Wellspring Women's Center: Community Sanctuary with Dignity and Love.

Genelle Smith, Executive Director of Wellspring Women's Center joins me to share the inspiring journey of an organization that started with a simple act of kindness and blossomed into a vital community sanctuary. Founded over 38 years ago by two sisters with a passion for service, Wellspring began in the 1980s with just donuts and coffee. Today, it stands as as an icon of love for mothers, children, and seniors in Sacramento. Genelle sheds light on how this community haven operates from a historic firehouse, serving over 200 people daily with unwavering hospitality, dignity, and love.

Discover how Wellspring Women's Center builds community through proactive care and support. We explore their unique approach in providing an environment of ongoing support, emphasizing preventive care rather than crisis intervention. The center's dedicated team and army of volunteers ensure that every visitor finds a sense of belonging, as they focus on nurturing emotional connections and creating a safe refuge. The compassionate spirit of Sacramento shines through, as the community rallies together to support the center's mission, often through word-of-mouth referrals and generous contributions.

We also talk about Wellspring's strategic stewardship, which prioritizes financial and in-kind donations while avoiding large government grants. Operating efficiently on a budget of about $550,000, Wellspring focuses on fostering health equity through nutrition education, promoting better eating habits among women and children. Genelle shares insights on the importance of preventing burnout in social service work and envisions expanding the center's healing work to address community trauma. Join me in celebrating the unwavering dedication of those who make a difference every day, and be inspired by their commitment to creating a healthier, more supportive community for all.

You can find more information on their website HERE

or follow them on FB or Instagram at this address. @Wellspringwomenscenter

CHAPTERS

(00:00) Exploring Wellspring Women's Center Programs
(10:14) Building Community Through Preventative Care
(24:14) Embracing Efficient Stewardship and Healing
(34:32) Nutrition Education Impact in Community

Thank you so much for listening! We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates. https://www.nonprofpod.com/ And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.

Transcript

Genelle Smith: [00:00:00] So unlike other models where it's an intervention, they're anticipating, someone will come in, they will do something, and there will be an outcome. Then they will stop coming in. We are a prevention program, meaning we want you to come in, good or bad. We wanna celebrate the good and we wanna help you during the hard times.

So that means that we're always accessible to try to catch those challenging times, right? To try to be that resource in a crisis. We develop an ongoing relationship with our community. Our goal is that you keep coming back, not that we intervene and you stop.

Jeff Holden: Hi. I'm Jeff Holden. Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion is to highlight a nonprofit organization in each weekly episode, giving that organization an opportunity to tell their story in their words, to better inform and educate the [00:01:00] respective communities they serve, as well as provide one more tool for them to share their message to constituents and donors.

Our goal is to help build stronger communities through shared voices, and to both encourage and support the growth of local nonprofit organizations through podcasting, thanks to our founding partners for their foresight in helping us transform the way conversations start. CAPTRUST fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations.

Runyon Saltzman Incorporated, RSE. Marketing, advertising and Public Relations, creating integrated communications committed to improving lives and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer groups, and families For the month of May. I've chosen to do something a bit differently with our episodes.

We all know the significance of mothers and children. With Mother's Day in May, I've chosen to use the full month to highlight organizations supporting moms and their children in our community. If you like [00:02:00] this thematic approach, feel free to let me know through the link on the website. Enjoy the episode.

Continuing our theme of organizations serving mothers and children, it would be nearly impossible not to speak with Wellspring Women's Center. A beloved drop-in center in Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood that has been nurturing women and children since 1987. Founded by two Sisters of Social Service, wellspring began as a simple storefront offering coffee, donuts, and dignity to low-income women and their children.

Their vision to create a safe, welcoming place where women could reconnect with their innate goodness has since grown into a vital community hub. Today from its home in a renovated firehouse, wellspring serves over 200 guests each weekday, offering nutritious meals, counseling, therapy, case management, and more.

All grounded in love, hospitality, [00:03:00] and respect. It's an amazing story we're going to get to hear firsthand. A licensed clinical social worker, Janelle Smith has been involved with the organization since 2009, and in 2017 she became the executive director. Genelle Smith, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network.

Genelle Smith: Thank you so much, so great to be here. 

Jeff Holden: We are excited to have a conversation with you today for so many reasons, but this is one of the episodes in the month of May. You're an organization that services mothers and children, and all four episodes this month will be wrapped around those services. So I'm excited to hear what it is you have to offer, what the organization is doing.

And you are not a young organization by any means, 38 plus years old in our community. What an incredible tenure that is for Wellspring Women's Center. Could you give us a little bit of the [00:04:00] history of the organization? 

Genelle Smith: Sure. And thank you for acknowledging our history. I think as in the nonprofit world, we really understand that longevity is in itself an effort and also speaks to the credibility of the organization.

I. Our history. Boy, we have some amazing roots. I love to tell this story because we were founded by two Sisters of Social Service who happened to be walking after work one day. They were also social workers and ran into an individual who was looking for food and was clearly unhoused, and they took them to a local fast food restaurant and began to talk with them and realize that this was someone who was.

