March 19, 2025 • 31 mins
Shelia Schneider's journey from military spouse to nonprofit leader reveals how our life experiences perfectly prepare us for unexpected purpose. Raised in a family where all nine siblings had military connections and later marrying an Air Force serviceman, Shelia intimately understood the challenges military families face—frequent relocations, year-long separations, and the struggle to maintain career continuity while supporting a service member.
Her professional path was anything but linear. From making biscuits at Hardee's to wearing hard hats in food processing plants to becoming a university professor, each seemingly disconnected experience built the perfect foundation for her current role as Executive Director of the Kaufman Fund. What began as volunteer work alphabetizing registration lists evolved into leadership of a vital veterans' support organization that helps 2,000 former service members annually.
The Kaufman Fund addresses critical gaps in veteran support through eight innovative programs. Their dental initiative tackles a shocking reality—only 4.5% of veterans qualify for dental care through the VA. Their mental health program uniquely extends to family members who share in the trauma but are excluded from VA services. From distributing winter coats to homeless veterans to providing emergency legal assistance, their comprehensive approach creates immediate relief while building dignity.
Shelia's advice for finding purpose resonates regardless of age or circumstance: "Look in your backyard. What is it in your community that you see needs help?" She emphasizes that purpose often begins with small contributions—even volunteering just a few hours monthly can create ripple effects of positive change. Her journey from Girl Scout leader to nonprofit executive demonstrates how starting with one small act of service can evolve into meaningful impact that transforms both the lives you touch and your own sense of purpose.
Ready to discover your own purpose? Subscribe to Aging with Purpose and Passion for more inspiring conversations, and visit reinventimpossible.com to explore resources for your personal transformation journey. Remember, as Shelia powerfully demonstrates, 'it's never too late to begin making a difference'.
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Resources
Kaufman Fund.
https://www.facebook.com/kaufmanfund
https://www.instagram.com/thekaufmanfund_tkf/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-kaufman-fund
https://www.youtube.com/@TheKaufmanFund
Podcasthon Event - www.podcasthon.org
Beverley Glazer
https://reinventimpossible.com
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https://reinvent-impossible.aweb.page/from-stuck-to-unstoppable
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, beverlyGlaser psychotherapist, coach
(00:29):
and empowerment expert, BeverleyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:34):
Are you ready to create deeper meaning and
purpose in your life?
Well, welcome to Aging withPurpose and Passion.
I'm Beverly Glazer and I'm atransformational coach, and I
help women to have confidence tocreate the life they know that
they deserve.
And you can find me onreinventimpossiblecom or text me
in the show notes below.
This is a very special episode.
It's a segment of the thirdedition of Podcast Thon, where
(00:59):
thousands of internationalpodcasters are shining a light
on incredible charities.
You can find all thesecharities and the amazing
podcasters that are out there onpodcastonorg.
There will be a link in theshow notes for podcastonorg.
(01:20):
Today I'm thrilled to welcomeShelia Schneider, the Executive
Director of the Kaufman Fund, anorganization that transforms
the lives of veterans and theirfamilies, and a charity that's
close to my heart.
Shelia's journey is one ofservice, service, resilience and
(01:40):
making a lasting impact.
Resilience and making a lastingimpact.
Keep listening to discover howyou can create more meaning in
your life and hear how women canlead the way in making a
difference in the lives ofothers.
So let's dive right in.
Welcome, Shelia.
Thank you for having me Beverley.
It's a pleasure and I'd love totalk more and more about the
(02:02):
Kaufman Fund, because it'swonderful work that you do.
But first just to ask how didyou even I mean manage to not
only get into the Kauffman Fundbut your whole life?
Your whole life is one ofservice, and you have a long,
long shared history of militaryservice in your family, correct?
(02:27):
So tell us all about that.
Shelia Schneider (02:29):
So first off, it's hold on that picture right
there.
That is a picture of mygrandparents.
My grandfather was in the Navyin World War II and they were
from northern Arkansas,southeast Missouri, and they
raised a very large family andthey had 10 children.
All five of their sons servedin the military and then all
(02:55):
four of their son-in-laws servedin the military.
They did lose one child toscarlet fever when she was very
young.
So of the nine remainingchildren, all of them had
military service, and so I wasraised with military around me
at all times.
I've had several uncles whoretired from the military after
20 years of service, some whoonly did three, four years of
(03:19):
service.
But then I married a militaryman, a high school sweetheart.
I started dating when I was in10th grade and he joined the Air
Force and off we went.
We left St Louis and startedour journey of his service and
me following him around.
Beverley Glazer (03:43):
How does that work?
Because it's so difficult forwomen who marry someone who's in
service, and you never see thisman, and perhaps you have to
reroute to all over the world,all over the country.
What was your life like?
Shelia Schneider (03:59):
so, um, I was aware of what the expense was
for the family, having had somuch military service in our
family and one of my uncles whoserved 27 years in the Air Force
, he had lived in Illinois,hawaii, turkey, florida.
(04:20):
I mean he had been everywhere.
So I would hear my cousinstalking about moving schools
every so often, how they wouldjust have to start all over with
their baseball teams and all ofthose type of things.
So for us, when we started off,we moved from St Louis to
Oklahoma City and started havingour family, and it was
(04:46):
wonderful.
We had a great servicecommunity there, and so it was
beautiful and we weren't thatfar from home.
It was about 10 hour drive, sonot too bad.
But then my husband got sent toKorea for a year and because he
was security forces, theyreally did not want the family
to join him because hisattention needed to be on the
(05:08):
security part of it.
So we stayed in Oklahoma for ayear without him and that's
where I learned I had somestrength that I did not know
Before he left.
I needed him, I relied on him,and then when he left, when he
returned from Korea, he said youno longer need me and I said
(05:30):
you're right.
I said but I want you, which istotally different.
And I witnessed a lot offamilies break up because of
military service.
They couldn't handle theseparations.
Some of the families, if themilitary member was deployed,
the family would move back home.
And I wasn't going to do that.
(05:52):
There really wasn't anywhere tocome back home that had enough
room for me and the children.
