January 25, 2025 • 24 mins
1/25 Casandra Wingfield and Shelly Green with SPARC Hope.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty,
a program designed for small business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and
community members who are eager to learn more about the
intricacies of running a successful business, hosted each week by
the dedicated staff of the Chamber of Saint Matthews. Now
here's your host for this week, Andy Boyd, Membership co Ordinator.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty.
My name is Andy Boyd with the Chamber of Saint Matthew's.
Today we are talking with Cassie Wingfield and Shelley Green
with Spark Hope.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Hello. Hi, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We're sorry, we are thrilled to have you here today
to share more about Spark Hope and your incredible work
supporting single parents in our community. Let's start by learning
more about the heart behind your mission.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Absolutely so. Spark Hope was founded twenty one years ago.
We started out kind of as a clothing closet for
single parents or for single moms that were going on interviews.
And then after a while we thought, you know, what
kind of a job can they get without an education?
Or we were sending them home hungry, so we opened
(01:16):
our food pantry started the education program that grew into
the life plan that we have today where we walk
with them for the duration of their education and then
for six months after they graduate.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So that kind of talked about it started twenty one
years ago. But what inspired the creation of Spark Hope
and how has your mission evolved over time?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
It's actually a really cool story.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
So Northeast Christian Church had a Kingdom assignment where they
gave one hundred people one hundred dollars bill and asked
them to pray over it and see where they were
being led. And Sheila Day was our founder. She was
given one hundred dollars felt she was being pulled towards
single parents, so she sat down and wrote her friends
and family asking them to match, and she raised enough
fund so open the first office.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
That's amazing. Can you tell us about the core programs
and services you offered us single parents?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Absolutely, so we offer what's called wrap around services, So
really anything that we think might hit their budget or
might affect them any anyway, we try to help take
care of that. We want their main focus to be
on their education and their family while they're in this program,
so we have a food pantry on site that is
not just like any food pantry. It's like a whole
(02:30):
grocery store. It has personal hygiene, paper products, household items,
cleaning supplies, non perishables. We get fresh produce, meat, We
have ready to eat meals in there. Even we have
a clothing closet that's got activewear, businessware, anything you can
think of for the children and the parents as well.
(02:54):
And then we have what's called our life playing closet
that's even household items, curtains, betting, as books. We have
someone that donates use laptops that he fixes them up
and wipes them out and updates them for our parents.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
We do budgeting.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
We're doing a lot with budgeting and financial literacy right now,
especially just with the economy the way that it is.
We feel like financial literacy is something that we really
because we do a budget with them when they come in,
but helping them stay on that budget even though their
income may not be changing right now but expenses are
going up, that's something that's huge. We have really great
volunteers that come in and do financial literacy with them.
(03:33):
We do special programming throughout holidays, which is great. Anything
that we might hit their budget.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Halloween costume drives for the kids. That way they can
pick out what they want to be. Still, we just
did Christmas that was a deal is huge. We do
back to School that's one of my favorites. We host
it at Shoe Carnival, So we get the kids all
of their school school supplies yep, backpacks, they get three
(03:59):
new fits and or uniforms, and then they get to
come to Shoe Carnival to pick it all up, and
they get to pick out their own pair of shoes
and a package of socks for the first day of school,
birthday baskets, really anything. And then once we've got their
budget under control and everything, we can assist them up
to two hundred dollars a month in financial assistance and
(04:20):
that generally goes. We have gas cards that we reload
for them or paying a utility bill. We got a
grant last year that was able to help us pay
for partial rent for some of them to assist. As
you know, rent has become kind of a crisis now.
So those are just anything that we think might hit.
We also have really wonderful donations come in of furniture.
(04:45):
I can't tell you how many of them we've gotten
washers and dryers for that's been fantastic. So yeah, anything
that we think might hit their budget. Oh, really cool story.
One of our moms, one of our single moms, she's
young mom, was gifted a car right around Christmas time.
It was through a Glasser's Automotives Collision repas Yes, and
(05:09):
a bunch of other sponsors. They all got together they
donated this car. Seeing this car being donated, one of
our board members saw this and her daughter just went
off to college out of state, didn't need her car,
so she donated that car to one of our single
dads in the program that was without a car. So
those were both big, like life changing donations that just
(05:30):
took place and were so amazing to watch.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I did have a plan question, but just hearing you,
how do the single parents find you and is there
any stipulations that they have to be able to get
your services?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So the main qualifications to be in our program is
they have to have at least fifty percent custody of
their children, they have to be a single parent, they
have to be working at least twenty hours a week,
and they have to be going to school. It's some
form of accredited higher education at least halftime. I think
(06:05):
for your traditional colleges that is six credit hours.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Is that right? Yes?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And the reason we require them work is we want
them to have some skin in the game. You know,
we're trying to teach them to be self sufficient and
self supportive. Our goal is to get them off of
government assistants by the time they are finished with our program.