First of all, a woman, they didn't really know that at first, and this was, you know, the eighties when there wasn't a lot of understanding so much about what was causing the homelessness and the challenges there, and especially related to women and the challenges of poverty. So they were just astounded by this conversation, and mainly because they realized that it [00:05:00] wasn't even the meal that the person really needed.

It was connection, conversation, and care. And so that planted a little dream in their heart and they. Kept talking about it. And, but it wasn't until three years later that they actually, you know, sister Catherine called Sister Clare and said, if we don't do this, we're never gonna do it. So they rented a little storefront on Broadway and they opened Wellspring Women's Center with a box of donuts and a coffee maker, no business plan, nonprofit, nothing.

They were just like, we're just doing this. We wanna have a place for women and children to be seen. And to be witnessed and connected and cared for. And so that's the, the humble and sort of radical beginnings of our organization. 

Jeff Holden: So really a gathering space. And once that word got out and the familiarity got out, it just continued to grow because it was a space for those unhoused to visit [00:06:00] and talk, get some food.

Coffee, donuts, whatever it may be. And I'm sure that expanded into lunches and, you know, continued throughout the day. Hospitality, dignity, and love. Those are the, the core tenets of the organization. But they wrap around everything you do. And you have four key programs that the umbrella of Wellspring Women's Center is.

Walk us through those programs. 

Genelle Smith: Sure. Can I start first by talking about the core tenets? Absolutely, yes. Um, because that's, I think that speaks to what we were talking about is that hospitality with dignity and love, those things are the basis of the programs that we have. And hospitality is really the creation of a free space, a space where the stranger can be welcomed as a friend.

This is like that third space you're talking about, right? We're always looking for these third spaces in our community. Where else can you feel like you have a place to belong that's not your home or a work? And so that's what Wellspring is. And in that third space, we're [00:07:00] really attending to the needs of very vulnerable women and children.

And that's where these programs come in. So we have a nutritious meal program now. We started with donuts and now we have like a highly nutritious meal that is served communal meal because eating with each other is important and valuable and we don't spend enough time eating together. Creates community and care in ways that I think we don't even really understand the full impact.

You know, evolutionarily, humans ate together. We, we ate together, we, we needed each other. Mm-hmm. And so I think it's just something to understand in terms of that hospitality, that dignity, that love, that's part of the meal. It's part of the nutrition. Not just fighting hunger, but fighting malnutrition.

It's kinda important for both. Then we have our women's wellness program, which is about healing, connection, care, case management, all of the things that the women are needing as they're walking through. Sometimes that looks like our Art of Being Program, which is an expressive therapy program, offers I.

Sewing program. I mean, we, like, we, we [00:08:00] talk about this a lot like that, the crafting of women over generations. What does that mean to teach that to someone else? To hold to the lineages of what does it mean to, to craft and make with our own hands. And so this is like a key part of our healing, our love, our connection, our third space.

And then we have the children's corner program, which is just really, uh, that same little welcome and love for all of our little kiddos who. We delight in their company and they spend time with us and play with us. And we are really about offering love, love, love, love. And that's wrapping those kiddos in as much care and attention as we can, creating a lot of space for the types of challenges and behaviors, et cetera, that you might see.

And just continuing to wrap around. And then finally, safety net services because. People need those types of supports, diapers and hygiene items, tickets, things that just make survival a little bit. [00:09:00] And that's an issue of dignity, I think. 

Jeff Holden: And the way that you do it is with a particular purpose so that you're not encumbered with what might be, for lack of better description, restricted funds.

You tend to. Fund yourself through an unrestricted basis so that you can do what you continue to do with dignity. So you don't have those criteria of reporting and necessity throughout what many require in order to get the grants and things of that nature. We will get there when we get to funding, but I, I wanted to put that in there so people understood.

That's why you're able to do what you do the way you do it. Is there a particular geography that you serve? 

Genelle Smith: We were traditionally located within the community of Oak Park. That is was of course traditionally known to be sort of a, a community of need. Mm-hmm. And you know, we've are sort of an organization in place.

We originally really served that community. The, the [00:10:00] walking to that community. The, but you know, Sacramento has changed and as Sacramento has changed, people have moved where, got out what we offer. And so now I think our geographic exp is also expanded. Like, you know, the area we. Actually serve is grown to include kind of the South Sacramento zip codes and in some of our people who through, you know, changes in the neighborhood have had to move further and further away to find affordable housing, they still feel connected and they wanna come back.

They wanna be with us. I. And so I think it's changed over time, but traditionally it was really solidly an Oak Park community, and that is, that has kind of grown as the changing dynamics of Sacramento 

Jeff Holden: only 40 years ago. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah, 

Jeff Holden: I think about 1985 to today, what that looks like in terms of the changes that community has been through, the economic ups and downs.

My goodness, what a, what a difference. Where is the location? 