So I just stayed in Oklahomaand had a great job and my boss
at the time he said if you'llstay with me for another year,
I'll make it worth your while.
And he did.
And then we were off toCalifornia and in California we
(06:14):
were told that it was a closurebase and we were told that we
would be the last ones out.
Instead, we were the first onesout and so we were only there
about 18 months, first ones out.
And so we were only there about18 months.
And it was a challenge becausewe relied on me working as well,
because most people don't knowthat military members,
especially the younger ranks,most of them would qualify for
(06:37):
food stamps.
They've kind of improved thatsince then, but we had to rely
on two paychecks and, being at aplace where the base was about
to close.
Nobody wanted to hire militaryspouses because they knew we
weren't staying.
So then the military, in theirultimate wisdom, sent us from
the middle of California inAugust, where it was about 101,
(07:00):
to Great Falls, montana, whereit snowed at Labor Day.
To Great Falls Montana where itsnowed at Labor Day, and that
was an experience.
I have never been that cold inmy life.
I didn't know that it could betoo cold to snow.
I now know that.
I did not know what negative 85wind chills felt like.
(07:22):
I now know that and I know thatI never wanted it again.
So we did not like our time inMontana for multiple reasons,
and so the only option was myhusband went back to Korea for a
year and so with that I had adecision to stay in Montana when
all my family was in St Louis,or to do what they say move
(07:45):
ahead to the next duty base, andso I did.
I moved us ahead to WhitemanAir Force Base outside of Kansas
City and set up the home, gotthe kids started in school you
know all of their activities,school, you know all of their
(08:08):
activities and then thatactually started me on my
journey to where I'm at now.
And just we loved our time atWhiteman and that community and
it was just so supportive and wetruly miss the area.
But we are on a new path andit's just amazing for us.
But we are on a new path andit's just amazing for us what
kind of work did you do?
Beverley Glazer (08:27):
Because you're pretty well a transient.
You'd be there for a certainperiod of time.
What kind of work did you pickup?
Shelia Schneider (08:35):
I have.
I've worked retail.
I made the biscuits at Hardee's.
I worked for an oil and gasconsulting company.
That was my first professionaljob.
I worked for an oil and gasconsulting company.
That was my first professionaljob.
I worked for a constructioncompany.
I worked temporarily for amaintenance department of a food
processing plant where I had towear a hard hat to go to the
(08:56):
restroom.
That was fun.
And then, when we moved toMissouri, I started working at
the.
At the time they were calledCentral Missouri State
University.
Now they're called Universityof Central Missouri, and I
started there as an officemanager and worked my way up,
(09:16):
and 23 years later, when I left,I was a professor.
I was a professor, I wasworking as the compliance
officer for a grant in academicadvisor and just absolutely
loved what we were doing.
We had a beautiful home,beautiful friends and it was
(09:38):
just amazing.
And then 2020 happened and Ilost my job, and so very good
friends of ours knew all thework I had done with veterans
and told me about a job here inSt Louis and I interviewed and
moved us back here in 2020.
(09:59):
So and the best thing ever wasfor me to lose my job I would
not be where I'm at now and Ican truly say that somebody had
a plan for me and it.
I didn't see it at the time,but now, looking back, it's just
been amazing.
(10:19):
But yeah, my, my career pathhas been not a straight one, but
it's actually helping me out inbeing the executive director of
the Kauffman Fund, becausethere's so many experiences that
I've had in my past that I usehere, and every once in a while
(10:41):
Wayne Kauffman, who is ourfounder, or Steve Rosenblum,
another founder, they'll saywhere did you learn that at?
Oh well, when I workedconstruction in Montana, and
they're like okay.
Beverley Glazer (10:57):
So now you're permanently ensconced, yes, and
your husband's retired from themilitary, yes.
Shelia Schneider (11:08):
And he retired almost 20 years ago and that
must have been quite anadjustment, huge adjustment.
So when he retired, he decidedto go back to college, and so at
the time I was working on mymaster's and both of our girls
were in college and my husband'snow in college.
(11:29):
It was quite the experiencethat's the only way to put it
and so, yeah, so he went tocollege and then the recession
the 2006-2008 recession made ithard for him to find a job, so
he just kind of found differentjobs, jobs.
(11:50):
But now that we're back here inSt Louis, he's doing security
at the Gateway Arch, loves it.
It allows him to use all of hismilitary experience and then
gets to talk to the public andhe just really enjoys his job.
Beverley Glazer (12:05):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Tell us about the Kauffman Fund.
How did you get involved inthat?
What was that all about?
Shelia Schneider (12:13):
So when we moved back to St Louis, I was
working with a homeless programhere in St Louis called the St
Patrick Center and I was withthe Homeless Veterans Employment
Program.
I have an HR background, so itwas a perfect fit.
And so with that, I startednetworking and everybody told me
about this networking event forveterans and that I really
(12:35):
should go to it.
And it was hosted by theKauffman Fund.
And when I first startedattending, it was still on Zoom
and there were about 20, 25people there.
But I started learning allthese great resources in St
Louis and after about a year,everybody at St Patrick's Center
who was working with veteransthey were like oh, you need a
(12:56):
resource, go find Sheila, she'sgot the resources.
And so in 2021, the KaufmanFund decided to start doing food
for vets, where they give outabout a week's worth of
groceries six times a year, andI thought this is perfect for
the veterans that I'm workingwith, because they're dealing
with housing insecurities.
So this would be helpful.
(13:16):
And I like to tease the firsttime I went to volunteer, they
turned me down.
The second time they had theirfood event, it was about 10
minutes from my house and so Icalled to volunteer again.
They're like well, no, we thinkwe have enough.
And I said, no, you don'tunderstand.
You're 10 minutes from my house, I'm going to be there, put me
(13:37):
to work.
And so that was in June of 21.
And they had me on registration.
And I'm looking at thisregistration list and it's not
alphabetized.
And I was like, who did thislist?
And they're like well, none ofus know how to alphabetize it,
send it to me, I've got youtaken care of.
And so then, after that I wasthe registration person, they'd
(14:00):
send me the list, I'dalphabetize it.