So those are the main qualifications. The best way to
find us, I guess we've really been working on our
Google scores and stuff, so we've moved up to the
(06:31):
first page, so that's nice. And then we try to
form relationships with different colleges because those students are already
filling part of that puzzle by being enroll in school.
So yeah, we try to form relationship colleges. We've joined
different chambers to try to get out in front of people.
We're working on networking. Shelley does a wonderful job of
(06:53):
building relationships and getting in front of people.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's awesome. And Shelley, you are the best. I love
having you in any group we're in. You're very engaging.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Can you talk about some of the biggest challenges single
parents face today and how Spark addresses those challenges.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
So one of the largest challenges we are seeing right
now is because we're a resource center, a lot of
people will come to us for resources, maybe that don't
even qualify for the program, but we can help connect
them generally. But one of the biggest requests we're getting
right now are the biggest calls that we're getting in
right now, is that they are being evicted, they're homeless,
(07:37):
or they can't afford their rent. And I looked it
up the other day and the average rent, even for
just a studio apartment in Louisville, Kentucky right now, is
over eleven hundred dollars and that's just for a studio.
So if your single parent and you have multiple children,
I think a two bedroom was like the average was
over fourteen hundred dollars a month. So a single parent
(07:58):
on a single income trying to raise several children, and
especially the ones that don't have an education, their jobs
they're going to pay them enough where they can afford
fourteen hundred dollars a month for rent. So that has
been something that's been extremely it's definitely been on the
rise over the past year, and I know rents to
keep getting risen all.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Over the board.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
So affordable housing is definitely a crisis in the city
right now. We have a lot of different resources that
we can try to resource.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
People out too.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
We've been blessed with a wonderful community where some of
them have rental homes that we've been able to be like, oh,
we know a landlord, let me see if.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
They got something available.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
We're very versed in the income contingent housing that's around
the area, so we can try to connect them with that.
The problem is there's just a lack of in the city.
So one way we've addressed it with our parents is
again financial literacy and budgeting, trying to show them what
they can afford things of that sort. But then also
receive that grant last year for the rental Assistant was huge,
(09:04):
so we're trying to get into more programs like that
where we can help with those issues.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Can you share a success story or example of how
your work has impacted a single parent family.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, so I've got a success story and then another
huge impact story. So there was a woman named Annie
who came into our program. When she started a program,
she was getting her associate's degree in journalism and she
was a waitress. And by the time she graduated our program,
she had a law degree. She opened up her own firm.
She practices in two states. She came back and was
(09:42):
our board chair for a year. And now I'm told
she just went to go get her to pass the
bar in Florida because now she's married and she has
more children, and they have a vacation home in Florida,
so she wanted to be able to practice law down
there as well. She's given back a lot to our
organization since she's graduated. She's given legal advice to a
(10:05):
lot of our parents that have needed it. So she's
just been a wonderful resource. And it's just beautiful to
see all that she has done. But then just another
success story. In general, a lot of the parents that
come into our program, they're the first in their families
to ever go to school.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
It is a poverty cycle.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
If you grow up in poverty, you're more likely to
be in the poverty line when you're an adult. So
a lot of them are trying to break that cycle.
They're the first in their families to ever go to school.
Not only are we watching them graduate and start these
wonderful careers and brighter futures, but now we're watching their
children go on to school as well and start wonderful
careers as well.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
So that's beautiful, that's awesome. To continue the cycle. Well,
I know we are about to roll into break. We'll
be back with more on Talk Radio ten eighty. In
the Chamber Connection.
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Speaker 1 (11:37):
You're listening to real news, real talk Talk radio ten eighty.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Okay, welcome back to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio
ten eighty. We're speaking with Cassie Wingfield and Shelley Green
from Sparkope. Well, in addition to all the impactful programs
heard from spark Hope, you've found creative ways to engage
the community, like your upcoming Regency Ball fundraiser.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
What can you tell us about it?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
The Regency Ball is going to be such a fun
event you all. It is going to be at the
Seal Box Hilton Hotel and it is the Saturday right
after Valentine's Day, So this will be one just a
wonderful way to make an impact on the community and
helping us in our mission to aid single parents, but
also be a wonderful Valentine's Day plans It would be
(12:34):
memorable for sure, something out of the ordinary, and all
kinds of fun fundraising opportunities while we're there. We've got
like one of a kind silent auction baskets and packages,
and then we have several different raffles that will be
wonderful and one is including a one carrot diamond ring.
