated to addressing gaps in services related to food, safety, and shelter for Sacramento’s most vulnerable populations, including families in transition, refugees, and those experiencing homelessness. They work with community partners to provide emergency shelter, food assistance, and long-term support through programs like “Food for Families” and “Kids in Crisis.”
At the heart of SKC is its founder, Sarah Thompson, whose story has propelled SKC into becoming a well-known and successful component of change, both in the lives of those they serve and of any provider or community member they cross paths with. Sarah has risen from her own lived experiences and pain, giving back by transforming the lives of those experiencing homelessness with genuine love and compassion. Find out more below about Sarah’s journey with the Sacramento Kindness Campaign.
Describe yourself, your role, and why you were motivated to work in the volunteer space.
I describe myself as a person who has used volunteer opportunities to heal myself while helping others. I volunteered where I could and eventually founded the Sacramento Kindness Campaign to engage others in helping meet basic needs for food, safety, and shelter for our most vulnerable community members.
Volunteering meets a deep need for many, including me. I escaped domestic abuse with my daughter in 2017. We lost everything, and I had to navigate homelessness with a four-year-old. It was so hard. Thanks to caring individuals like Gina O’Neal who gave me direction and helped me fill out police reports and applications for assistance, we found our way back home. Gina is a private citizen who is committed to helping women like me to have their needs met. She also strives to support efforts to reduce recidivism in the community. She didn’t get any sort of compensation for helping me. Gina did it because she cared. Her kindness changed me forever. Along the way, I created Sacramento Kindness Campaign to help people just like me.
Tell us your organization’s mission and goals. What population(s) do you serve?
Sacramento Kindness Campaign has helped thousands with housing, food, basic needs, and a roadmap to sustainability for our most vulnerable community members Click here to enter text. We envision a safe, nourished, and thriving Greater Sacramento working together to foster improved quality of life and a stronger, well-connected community.
Right now, we are focusing on working with Sacramento City Unified School District social workers and the families they refer to us. We are helping to provide transportation funds so that kids can get to summer school. If they miss three days, they are dropped from this critical program to help them catch up in school. So, we are providing gas cards and incentives to help improve their attendance and social-emotional well-being.
Sometimes families don’t know where to start or what to do next. We reach out and help them connect the dots to get where they need to go. This is true about making sure they can get their kids to school when they don’t know where they will be staying each night. It is also true as they do individual things with multiple agencies to become sustainably housed or employed. We help them manage their “to do” list and are their personal cheerleaders along the way.
“We celebrate the rich diversity within our community and thoughtfully consider inclusion when developing programs and policies in an effort to provide equitable solutions for each family we serve.”
Why is volunteering with your organization important? How does it lead to a long-lasting impact within our community?
Volunteering with our organization is important because we cannot do this work alone and wouldn’t want to! We collaborate with community organizations and volunteers at every opportunity. Every person in Sacramento has something to offer. Even if they don’t have funds to donate, they can offer time, talents, or connections that contribute to changing the lives of others. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Share a success story of how volunteers have made a difference through your organization.
One of my favorite volunteer success stories is through our Food For Families program created to fight hunger during the pandemic. Daniel Rolieri, former Principal of Oak Ridge Elementary, asked us to create rice and bean meal kits for the families in his district. So, we did. It was a beautiful program that enabled volunteers to assemble meal kits in their homes while safely sheltering in place. We fed 137,000 people in 10 Title I schools in three school districts in 2020 alone. Volunteers donated more than 50 hours to make this possible. It was an amazing collaboration of many hands working together to feed the hungry, during a difficult time.
What are the elements of a successful volunteer in the homeless response system?
I think that the most important element of a successful volunteer in the homeless response system begins with realizing that each unhoused neighbor has experienced things that are unique to them. Any sort of solution, including basic needs or a pathway that leads to housing and sustainability, will need to be shaped according to that. Compassionate listening without assumption is critical.
“We may not be able to change the life of every unhoused neighbor. But, we can help change the life of the person in front of us. One person at a time, one meal at a time, one home successfully found, one volunteer hour at a time, we can change the world.”
Sacramento Steps Forward has had the privilege of working closely with Sarah through the Sacramento Kindness Campaign over the past few years through the Problem-Solving Financial Assistance Program and the Frontline Collaborative gatherings once a month. Due to SKC’s unwavering dedication and kindness, their organization has housed several families experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic violence, and/or who are at risk of homelessness.
Sarah Thompson exudes a powerful presence that is evident in her words, actions, and especially in SKC’s success and all their heartfelt endeavors. Sarah reminds us that volunteering is heart work and “every volunteer makes a difference.” This includes showing individuals who feel invisible that they are not, and treating the unhoused with dignity and respect so they may be motivated towards the path to becoming sustainably housed.
In her parting words, Sarah expressed that she celebrates service by recognizing volunteers’ hard work, dedication, and deep care for the vulnerable. Alongside her, we invite anyone who feels called to volunteer with the Sacramento Kindness Campaign or organizations that would like to collaborate to please visit their website.
August 2, 2024 | Published by Sacramento Steps Forward
The responses above reflect the views of the those interviewed and do not represent the opinions of SSF, the Sacramento Continuum of Care, or our partners. These interviews serve to highlight the diverse contributions of volunteers in the homelessness response system.