You know, it made it so muchsmoother.
And then, in December of 21, Iwas called to a lunch with Wayne
Kaufman, steve Rosenblum andKen Weintraub, who is the chair
of the food committee, and theyasked me to take over the food
committee because I had donesuch a great job.
And so, in 2022, we increasedthe number of veterans we were
(14:25):
serving.
I was able to get us morevolunteers and it was great.
And then, in June of 22, Ithought I was going to a meeting
about the food committee and itwas a job interview.
I was 10 minutes in before Irealized it was a job interview
(14:50):
and Wayne Kaufman explained thatthey had grown to the point
where they realized that theyfinally needed to hire someone.
They were a 100% volunteerorganization from the start in
1990.
And Wayne is a Vietnam veteranand you know they were like we
need to hire somebody younger.
I said how am I classifiedyounger?
You know, I've got children,you know.
But they wanted someone who hadgrant experience, which I
(15:16):
helped to bring a grant to theUniversity of Central Missouri
to help veterans go back toschool.
Um, they wanted somebody whowas organized.
I had proven that with the foodfor vets and somebody who was
connected to resources and I hadproven that as well.
And so that was in June of 22.
At the same time as St Patrick'sCenter, I was interviewing for
(15:39):
the manager position of theprogram.
I worked for and received it.
I received the promotion andwas rebuilding my team.
And then in September 22, I wasat a planning committee for the
Kaufman Fund's Casino Night oneof their two big fundraisers
and we were finished.
Wayne said everybody out of theroom, but Sheila and I went.
(16:01):
What did I do?
Oh no, and he said we want tooffer you a position and I had
to ask for a few weeks to beable to notify my staff before
we notified everybody else.
But then, January 23, I startedas the first paid employee, the
first executive director, andit's been a challenge, but it
(16:23):
has been just amazing anddefinitely a true passion of the
heart for me, and it's justbeen wonderful for me and it's
just been wonderful.
Beverley Glazer (16:40):
How do you prioritize the needs of veterans
?
So many have really veryspecial needs.
How do you prioritize?
Well, for us we have eightdifferent programs and so we
have four referral programswhere we work with professionals
in dental, legal, mental healthand chiropractic and we ask
each of those professionals tovolunteer to do one pro bono to
(17:01):
help one veteran a year pro bonoor give us a sliding scale.
And our dental program.
Most people don't know this,but majority of veterans do not
qualify for dental care throughthe VA.
Of all veterans it's about 4.5%that do qualify.
(17:23):
That's a horrible number.
There's lots of reasons for it.
But our dental program is ourlargest program and with that
we're working with two dentalschools and about 20 private
(17:44):
dentists to be able to providedental care for veterans.
And so with that one we ofcourse take those who are in
pain first.
You know we always want to tryto help them deal with that,
want to try to help them dealwith that.
Some of them, their needs areso high that we have to find a
volunteer dentist to help withjust because we can't afford all
(18:05):
of their care, or we have tospread it out over several years
just because of the expense.
With our legal referral programwe have about 145 lawyers here
in the St Louis area who haveagreed to help us, which sounds
great, but we have about 100,150 calls a month for legal
(18:28):
Mental health.
The other great thing that Ilove about our mental health
program is the family cannotreceive services through the VA.
It's pretty much strictly theveterans.
And so with our mental healthprogram we're helping the family
.
We're taking that holisticapproach, because if the veteran
is dealing with trauma, ptsd,things, anything, so is the
(18:51):
family, and so last year we wereable to help some children
because they couldn't understandwhy their parent wouldn't let
them watch cartoons withexplosions or why their parent
would all of a sudden get veryupset, and so again, we were
helping the veteran as well.
But helping the children alsohelps, and so that's just an
(19:12):
amazing program.
Children also helps, and sothat's just an amazing program.
And with that one, here again,we're working with individuals
who have agreed to do pro bonoor sliding scales, and so we're
just trying to make sure thatfolks are able to get into those
services quickly, because evena veteran who's trying to go to
the VA, it may be six to eightweeks before you get an
appointment, and if you're incrisis you need help immediately
(19:36):
, and so with this we are savinglives because we're getting
them the help they need quicklyand just trying to help as much
as we can.
And then our other programs aremore program events.
So six times a year we do thatfood for vets, where we give out
about a week's worth ofgroceries to include proteins
(19:57):
and produce, because you can'tfind those in most food pantries
.
We also give out Christmastrees.
That was our very first programin 2014 to give out Christmas
trees and it's just an amazingevent.
Right now we're doing taxes forvets so we are an IRS certified
VITA site and doing free taxpreparation.
(20:19):
And then, during Veterans Day,we give out brand new winter
coats and winter gear to thoseveterans dealing with housing
insecurities and with that we'reworking with those programs
that have the housing programs,because they know where those
veterans are and so trying toget them the warm gear while
they know where those veteransare and so trying to get them
the warm gear while getting themthe resources as well is
(20:40):
another one of our programs.
That is just helping so much,and you wouldn't believe how
much a brand new coat just helpswith the self-esteem because
it's not used, it's brand new tothem.
They're the first one to takeit out of the package.
And then there's being able tohelp stay warm during the winter
(21:01):
, and here in St Louis we weretalking earlier we could have
days where it's zero, withmultiple snow, and then two
weeks later we're at 80 degreesTime to take off the coat.
(21:22):
Yeah, time to take off the coat.
But we're, you know, we'retrying to do things like even
with our coat program.
It's the coat, hat, gloves,sweatpants, a sweatshirt,
toiletries.
Thick socks, because some ofthe programs that give socks to
the homeless they're thinner.
So we try to make sure we getthick socks, because some of the
programs that give socks to thehomeless they're thinner.
So we try to make sure we getthick socks.
For the winter, soil trees arealways needed.
And then this past year we gavethem $15 McDonald's gift cards
(21:47):
because the McDonald's that wasclosest to one of the homeless
programs.
You couldn't go in there unlessyou were buying food, and so
this way we're not only givingthem food but giving them the
opportunity to go warm up and soyou know, again, just doing
what we can.