(12:57):
This is beautiful and the Sealbock is actually extended our
I think through the end of this week or the
end of next week, we can extend our VIP packages
which includes one night's day at the Sealboch Hotel the
night of the event, you get overnight Valley parking and
you get a Valentine's gift in your room as well
(13:17):
as two tickets to the Regency Ball.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Oh that's so nice. So how did you come up
with it unique idea of this.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Well, this is the first year we've been off the track.
We generally do opening night at the Downs and so
this is the first year we've been off the track
in about ten years, and we were trying to think
of a fun draw. And I think this is right
after the Bridgerton season just came out and we just
loved the theme and the era and all the fun
about it. So there was really nothing going on in February.
(13:49):
We looked at all the venues for all the months
that were coming up, and there was nothing going on
in February, so we thought it would be fun to
host like a Valentine's Day ball.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So that is awesome. What can the attendees expect at
the event.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
It's gonna be we're gonna have social hour down in
the Oak Room, which will be we'll have our famous
sbourbon pool that we do that usually sells out within
like thirty minutes, so you want to get there at
six when it starts. And then we'll have our three
different raffles, which will include the restaurant Raffle, which is
also something that our regular attendees are used to. It's
over one thousand dollars in restaurant gift cards that's being
(14:26):
raffled off.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And then we'll have the Beautiful.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Ring, the one Caret diamond ring, and a really nice
special bottle of bourbon. I don't know what it is
off the top of my head though. So those three
raffles will be taking place in upstairs. We'll have a
three course dinner and we'll have dancing music. We'll have
a short program where you'll actually get to hear from
one of our program graduates and tell her story. She
(14:53):
is an author, she's a motivational speaker, she's a personal trainer.
She's done so much since she's left our and we're
very excited to hear her story. And then we'll have
the silent auction packages. I'm really really excited about one.
We just got a tour of Louisville and a private
plane donated, and we're going to pair that with a
(15:13):
dinner for two at La Roula. So that's very fun,
very fun package.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Well, how can the community get involved, whether by attending
and sponsoring or supporting the event in any other way.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
So tickets are still on sale. We have to wrap
up our ticket sales by February first, so get them
now while you can. You can find that on our
website on the main page. And then, yeah, we will
not say no to sponsors. I have not printed the
programs yet, so we can absolutely still take sponsors sponsors.
(15:48):
There's a sponsorship packet on our page as well that
will tell you the different benefits that you receive. And
then just attending the event and coming and hearing what
we what we do, and who we are and getting
a better.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Feel for it.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
We like to treat our events they're not just a
fun party. They really are making an impact on what
we do. But it's also an introduction to who we are,
and we love to get people that. I can't tell
you how many volunteers and donors and just supporters that
we've gained just from hosting these events, so they can
learn who we are and what we do.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So what impact did the funds raise that the regency
ball have on your programs and the families you support.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
So right now with our budget, we're limited to I
think it was twenty eight clients last year that we
could twenty eight families. I'm sorry that we could take
in just because the amount of benefits that they received
from us. I don't want to say the wrong number,
but I think it was about eighteen thousand dollars in
benefits a year last year per family. That's an average
because all family sizes are different. But we want to
(16:55):
bring on two more families this year, and we really
want to focus on this financial literacy program and teaching
them how to manage their money better, which will take
workshops and things of that sort. So really we're setting
up because we would like to expand even more. We've
got a several year plan, but this year we want
to really focus on the families that we have and
(17:15):
who we're serving. But we do want to grow a
little bit each year, and eventually we'll need more space
because yeah, if you've if anyone wants to come, take
a tour of the center. Is beautiful to see, but
we are crammed into a small space.
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Yes, that's the best way to get you in there
to really see what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Well, it's clear that the Regency Ball is a wonderful
opportunity for the community to come together for a meaningful cause.
What are some other ways individuals or businesses can support
Spark Hope throughout the year.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Well, we have all of our wonderful holiday programs that
we do. That's always a fun way to get to give.
And we love to send pictures in our thank you
cards of the kids and they receive their items to
all of our donors, so that's always a fun process.
We have all kinds of volunteer opportunities because we are
(18:08):
such a small staff. We are five people when we
are fully staffed, so we run on volunteers and volunteer staff.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
We heavily depend on them.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Yes, we do. We have.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
We get We have partnership with Dear to Care, so
we're receiving donations constantly. I think we have pick ups
three different days. We get from dere to Care. We
partner with Kroger and Walmart, so we're receiving goods from
all three of these places, and that takes a lot
of work to process in these things and get it
stocked on the shelves. And we really do pride ourselves
on that food pantry because it is we want to
(18:42):
empower these parents. We don't want them to feel like
they're coming to a food pantry. We want them to
feel like they're going grocery shopping. So it takes a
lot of work to make it look like that.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yeah, that's amazing. Looking ahead, what are your goals for
the next few years and how the how can the
community play a role in helping you achieve them.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
That's a very good question.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
We have our strategic planning uh this weekend actually where
we're going to be discussing goals for the future.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I do know that.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, A couple of things that I can think of
off the top of our head is, uh, we're searching
out more grants that will be very beneficial for us
and help us with the programs. Uh, searching out new
and you know, grants that will help us. And we've
got different volunteers that are coming and helping us. And
we have businesses that are also taking our barrels.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And helping us out with that barrels.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
What do you mean by that we have donation barrels
kind of like the ones you see at the front
of the grocery store where you can drop donations in.