And Wayne Kaufman, when hestarted this in 1990, originally
(22:11):
they were just doing golftournaments and giving the money
to other organizations and in2014, they said you know, we
really could do this ourselvesIn 2024, we helped 2,000
individual veterans in a 90-mileradius around the Gateway Arch
(22:32):
2,000.
2,000.
2,000.
And we are a small nonprofit.
We are classified very smalland yet we're doing amazing,
amazing things, which is whyit's easy to have passion for it
.
Oh, yes, we're living the talk.
I mean it's not lip service forus.
(22:53):
I mean not only are we doingour programs, but we're also
helping these veterans getconnected to other resources
outside of our program, becauseat VetNet Connect, which is a
networking meeting, last year wewere averaging 60 people a
month at that meeting.
So that allows us, thisoutreach, to be able to say,
listen, we don't have to dohousing, but we know five
(23:13):
programs that are doing housing,or we know another program
that's doing this and it's justallowing us to build a better
community here in St Louis,because we're relying on each
other and using that sense ofthe military where it takes the
team and you have to have eachother's back and that's what
we're doing.
Clearly, Shelia, you have apassion for helping.
Shelia Schneider (23:37):
I do have a passion.
Yes, yes, I witnessed it.
And when we were in themilitary, I witnessed those
military members who didn't havethe family support.
So we would Thanksgiving.
I'd never know knew if I justhad my family, or one year I
ended up feeding the entiresquad that had to work on
Thanksgiving day, becausesecurity forces is 24 seven, and
(24:00):
so I prepared Thanksgivingdinner for 35 individuals who
had to work.
And, you know, it's just, wehave to help each other and and
we talk about with our foodprogram veterans will say, well,
I don't need it, you know, andwe say that's great.
But you probably know brothersand sisters in arms who do need
(24:22):
it and who are not going to askfor help because that's not a
military thing to do.
So go ahead and get the foodand if it magically appears on
their doorstep, wonderful, we'restill helping the veteran, and
so even we do that.
Like I said, my husband'sworking at gateway arch and
every once in a while he'll say,hey, sign up for the food for
(24:42):
vets for us, because he'll havesome young veteran who is in
need but doesn't want to ask forthe help, and we just I roll up
next to him as they get offwork and say pop the trunk.
And there you go.
Beverley Glazer (24:58):
Fabulous Shelia.
What advice would you give toother women who want more
purpose and passion in theirlife and don't even know where
to start?
Shelia Schneider (25:07):
Well, I think the start of it is to look in
your backyard.
What is it in your communitythat you see needs help?
Maybe it's a park that needs tobe cleaned up.
Maybe it's a organizationthat's just needing some
volunteers, and you canvolunteer maybe two hours a
month.
Those little things add up.
(25:29):
I have a volunteer comes inhere three hours a week and all
she's pretty much doing isputting all the business cards
that I collect into my Googlecontacts, and all she's pretty
much doing is putting all thebusiness cards that I collect
into my Google Contacts To her.
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
To me.
It's huge.
So look in your backyard.
What is it that you see needsto be fixed, and start there,
(25:50):
and you never know where that'sgoing to take you.
I started off as a Girl Scoutleader and then I became what
they call a service unit manager, helping a bigger group, and
then I became a trainer, and soI started in my backyard and
then just kind of grew fromthere.
(26:10):
And so look at, what is it thatyou're passionate about?
Are you passionate aboutanimals?
Well, the animal shelters needfolks to walk the animals, or
maybe you have a lot of oldtowels and you want to, you know
, rip them up and make it intothings for the animal shelter.
Start there.
(26:30):
There's all kinds of thingsthat need to be done and it
takes somebody to say I have anhour and that's where it starts.
Beverley Glazer (26:41):
Thank you, Sheila.
Thank you Just reach out.
Shelia Schneider (26:44):
Reach out.
Yeah, everybody's in need ofhelp, especially now, oh yes,
especially now.
All the nonprofits are, youknow, looking for volunteers.
Schools are needing help.
Maybe it's a situation whereyou want to go and pay for a
child's lunches, that they'rebehind on their lunches.
Right, that one little act ofkindness can cause ripples that
(27:10):
go beyond your imagination.
Beverley Glazer (27:12):
Yes just start, just start.
Thank you, thank you.
Shelia Schneider is theexecutive director of the
Kaufman Fund, helping veteransand families in need.
Her career has been dedicatedto supporting veterans, a
mission rooted in both herpersonal and professional life.
Shelia's lifelong passion forhelping others and those who
(27:37):
serve their country drives herpurpose at the Kaufman Fund,
where she continues to makemeaningful impact on the lives
of those who served.
Here are a few takeaways fromthis episode.
You are never too old to make adifference.
You can contribute.
No matter how old you are,there's always something.
(27:58):
Building strong connections canhelp us overcome our challenges
.
Your life experiences can helpothers in so many meaningful
ways, and if you've beenrelating to this episode, think
about one small thing that youcan do to have more purpose in
your life.
Perhaps it's volunteering for acause that has some meaning for
(28:23):
you, connecting withlife-minded women, or talking
and taking small, little,consistent steps to support
others when you know thatthey're in need.
For similar episodes on findingyour purpose, check out episode
100 and 111 of Aging withPurpose and Passion, and if
(28:45):
you've enjoyed this episode, youmay also like the podcast Fit
Strong Women Over 50 or theBecoming Elli community, where
women motivate each other tostay on their goals.
You can find them onbecominglecom, and that link
will be in the show notes.
Shelia Schneider (29:02):
So where can people learn more about the
Kauffman Fund and the wonderfulwork that they do and all about
you, sheila, is the T-H-EKaufman K-A-U-F-M-A-N fundfund.
org.
(29:25):
You'll find out about all ofour programs.
There's a space there to donateand if you're in the St Louis
area, you can also click tovolunteer with us and so going
out to thecoffmanfundorg andalso if you're out there, you at
the top is a link to ourYouTube channel and you can see
some of the great videos of ourprograms and the impact that we
(29:49):
are making.
That's terrific.
Beverley Glazer (29:52):
Thank you.
All Shelia's links are going tobe in the show notes and
they'll be on my site too.
That's reinventimpossiblecom.
And now, my friends, what'snext for you?
Are you just going through themotions or are you really
passionate about your life?
Get my free checklist go fromstuck to unstoppable to unlock
(30:15):
your full potential.
And that link is also in theshow notes.
You can connect with me,Beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group of women on
Facebook, Women Over 50 Rock.
And if you're looking forguidance in your own
transformation, I invite you toexplore reinventimpossiblecom.
Thank you for listening.
(30:36):
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Subscribe so you won't miss outon the next one, and send this
episode to a friend.
And always remember that youonly have one life, so live it
with purpose and passion.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossible.
com and, while you're there,join our newsletter Subscribe so
you don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
Welcome to Aging with Purpose and Passion, the
podcast designed to inspire yourgreatness and thrive through
life.
Get ready to conquer your fears.
Here's your hostpsychotherapist, coach and
empowerment expert, beverlyGlaser psychotherapist, coach
(00:29):
and empowerment expert, BeverleyGlazer.
Beverley Glazer (00:34):
Are you ready to create deeper meaning and
purpose in your life?
Well, welcome to Aging withPurpose and Passion.
I'm Beverly Glazer and I'm atransformational coach, and I
help women to have confidence tocreate the life they know that
they deserve.
And you can find me onreinventimpossiblecom or text me
in the show notes below.
This is a very special episode.
It's a segment of the thirdedition of Podcast Thon, where
(00:59):
thousands of internationalpodcasters are shining a light
on incredible charities.
You can find all thesecharities and the amazing
podcasters that are out there onpodcastonorg.
There will be a link in theshow notes for podcastonorg.
(01:20):
Today I'm thrilled to welcomeShelia Schneider, the Executive
Director of the Kaufman Fund, anorganization that transforms
the lives of veterans and theirfamilies, and a charity that's
close to my heart.
Shelia's journey is one ofservice, service, resilience and
(01:40):
making a lasting impact.
Resilience and making a lastingimpact.
Keep listening to discover howyou can create more meaning in
your life and hear how women canlead the way in making a
difference in the lives ofothers.
So let's dive right in.
Welcome, Shelia.
Thank you for having me Beverley.
It's a pleasure and I'd love totalk more and more about the
(02:02):
Kaufman Fund, because it'swonderful work that you do.
But first just to ask how didyou even I mean manage to not
only get into the Kauffman Fundbut your whole life?
Your whole life is one ofservice, and you have a long,
long shared history of militaryservice in your family, correct?
(02:27):
So tell us all about that.
Shelia Schneider (02:29):
So first off, it's hold on that picture right
there.
That is a picture of mygrandparents.
My grandfather was in the Navyin World War II and they were
from northern Arkansas,southeast Missouri, and they
raised a very large family andthey had 10 children.
All five of their sons servedin the military and then all
(02:55):
four of their son-in-laws servedin the military.
They did lose one child toscarlet fever when she was very
young.
So of the nine remainingchildren, all of them had
military service, and so I wasraised with military around me
at all times.
I've had several uncles whoretired from the military after
20 years of service, some whoonly did three, four years of
(03:19):
service.
But then I married a militaryman, a high school sweetheart.
I started dating when I was in10th grade and he joined the Air
Force and off we went.
We left St Louis and startedour journey of his service and
me following him around.
Beverley Glazer (03:43):
How does that work?
Because it's so difficult forwomen who marry someone who's in
service, and you never see thisman, and perhaps you have to
reroute to all over the world,all over the country.
What was your life like?
Shelia Schneider (03:59):
so, um, I was aware of what the expense was
for the family, having had somuch military service in our
family and one of my uncles whoserved 27 years in the Air Force
, he had lived in Illinois,hawaii, turkey, florida.
(04:20):
I mean he had been everywhere.
So I would hear my cousinstalking about moving schools
every so often, how they wouldjust have to start all over with
their baseball teams and all ofthose type of things.
So for us, when we started off,we moved from St Louis to
Oklahoma City and started havingour family, and it was
(04:46):
wonderful.
We had a great servicecommunity there, and so it was
beautiful and we weren't thatfar from home.
It was about 10 hour drive, sonot too bad.
But then my husband got sent toKorea for a year and because he
was security forces, theyreally did not want the family
to join him because hisattention needed to be on the
(05:08):
security part of it.
So we stayed in Oklahoma for ayear without him and that's
where I learned I had somestrength that I did not know
Before he left.
I needed him, I relied on him,and then when he left, when he
returned from Korea, he said youno longer need me and I said
(05:30):
you're right.
I said but I want you, which istotally different.
And I witnessed a lot offamilies break up because of
military service.
They couldn't handle theseparations.
Some of the families, if themilitary member was deployed,
the family would move back home.
And I wasn't going to do that.
(05:52):
There really wasn't anywhere tocome back home that had enough
room for me and the children.
So I just stayed in Oklahomaand had a great job and my boss
at the time he said if you'llstay with me for another year,
I'll make it worth your while.
And he did.
And then we were off toCalifornia and in California we
(06:14):
were told that it was a closurebase and we were told that we
would be the last ones out.
Instead, we were the first onesout and so we were only there
about 18 months, first ones out.
And so we were only there about18 months.
And it was a challenge becausewe relied on me working as well,
because most people don't knowthat military members,
especially the younger ranks,most of them would qualify for
(06:37):
food stamps.
They've kind of improved thatsince then, but we had to rely
on two paychecks and, being at aplace where the base was about
to close.
Nobody wanted to hire militaryspouses because they knew we
weren't staying.
So then the military, in theirultimate wisdom, sent us from
the middle of California inAugust, where it was about 101,
(07:00):
to Great Falls, montana, whereit snowed at Labor Day.
To Great Falls Montana where itsnowed at Labor Day, and that
was an experience.
I have never been that cold inmy life.
I didn't know that it could betoo cold to snow.
I now know that.
I did not know what negative 85wind chills felt like.