We have six of them that are wrapped beautifully with
our our logo and lots of pictures of the moms
and the kids and I say moms with the parents
and the kids and some moms and dads, and then
(20:02):
we can place them at your place of business so
you can collect donations. We have all kinds of different
needs lists if you'd like to do personal care or
over the counter pharmacy this time of year is huge,
or dry goods or paper products, things of that sort,
so you can collect them and raise awareness within your
business and then we'll come pick it up and we
(20:23):
can stock the shelves with them.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
That business could just ask to have that so enable
their clients to come in.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
Home and then do it for two weeks, three weeks,
or a month, whatever their timeline is.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Wow, that's really awesome. Well, I know you guys are
a new member to the Chamber of Saint Matthew's. What
brought you to the chamber and what are you most
excited to get involved with.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Well, I'm excited about the Chamber because I feel like
there's a lot of connections to be made there and
a lot of events and organizations and luncheons and all
different kinds of things to go to and building relationships
with all the different businesses. And I also love the
nonprofit affinity meetings that we have. I think that when
(21:11):
we learn from each other and we can grow and
broaden our horizons and reach out and make connections with others.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I agree, it's really about collaborating with everyone so we
could all be successful and help out the community. So
that's right. I'm sold. But I work there, right, So
that's awesome. Is there anything else you'd like to share
with our listeners today about Spark Hope.
Speaker 6 (21:43):
I would love for you to come and visit us
and come forward tour, and that way we can really
explain all about Spark Hope and what we're about and
you can see it for yourself.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Yeah, So it really is hard to understand unless you've
seen it in person. Like you can talk about it
all you want, and when you come in, you're like,
oh my gosh, cause we're gonna we're in an office building,
but we've got a whole grocery store and we've got
all these have our Wall of Fame. It's a wall
full of degrees from past clients and stuff, and now
we're putting the kids degrees up there too. It's really neat,
(22:16):
So coming in and taking a tour is just a
wonderful way. You can visit our website. It's www dot Spark,
s p r C Dash Hope h Ope dot org
and there's all kinds of information on there. Also, if
you are a single parent and you are working and
going to school, or if you've thought about going back
(22:38):
to school because you're just not making it where you are,
we have education consultants that can help you find that
path for you. They can help tell you what jobs
are out in the market right now, what you need
to study, and where you can go study that. We
can even tell you different companies that will do tuition
reimbursement so you don't get yourself in debt. We have
all kinds of tools and stuff available to you. So
(23:00):
if you are a single parent and you're struggling and
you'd like some help, please give us a call.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Well, I want to circle back around real quick. I
know you said you're really focusing on financial literacy and
programs that you're offering. How are you implementing this, How
are you teaching this to the parents.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Well, we've just started and we're gonna have some growing pains,
I think because they're not used to us asking for
all this stuff. We are high accountability in our program
because they do receive a lot of goods and stuff.
We ask them to turn in certain things, and we've
just started asking them to turn in monthly expenditures so
they can just for the first few months see what
they're spending their money on. And then we're asking them
(23:44):
to go in and see what they can cut expense wise.
What can we offer them that maybe they're spending money on.
We do different life skills classes to try to teach
them to like here's some meal prepping so you're not
going through the drive through and spending your money there.
There's some inexpensive ways too, or ways to.
Speaker 6 (24:04):
Cut your You don't have to have a Starbucks coffee
every yeah every week.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Yeah, we actually have the canned ice coffee is in
the in the pantry there you go, so they could
take those. We have all kinds of coffee in there
as well. Yeah, amazing, So let your spine and habits,
you know. Yeah, let's some really realize what's want and
a need.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah right, exactly. Well that's great.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Well, I really want to thank you guys for joining
us today and sharing more about Spark Hope and the
amazing work that you guys are doing. We're excited to
support your efforts and look forward to the Regency Ball
and beyond. Thank you for joining us on the Chamber
Connection Talk Radio to Nadi. This is Andy Boyd until
(24:50):
next week
Welcome to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty,
a program designed for small business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and
community members who are eager to learn more about the
intricacies of running a successful business, hosted each week by
the dedicated staff of the Chamber of Saint Matthews. Now
here's your host for this week, Andy Boyd, Membership co Ordinator.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Welcome to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio ten eighty.