(07:22):
I now know that and I know thatI never wanted it again.
So we did not like our time inMontana for multiple reasons,
and so the only option was myhusband went back to Korea for a
year and so with that I had adecision to stay in Montana when
all my family was in St Louis,or to do what they say move
(07:45):
ahead to the next duty base, andso I did.
I moved us ahead to WhitemanAir Force Base outside of Kansas
City and set up the home, gotthe kids started in school you
know all of their activities,school, you know all of their
(08:08):
activities and then thatactually started me on my
journey to where I'm at now.
And just we loved our time atWhiteman and that community and
it was just so supportive and wetruly miss the area.
But we are on a new path andit's just amazing for us.
But we are on a new path andit's just amazing for us what
kind of work did you do?
Beverley Glazer (08:27):
Because you're pretty well a transient.
You'd be there for a certainperiod of time.
What kind of work did you pickup?
Shelia Schneider (08:35):
I have.
I've worked retail.
I made the biscuits at Hardee's.
I worked for an oil and gasconsulting company.
That was my first professionaljob.
I worked for an oil and gasconsulting company.
That was my first professionaljob.
I worked for a constructioncompany.
I worked temporarily for amaintenance department of a food
processing plant where I had towear a hard hat to go to the
(08:56):
restroom.
That was fun.
And then, when we moved toMissouri, I started working at
the.
At the time they were calledCentral Missouri State
University.
Now they're called Universityof Central Missouri, and I
started there as an officemanager and worked my way up,
(09:16):
and 23 years later, when I left,I was a professor.
I was a professor, I wasworking as the compliance
officer for a grant in academicadvisor and just absolutely
loved what we were doing.
We had a beautiful home,beautiful friends and it was
(09:38):
just amazing.
And then 2020 happened and Ilost my job, and so very good
friends of ours knew all thework I had done with veterans
and told me about a job here inSt Louis and I interviewed and
moved us back here in 2020.
(09:59):
So and the best thing ever wasfor me to lose my job I would
not be where I'm at now and Ican truly say that somebody had
a plan for me and it.
I didn't see it at the time,but now, looking back, it's just
been amazing.
(10:19):
But yeah, my, my career pathhas been not a straight one, but
it's actually helping me out inbeing the executive director of
the Kauffman Fund, becausethere's so many experiences that
I've had in my past that I usehere, and every once in a while
(10:41):
Wayne Kauffman, who is ourfounder, or Steve Rosenblum,
another founder, they'll saywhere did you learn that at?
Oh well, when I workedconstruction in Montana, and
they're like okay.
Beverley Glazer (10:57):
So now you're permanently ensconced, yes, and
your husband's retired from themilitary, yes.
Shelia Schneider (11:08):
And he retired almost 20 years ago and that
must have been quite anadjustment, huge adjustment.
So when he retired, he decidedto go back to college, and so at
the time I was working on mymaster's and both of our girls
were in college and my husband'snow in college.
(11:29):
It was quite the experiencethat's the only way to put it
and so, yeah, so he went tocollege and then the recession
the 2006-2008 recession made ithard for him to find a job, so
he just kind of found differentjobs, jobs.
(11:50):
But now that we're back here inSt Louis, he's doing security
at the Gateway Arch, loves it.
It allows him to use all of hismilitary experience and then
gets to talk to the public andhe just really enjoys his job.
Beverley Glazer (12:05):
Wonderful, wonderful.
Tell us about the Kauffman Fund.
How did you get involved inthat?
What was that all about?
Shelia Schneider (12:13):
So when we moved back to St Louis, I was
working with a homeless programhere in St Louis called the St
Patrick Center and I was withthe Homeless Veterans Employment
Program.
I have an HR background, so itwas a perfect fit.
And so with that, I startednetworking and everybody told me
about this networking event forveterans and that I really
(12:35):
should go to it.
And it was hosted by theKauffman Fund.
And when I first startedattending, it was still on Zoom
and there were about 20, 25people there.
But I started learning allthese great resources in St
Louis and after about a year,everybody at St Patrick's Center
who was working with veteransthey were like oh, you need a
(12:56):
resource, go find Sheila, she'sgot the resources.
And so in 2021, the KaufmanFund decided to start doing food
for vets, where they give outabout a week's worth of
groceries six times a year, andI thought this is perfect for
the veterans that I'm workingwith, because they're dealing
with housing insecurities.
So this would be helpful.
(13:16):
And I like to tease the firsttime I went to volunteer, they
turned me down.
The second time they had theirfood event, it was about 10
minutes from my house and so Icalled to volunteer again.
They're like well, no, we thinkwe have enough.
And I said, no, you don'tunderstand.
You're 10 minutes from my house, I'm going to be there, put me
(13:37):
to work.
And so that was in June of 21.
And they had me on registration.
And I'm looking at thisregistration list and it's not
alphabetized.
And I was like, who did thislist?
And they're like well, none ofus know how to alphabetize it,
send it to me, I've got youtaken care of.
And so then, after that I wasthe registration person, they'd
(14:00):
send me the list, I'dalphabetize it.
You know, it made it so muchsmoother.
And then, in December of 21, Iwas called to a lunch with Wayne
Kaufman, steve Rosenblum andKen Weintraub, who is the chair
of the food committee, and theyasked me to take over the food
committee because I had donesuch a great job.
And so, in 2022, we increasedthe number of veterans we were
(14:25):
serving.
I was able to get us morevolunteers and it was great.
And then, in June of 22, Ithought I was going to a meeting
about the food committee and itwas a job interview.
I was 10 minutes in before Irealized it was a job interview
(14:50):
and Wayne Kaufman explained thatthey had grown to the point
where they realized that theyfinally needed to hire someone.
They were a 100% volunteerorganization from the start in
1990.
And Wayne is a Vietnam veteranand you know they were like we
need to hire somebody younger.
I said how am I classifiedyounger?
You know, I've got children,you know.
But they wanted someone who hadgrant experience, which I
(15:16):
helped to bring a grant to theUniversity of Central Missouri
to help veterans go back toschool.
Um, they wanted somebody whowas organized.
I had proven that with the foodfor vets and somebody who was
connected to resources and I hadproven that as well.
And so that was in June of 22.
At the same time as St Patrick'sCenter, I was interviewing for
(15:39):
the manager position of theprogram.
I worked for and received it.
I received the promotion andwas rebuilding my team.
And then in September 22, I wasat a planning committee for the
Kaufman Fund's Casino Night oneof their two big fundraisers
and we were finished.
Wayne said everybody out of theroom, but Sheila and I went.
(16:01):
What did I do?
Oh no, and he said we want tooffer you a position and I had
to ask for a few weeks to beable to notify my staff before
we notified everybody else.
But then, January 23, I startedas the first paid employee, the
first executive director, andit's been a challenge, but it
(16:23):
has been just amazing anddefinitely a true passion of the
heart for me, and it's justbeen wonderful for me and it's
just been wonderful.
Beverley Glazer (16:40):
How do you prioritize the needs of veterans
?
So many have really veryspecial needs.
How do you prioritize?
Well, for us we have eightdifferent programs and so we
have four referral programswhere we work with professionals
in dental, legal, mental healthand chiropractic and we ask
each of those professionals tovolunteer to do one pro bono to
(17:01):
help one veteran a year pro bonoor give us a sliding scale.
And our dental program.
Most people don't know this,but majority of veterans do not
qualify for dental care throughthe VA.
Of all veterans it's about 4.5%that do qualify.
(17:23):
That's a horrible number.
There's lots of reasons for it.
But our dental program is ourlargest program and with that
we're working with two dentalschools and about 20 private
(17:44):
dentists to be able to providedental care for veterans.
And so with that one we ofcourse take those who are in
pain first.
You know we always want to tryto help them deal with that,
want to try to help them dealwith that.
Some of them, their needs areso high that we have to find a
volunteer dentist to help withjust because we can't afford all
(18:05):
of their care, or we have tospread it out over several years
just because of the expense.
With our legal referral programwe have about 145 lawyers here
in the St Louis area who haveagreed to help us, which sounds
great, but we have about 100,150 calls a month for legal
(18:28):
Mental health.
The other great thing that Ilove about our mental health
program is the family cannotreceive services through the VA.
It's pretty much strictly theveterans.
And so with our mental healthprogram we're helping the family
.
We're taking that holisticapproach, because if the veteran
is dealing with trauma, ptsd,things, anything, so is the
(18:51):
family, and so last year we wereable to help some children
because they couldn't understandwhy their parent wouldn't let
them watch cartoons withexplosions or why their parent
would all of a sudden get veryupset, and so again, we were
helping the veteran as well.
But helping the children alsohelps, and so that's just an
(19:12):
amazing program.
Children also helps, and sothat's just an amazing program.
And with that one, here again,we're working with individuals
who have agreed to do pro bonoor sliding scales, and so we're
just trying to make sure thatfolks are able to get into those
services quickly, because evena veteran who's trying to go to
the VA, it may be six to eightweeks before you get an
appointment, and if you're incrisis you need help immediately
(19:36):
, and so with this we are savinglives because we're getting
them the help they need quicklyand just trying to help as much
as we can.
And then our other programs aremore program events.
So six times a year we do thatfood for vets, where we give out
about a week's worth ofgroceries to include proteins
(19:57):
and produce, because you can'tfind those in most food pantries
.
We also give out Christmastrees.
That was our very first programin 2014 to give out Christmas
trees and it's just an amazingevent.
Right now we're doing taxes forvets so we are an IRS certified
VITA site and doing free taxpreparation.
(20:19):
And then, during Veterans Day,we give out brand new winter
coats and winter gear to thoseveterans dealing with housing
insecurities and with that we'reworking with those programs
that have the housing programs,because they know where those
veterans are and so trying toget them the warm gear while
they know where those veteransare and so trying to get them
the warm gear while getting themthe resources as well is
(20:40):
another one of our programs.
That is just helping so much,and you wouldn't believe how
much a brand new coat just helpswith the self-esteem because
it's not used, it's brand new tothem.
They're the first one to takeit out of the package.
And then there's being able tohelp stay warm during the winter
(21:01):
, and here in St Louis we weretalking earlier we could have
days where it's zero, withmultiple snow, and then two
weeks later we're at 80 degreesTime to take off the coat.
(21:22):
Yeah, time to take off the coat.
But we're, you know, we'retrying to do things like even
with our coat program.
It's the coat, hat, gloves,sweatpants, a sweatshirt,
toiletries.
Thick socks, because some ofthe programs that give socks to
the homeless they're thinner.
So we try to make sure we getthick socks, because some of the
programs that give socks to thehomeless they're thinner.
So we try to make sure we getthick socks.
For the winter, soil trees arealways needed.
And then this past year we gavethem $15 McDonald's gift cards
(21:47):
because the McDonald's that wasclosest to one of the homeless
programs.
You couldn't go in there unlessyou were buying food, and so
this way we're not only givingthem food but giving them the
opportunity to go warm up and soyou know, again, just doing
what we can.
And Wayne Kaufman, when hestarted this in 1990, originally
(22:11):
they were just doing golftournaments and giving the money
to other organizations and in2014, they said you know, we
really could do this ourselvesIn 2024, we helped 2,000
individual veterans in a 90-mileradius around the Gateway Arch
(22:32):
2,000.
2,000.
2,000.
And we are a small nonprofit.
We are classified very smalland yet we're doing amazing,
amazing things, which is whyit's easy to have passion for it
.
Oh, yes, we're living the talk.
I mean it's not lip service forus.
(22:53):
I mean not only are we doingour programs, but we're also
helping these veterans getconnected to other resources
outside of our program, becauseat VetNet Connect, which is a
networking meeting, last year wewere averaging 60 people a
month at that meeting.
So that allows us, thisoutreach, to be able to say,
listen, we don't have to dohousing, but we know five
(23:13):
programs that are doing housing,or we know another program
that's doing this and it's justallowing us to build a better
community here in St Louis,because we're relying on each
other and using that sense ofthe military where it takes the
team and you have to have eachother's back and that's what
we're doing.