My name is Andy Boyd with the Chamber of Saint Matthew's.
Today we are talking with Cassie Wingfield and Shelley Green
with Spark Hope.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Hello. Hi, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We're sorry, we are thrilled to have you here today
to share more about Spark Hope and your incredible work
supporting single parents in our community. Let's start by learning
more about the heart behind your mission.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Absolutely so. Spark Hope was founded twenty one years ago.
We started out kind of as a clothing closet for
single parents or for single moms that were going on interviews.
And then after a while we thought, you know, what
kind of a job can they get without an education?
Or we were sending them home hungry, so we opened
(01:16):
our food pantry started the education program that grew into
the life plan that we have today where we walk
with them for the duration of their education and then
for six months after they graduate.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
So that kind of talked about it started twenty one
years ago. But what inspired the creation of Spark Hope
and how has your mission evolved over time?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
It's actually a really cool story.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
So Northeast Christian Church had a Kingdom assignment where they
gave one hundred people one hundred dollars bill and asked
them to pray over it and see where they were
being led. And Sheila Day was our founder. She was
given one hundred dollars felt she was being pulled towards
single parents, so she sat down and wrote her friends
and family asking them to match, and she raised enough
fund so open the first office.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
That's amazing. Can you tell us about the core programs
and services you offered us single parents?
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Absolutely, so we offer what's called wrap around services, So
really anything that we think might hit their budget or
might affect them any anyway, we try to help take
care of that. We want their main focus to be
on their education and their family while they're in this program,
so we have a food pantry on site that is
not just like any food pantry. It's like a whole
(02:30):
grocery store. It has personal hygiene, paper products, household items,
cleaning supplies, non perishables. We get fresh produce, meat, We
have ready to eat meals in there. Even we have
a clothing closet that's got activewear, businessware, anything you can
think of for the children and the parents as well.
(02:54):
And then we have what's called our life playing closet
that's even household items, curtains, betting, as books. We have
someone that donates use laptops that he fixes them up
and wipes them out and updates them for our parents.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
We do budgeting.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
We're doing a lot with budgeting and financial literacy right now,
especially just with the economy the way that it is.
We feel like financial literacy is something that we really
because we do a budget with them when they come in,
but helping them stay on that budget even though their
income may not be changing right now but expenses are
going up, that's something that's huge. We have really great
volunteers that come in and do financial literacy with them.
(03:33):
We do special programming throughout holidays, which is great. Anything
that we might hit their budget.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Halloween costume drives for the kids. That way they can
pick out what they want to be. Still, we just
did Christmas that was a deal is huge. We do
back to School that's one of my favorites. We host
it at Shoe Carnival, So we get the kids all
of their school school supplies yep, backpacks, they get three
(03:59):
new fits and or uniforms, and then they get to
come to Shoe Carnival to pick it all up, and
they get to pick out their own pair of shoes
and a package of socks for the first day of school,
birthday baskets, really anything. And then once we've got their
budget under control and everything, we can assist them up
to two hundred dollars a month in financial assistance and
(04:20):
that generally goes. We have gas cards that we reload
for them or paying a utility bill. We got a
grant last year that was able to help us pay
for partial rent for some of them to assist. As
you know, rent has become kind of a crisis now.
So those are just anything that we think might hit.
We also have really wonderful donations come in of furniture.
(04:45):
I can't tell you how many of them we've gotten
washers and dryers for that's been fantastic. So yeah, anything
that we think might hit their budget. Oh, really cool story.
One of our moms, one of our single moms, she's
young mom, was gifted a car right around Christmas time.
It was through a Glasser's Automotives Collision repas Yes, and
(05:09):
a bunch of other sponsors. They all got together they
donated this car. Seeing this car being donated, one of
our board members saw this and her daughter just went
off to college out of state, didn't need her car,
so she donated that car to one of our single
dads in the program that was without a car. So
those were both big, like life changing donations that just
(05:30):
took place and were so amazing to watch.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So I did have a plan question, but just hearing you,
how do the single parents find you and is there
any stipulations that they have to be able to get
your services?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
So the main qualifications to be in our program is
they have to have at least fifty percent custody of
their children, they have to be a single parent, they
have to be working at least twenty hours a week,
and they have to be going to school. It's some
form of accredited higher education at least halftime. I think
(06:05):
for your traditional colleges that is six credit hours.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Is that right? Yes?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And the reason we require them work is we want
them to have some skin in the game. You know,
we're trying to teach them to be self sufficient and
self supportive. Our goal is to get them off of
government assistants by the time they are finished with our program.
So those are the main qualifications. The best way to
find us, I guess we've really been working on our
Google scores and stuff, so we've moved up to the
(06:31):
first page, so that's nice. And then we try to
form relationships with different colleges because those students are already
filling part of that puzzle by being enroll in school.
So yeah, we try to form relationship colleges. We've joined
different chambers to try to get out in front of people.
We're working on networking. Shelley does a wonderful job of
(06:53):
building relationships and getting in front of people.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
That's awesome. And Shelley, you are the best. I love
having you in any group we're in. You're very engaging.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Can you talk about some of the biggest challenges single
parents face today and how Spark addresses those challenges.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
So one of the largest challenges we are seeing right
now is because we're a resource center, a lot of
people will come to us for resources, maybe that don't
even qualify for the program, but we can help connect
them generally. But one of the biggest requests we're getting
right now are the biggest calls that we're getting in
right now, is that they are being evicted, they're homeless,
(07:37):
or they can't afford their rent. And I looked it
up the other day and the average rent, even for
just a studio apartment in Louisville, Kentucky right now, is
over eleven hundred dollars and that's just for a studio.
So if your single parent and you have multiple children,
I think a two bedroom was like the average was
over fourteen hundred dollars a month. So a single parent
(07:58):
on a single income trying to raise several children, and
especially the ones that don't have an education, their jobs
they're going to pay them enough where they can afford
fourteen hundred dollars a month for rent. So that has
been something that's been extremely it's definitely been on the
rise over the past year, and I know rents to
keep getting risen all.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Over the board.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
So affordable housing is definitely a crisis in the city
right now. We have a lot of different resources that
we can try to resource.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
People out too.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
We've been blessed with a wonderful community where some of
them have rental homes that we've been able to be like, oh,
we know a landlord, let me see if.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
They got something available.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
We're very versed in the income contingent housing that's around
the area, so we can try to connect them with that.
The problem is there's just a lack of in the city.
So one way we've addressed it with our parents is
again financial literacy and budgeting, trying to show them what
they can afford things of that sort. But then also
receive that grant last year for the rental Assistant was huge,
(09:04):
so we're trying to get into more programs like that
where we can help with those issues.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Can you share a success story or example of how
your work has impacted a single parent family.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, so I've got a success story and then another
huge impact story. So there was a woman named Annie
who came into our program. When she started a program,
she was getting her associate's degree in journalism and she
was a waitress. And by the time she graduated our program,
she had a law degree. She opened up her own firm.
She practices in two states. She came back and was
(09:42):
our board chair for a year. And now I'm told
she just went to go get her to pass the
bar in Florida because now she's married and she has
more children, and they have a vacation home in Florida,
so she wanted to be able to practice law down
there as well. She's given back a lot to our
organization since she's graduated. She's given legal advice to a
(10:05):
lot of our parents that have needed it. So she's
just been a wonderful resource. And it's just beautiful to
see all that she has done. But then just another
success story. In general, a lot of the parents that
come into our program, they're the first in their families
to ever go to school.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
It is a poverty cycle.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
If you grow up in poverty, you're more likely to
be in the poverty line when you're an adult. So
a lot of them are trying to break that cycle.
They're the first in their families to ever go to school.
Not only are we watching them graduate and start these
wonderful careers and brighter futures, but now we're watching their
children go on to school as well and start wonderful
careers as well.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
So that's beautiful, that's awesome. To continue the cycle. Well,
I know we are about to roll into break. We'll
be back with more on Talk Radio ten eighty. In
the Chamber Connection.
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Speaker 1 (11:37):
You're listening to real news, real talk Talk radio ten eighty.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Okay, welcome back to the Chamber Connection on Talk Radio
ten eighty. We're speaking with Cassie Wingfield and Shelley Green
from Sparkope. Well, in addition to all the impactful programs
heard from spark Hope, you've found creative ways to engage
the community, like your upcoming Regency Ball fundraiser.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
What can you tell us about it?
Speaker 4 (12:10):
The Regency Ball is going to be such a fun
event you all. It is going to be at the
Seal Box Hilton Hotel and it is the Saturday right
after Valentine's Day, So this will be one just a
wonderful way to make an impact on the community and
helping us in our mission to aid single parents, but
also be a wonderful Valentine's Day plans It would be
(12:34):
memorable for sure, something out of the ordinary, and all
kinds of fun fundraising opportunities while we're there. We've got
like one of a kind silent auction baskets and packages,
and then we have several different raffles that will be
wonderful and one is including a one carrot diamond ring.
(12:57):
This is beautiful and the Sealbock is actually extended our
I think through the end of this week or the
end of next week, we can extend our VIP packages
which includes one night's day at the Sealboch Hotel the
night of the event, you get overnight Valley parking and
you get a Valentine's gift in your room as well
(13:17):
as two tickets to the Regency Ball.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Oh that's so nice. So how did you come up
with it unique idea of this.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Well, this is the first year we've been off the track.