Clearly, Shelia, you have apassion for helping.
Shelia Schneider (23:37):
I do have a passion.
Yes, yes, I witnessed it.
And when we were in themilitary, I witnessed those
military members who didn't havethe family support.
So we would Thanksgiving.
I'd never know knew if I justhad my family, or one year I
ended up feeding the entiresquad that had to work on
Thanksgiving day, becausesecurity forces is 24 seven, and
(24:00):
so I prepared Thanksgivingdinner for 35 individuals who
had to work.
And, you know, it's just, wehave to help each other and and
we talk about with our foodprogram veterans will say, well,
I don't need it, you know, andwe say that's great.
But you probably know brothersand sisters in arms who do need
(24:22):
it and who are not going to askfor help because that's not a
military thing to do.
So go ahead and get the foodand if it magically appears on
their doorstep, wonderful, we'restill helping the veteran, and
so even we do that.
Like I said, my husband'sworking at gateway arch and
every once in a while he'll say,hey, sign up for the food for
(24:42):
vets for us, because he'll havesome young veteran who is in
need but doesn't want to ask forthe help, and we just I roll up
next to him as they get offwork and say pop the trunk.
And there you go.
Beverley Glazer (24:58):
Fabulous Shelia.
What advice would you give toother women who want more
purpose and passion in theirlife and don't even know where
to start?
Shelia Schneider (25:07):
Well, I think the start of it is to look in
your backyard.
What is it in your communitythat you see needs help?
Maybe it's a park that needs tobe cleaned up.
Maybe it's a organizationthat's just needing some
volunteers, and you canvolunteer maybe two hours a
month.
Those little things add up.
(25:29):
I have a volunteer comes inhere three hours a week and all
she's pretty much doing isputting all the business cards
that I collect into my Googlecontacts, and all she's pretty
much doing is putting all thebusiness cards that I collect
into my Google Contacts To her.
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
To me.
It's huge.
So look in your backyard.
What is it that you see needsto be fixed, and start there,
(25:50):
and you never know where that'sgoing to take you.
I started off as a Girl Scoutleader and then I became what
they call a service unit manager, helping a bigger group, and
then I became a trainer, and soI started in my backyard and
then just kind of grew fromthere.
(26:10):
And so look at, what is it thatyou're passionate about?
Are you passionate aboutanimals?
Well, the animal shelters needfolks to walk the animals, or
maybe you have a lot of oldtowels and you want to, you know
, rip them up and make it intothings for the animal shelter.
Start there.
(26:30):
There's all kinds of thingsthat need to be done and it
takes somebody to say I have anhour and that's where it starts.
Beverley Glazer (26:41):
Thank you, Sheila.
Thank you Just reach out.
Shelia Schneider (26:44):
Reach out.
Yeah, everybody's in need ofhelp, especially now, oh yes,
especially now.
All the nonprofits are, youknow, looking for volunteers.
Schools are needing help.
Maybe it's a situation whereyou want to go and pay for a
child's lunches, that they'rebehind on their lunches.
Right, that one little act ofkindness can cause ripples that
(27:10):
go beyond your imagination.
Beverley Glazer (27:12):
Yes just start, just start.
Thank you, thank you.
Shelia Schneider is theexecutive director of the
Kaufman Fund, helping veteransand families in need.
Her career has been dedicatedto supporting veterans, a
mission rooted in both herpersonal and professional life.
Shelia's lifelong passion forhelping others and those who
(27:37):
serve their country drives herpurpose at the Kaufman Fund,
where she continues to makemeaningful impact on the lives
of those who served.
Here are a few takeaways fromthis episode.
You are never too old to make adifference.
You can contribute.
No matter how old you are,there's always something.
(27:58):
Building strong connections canhelp us overcome our challenges
.
Your life experiences can helpothers in so many meaningful
ways, and if you've beenrelating to this episode, think
about one small thing that youcan do to have more purpose in
your life.
Perhaps it's volunteering for acause that has some meaning for
(28:23):
you, connecting withlife-minded women, or talking
and taking small, little,consistent steps to support
others when you know thatthey're in need.
For similar episodes on findingyour purpose, check out episode
100 and 111 of Aging withPurpose and Passion, and if
(28:45):
you've enjoyed this episode, youmay also like the podcast Fit
Strong Women Over 50 or theBecoming Elli community, where
women motivate each other tostay on their goals.
You can find them onbecominglecom, and that link
will be in the show notes.
Shelia Schneider (29:02):
So where can people learn more about the
Kauffman Fund and the wonderfulwork that they do and all about
you, sheila, is the T-H-EKaufman K-A-U-F-M-A-N fundfund.
org.
(29:25):
You'll find out about all ofour programs.
There's a space there to donateand if you're in the St Louis
area, you can also click tovolunteer with us and so going
out to thecoffmanfundorg andalso if you're out there, you at
the top is a link to ourYouTube channel and you can see
some of the great videos of ourprograms and the impact that we
(29:49):
are making.
That's terrific.
Beverley Glazer (29:52):
Thank you.
All Shelia's links are going tobe in the show notes and
they'll be on my site too.
That's reinventimpossiblecom.
And now, my friends, what'snext for you?
Are you just going through themotions or are you really
passionate about your life?
Get my free checklist go fromstuck to unstoppable to unlock
(30:15):
your full potential.
And that link is also in theshow notes.
You can connect with me,Beverly Glazer, on all social
media platforms and in mypositive group of women on
Facebook, Women Over 50 Rock.
And if you're looking forguidance in your own
transformation, I invite you toexplore reinventimpossiblecom.
Thank you for listening.
(30:36):
Have you enjoyed thisconversation?
Subscribe so you won't miss outon the next one, and send this
episode to a friend.
And always remember that youonly have one life, so live it
with purpose and passion.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Thank you for joining us.
You can connect with Bev on herwebsite, reinventimpossible.
com and, while you're there,join our newsletter Subscribe so
you don't miss an episode.
Until next time, keep agingwith purpose and passion and
celebrate life.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.