We generally do opening night at the Downs and so
this is the first year we've been off the track
in about ten years, and we were trying to think
of a fun draw. And I think this is right
after the Bridgerton season just came out and we just
loved the theme and the era and all the fun
about it. So there was really nothing going on in February.
(13:49):
We looked at all the venues for all the months
that were coming up, and there was nothing going on
in February, so we thought it would be fun to
host like a Valentine's Day ball.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So that is awesome. What can the attendees expect at
the event.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
It's gonna be we're gonna have social hour down in
the Oak Room, which will be we'll have our famous
sbourbon pool that we do that usually sells out within
like thirty minutes, so you want to get there at
six when it starts. And then we'll have our three
different raffles, which will include the restaurant Raffle, which is
also something that our regular attendees are used to. It's
over one thousand dollars in restaurant gift cards that's being
(14:26):
raffled off.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And then we'll have the Beautiful.
Speaker 4 (14:29):
Ring, the one Caret diamond ring, and a really nice
special bottle of bourbon. I don't know what it is
off the top of my head though. So those three
raffles will be taking place in upstairs. We'll have a
three course dinner and we'll have dancing music. We'll have
a short program where you'll actually get to hear from
one of our program graduates and tell her story. She
(14:53):
is an author, she's a motivational speaker, she's a personal trainer.
She's done so much since she's left our and we're
very excited to hear her story. And then we'll have
the silent auction packages. I'm really really excited about one.
We just got a tour of Louisville and a private
plane donated, and we're going to pair that with a
(15:13):
dinner for two at La Roula. So that's very fun,
very fun package.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Well, how can the community get involved, whether by attending
and sponsoring or supporting the event in any other way.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
So tickets are still on sale. We have to wrap
up our ticket sales by February first, so get them
now while you can. You can find that on our
website on the main page. And then, yeah, we will
not say no to sponsors. I have not printed the
programs yet, so we can absolutely still take sponsors sponsors.
(15:48):
There's a sponsorship packet on our page as well that
will tell you the different benefits that you receive. And
then just attending the event and coming and hearing what
we what we do, and who we are and getting
a better.
Speaker 3 (16:02):
Feel for it.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
We like to treat our events they're not just a
fun party. They really are making an impact on what
we do. But it's also an introduction to who we are,
and we love to get people that. I can't tell
you how many volunteers and donors and just supporters that
we've gained just from hosting these events, so they can
learn who we are and what we do.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
So what impact did the funds raise that the regency
ball have on your programs and the families you support.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
So right now with our budget, we're limited to I
think it was twenty eight clients last year that we
could twenty eight families. I'm sorry that we could take
in just because the amount of benefits that they received
from us. I don't want to say the wrong number,
but I think it was about eighteen thousand dollars in
benefits a year last year per family. That's an average
because all family sizes are different. But we want to
(16:55):
bring on two more families this year, and we really
want to focus on this financial literacy program and teaching
them how to manage their money better, which will take
workshops and things of that sort. So really we're setting
up because we would like to expand even more. We've
got a several year plan, but this year we want
to really focus on the families that we have and
(17:15):
who we're serving. But we do want to grow a
little bit each year, and eventually we'll need more space
because yeah, if you've if anyone wants to come, take
a tour of the center. Is beautiful to see, but
we are crammed into a small space.
Speaker 6 (17:28):
Yes, that's the best way to get you in there
to really see what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Well, it's clear that the Regency Ball is a wonderful
opportunity for the community to come together for a meaningful cause.
What are some other ways individuals or businesses can support
Spark Hope throughout the year.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Well, we have all of our wonderful holiday programs that
we do. That's always a fun way to get to give.
And we love to send pictures in our thank you
cards of the kids and they receive their items to
all of our donors, so that's always a fun process.
We have all kinds of volunteer opportunities because we are
(18:08):
such a small staff. We are five people when we
are fully staffed, so we run on volunteers and volunteer staff.
Speaker 6 (18:14):
We heavily depend on them.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Yes, we do. We have.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
We get We have partnership with Dear to Care, so
we're receiving donations constantly. I think we have pick ups
three different days. We get from dere to Care. We
partner with Kroger and Walmart, so we're receiving goods from
all three of these places, and that takes a lot
of work to process in these things and get it
stocked on the shelves. And we really do pride ourselves
on that food pantry because it is we want to
(18:42):
empower these parents. We don't want them to feel like
they're coming to a food pantry. We want them to
feel like they're going grocery shopping. So it takes a
lot of work to make it look like that.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Yeah, that's amazing. Looking ahead, what are your goals for
the next few years and how the how can the
community play a role in helping you achieve them.
Speaker 3 (19:03):
That's a very good question.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
We have our strategic planning uh this weekend actually where
we're going to be discussing goals for the future.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I do know that.
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Well, A couple of things that I can think of
off the top of our head is, uh, we're searching
out more grants that will be very beneficial for us
and help us with the programs. Uh, searching out new
and you know, grants that will help us. And we've
got different volunteers that are coming and helping us. And
we have businesses that are also taking our barrels.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
And helping us out with that barrels.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
What do you mean by that we have donation barrels
kind of like the ones you see at the front
of the grocery store where you can drop donations in.
We have six of them that are wrapped beautifully with
our our logo and lots of pictures of the moms
and the kids and I say moms with the parents
and the kids and some moms and dads, and then
(20:02):
we can place them at your place of business so
you can collect donations. We have all kinds of different
needs lists if you'd like to do personal care or
over the counter pharmacy this time of year is huge,
or dry goods or paper products, things of that sort,
so you can collect them and raise awareness within your
business and then we'll come pick it up and we
(20:23):
can stock the shelves with them.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
That's really cool.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
That business could just ask to have that so enable
their clients to come in.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
Home and then do it for two weeks, three weeks,
or a month, whatever their timeline is.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Wow, that's really awesome. Well, I know you guys are
a new member to the Chamber of Saint Matthew's. What
brought you to the chamber and what are you most
excited to get involved with.
Speaker 6 (20:49):
Well, I'm excited about the Chamber because I feel like
there's a lot of connections to be made there and
a lot of events and organizations and luncheons and all
different kinds of things to go to and building relationships
with all the different businesses. And I also love the
nonprofit affinity meetings that we have. I think that when
(21:11):
we learn from each other and we can grow and
broaden our horizons and reach out and make connections with others.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
I agree, it's really about collaborating with everyone so we
could all be successful and help out the community. So
that's right. I'm sold. But I work there, right, So
that's awesome. Is there anything else you'd like to share
with our listeners today about Spark Hope.
Speaker 6 (21:43):
I would love for you to come and visit us
and come forward tour, and that way we can really
explain all about Spark Hope and what we're about and
you can see it for yourself.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Yeah, So it really is hard to understand unless you've
seen it in person. Like you can talk about it
all you want, and when you come in, you're like,
oh my gosh, cause we're gonna we're in an office building,
but we've got a whole grocery store and we've got
all these have our Wall of Fame. It's a wall
full of degrees from past clients and stuff, and now
we're putting the kids degrees up there too. It's really neat,
(22:16):
So coming in and taking a tour is just a
wonderful way. You can visit our website. It's www dot Spark,
s p r C Dash Hope h Ope dot org
and there's all kinds of information on there. Also, if
you are a single parent and you are working and
going to school, or if you've thought about going back
(22:38):
to school because you're just not making it where you are,
we have education consultants that can help you find that
path for you. They can help tell you what jobs
are out in the market right now, what you need
to study, and where you can go study that. We
can even tell you different companies that will do tuition
reimbursement so you don't get yourself in debt. We have
all kinds of tools and stuff available to you. So
(23:00):
if you are a single parent and you're struggling and
you'd like some help, please give us a call.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Well, I want to circle back around real quick. I
know you said you're really focusing on financial literacy and
programs that you're offering. How are you implementing this, How
are you teaching this to the parents.
Speaker 4 (23:20):
Well, we've just started and we're gonna have some growing pains,
I think because they're not used to us asking for
all this stuff. We are high accountability in our program
because they do receive a lot of goods and stuff.
We ask them to turn in certain things, and we've
just started asking them to turn in monthly expenditures so
they can just for the first few months see what
they're spending their money on. And then we're asking them
(23:44):
to go in and see what they can cut expense wise.
What can we offer them that maybe they're spending money on.
We do different life skills classes to try to teach
them to like here's some meal prepping so you're not
going through the drive through and spending your money there.
There's some inexpensive ways too, or ways to.
Speaker 6 (24:04):
Cut your You don't have to have a Starbucks coffee
every yeah every week.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
Yeah, we actually have the canned ice coffee is in
the in the pantry there you go, so they could
take those. We have all kinds of coffee in there
as well. Yeah, amazing, So let your spine and habits,
you know. Yeah, let's some really realize what's want and
a need.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah right, exactly. Well that's great.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Well, I really want to thank you guys for joining
us today and sharing more about Spark Hope and the
amazing work that you guys are doing. We're excited to
support your efforts and look forward to the Regency Ball
and beyond. Thank you for joining us on the Chamber
Connection Talk Radio to Nadi. This is Andy Boyd until
(24:50):
next week
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