Genelle Smith: We're located in a historic firehouse on 34 14 fourth Avenue. We own this building, which is a really important part of [00:11:00] our solidness in that neighborhood, right? A historic building, federally registered one, two in the neighborhood. Take a lot of pride in that sort of care and attention to the building, to its history, and I think it creates this beautiful space, that third space where you can picture this open room where in fact they used to have horse drawn.

You know, fire buggies. Mm-hmm. Which seems so crazy to me, like kitty up to the fire, but that was real. Yeah. You know, we have pictures of that and so we're in that space where all of the, you can imagine the firetruck engines, et cetera, that's really like that communal space. We also have a lovely back patio area, and again, this is part of the.

Just kind of creation of that space. Is it a space of beauty? Does it have art? Fresh flowers? You shouldn't feel like you're walking into an impoverished place. Mm-hmm. And all of that is really important, the attention to detail so that you don't feel poor. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Genelle Smith: You know, the, the experience feels rich.

Jeff Holden: Is there an age [00:12:00] criteria for the people who are able to utilize the services? 

Genelle Smith: So we say women and children, and that means anybody who identifies as a woman. And I think you know, you, we serve boys up to age 18 still in high school. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. Who do you typically see Who comes through the door? Is it a woman and two children?

Is there an average, a family of three, a family of two, family of four? What does that look like? 

Genelle Smith: It's everything. There is no typical we serve. Sometimes we have grandmas coming in with their grandkids. We have, we have women just coming in with their own children. We have single women. We have a whole age range there.

Wellspring is serving a more senior community than ever, 

Jeff Holden: sadly. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah, 

Jeff Holden: and what we're hearing is the greatest. Homeless population now is people over the age of 55. 

Genelle Smith: That's been our experience as well for the first and becoming homeless for the first time at that age. 

Jeff Holden: That's, yeah, that's very disturbing and and unfortunate.

Thank goodness [00:13:00] there's an organization like Wellspring and they're aware of it. To know that they can come and they can find some solace and some community and information because they haven't been there before. They don't even know the resources, and in many cases they don't have. Digital technology, they don't understand it.

So 

Genelle Smith: yeah, that becomes part of what we experience is that, you know, people are usually referred word of mouth, right? It's not mm-hmm. Something that they've accessed online. And so they said, oh, so and so said that I could come by here and that you might help me. So that's, I do think that's an interesting difference in referral process from an an older to a younger generation.

Boy, isn't 

Jeff Holden: that a, yeah. What a change in dynamic. It's the opposite of where things are typically. In in the community and society today I saw online, and it's to me a staggering number. You serve over 200 people a day. Yes. A day. Yes. That, that to me is an astounding number. How do you [00:14:00] manage to get that many people through?

Genelle Smith: Well, we do have that lovely space, you know, quite a large building with a lovely patio, so we have enough space for that. I also think, you know, we are a very small team. We have employed, we have eight of us, not even all full time, and then we have, you know, over a hundred volunteers. It's really the volunteers that make it work every single day, and that means showing up and being able to help with all those operational pieces that mean that we can serve that many individuals, whether that's helping in the children's corner for play, whether that means they're showing up to help us distribute diapers or mules.

All of that is happening because there's this strong desire in our community to give back, and Sacramento is a giving community. This community is amazingly generous. Often, you know, people just stop by with a can of coffee or a good wish or a goodwill for our organization. You never doubt the generosity 

Jeff Holden: and the neighborhood [00:15:00] knows you're there.

You've been there long enough to have built the credibility as a resource that's beneficial as opposed to somewhat antagonistic or we don't want that in our neighborhood. They're supportive. 

Genelle Smith: Yes. That doesn't mean that everybody is supportive. Right? 

Jeff Holden: Of course. Of course. We know how that goes 

Genelle Smith: and, but it's really what you focus on and I choose to focus on the support.

Jeff Holden: Yeah, 

Genelle Smith: there's plenty of it. 

Jeff Holden: One of the things that is always a concern is symptom versus cause. What do you do to help in the prevention of whether it be a health issue or a homeless issue? Or even a child parenting issue. What are some of the things that you can do to, or that you do do to get in front of the problem creating itself?

Genelle Smith: I would say our model is entirely prevention, right? We're prevention based model. So unlike other models where it's an intervention, they're anticipating, someone will come in, they will do something, and there will be an outcome. Then they [00:16:00] will stop coming in. We are a prevention program, meaning we want you to come in, good or bad.

We wanna celebrate the good and we wanna help you during the hard times. So that means that we're always accessible to try to catch those challenging times, right? To try to be that resource in a crisis. We develop an ongoing relationship with our community. Our goal is that you keep coming back, not that we intervene and you stop.

So it's about a community space that's all about prevention. Now what are we preventing? That's what's always harder to know. Did we prevent that person from the depth of despair and their contemplation of suicide that day? Yeah. But how do we measure that? How do we count all the things that you mm-hmm.

Just by providing that ongoing space that's gonna catch somebody in a challenging time, and I'm mean mostly emotionally. 'cause tangible resources may or may not be there. I've learned a long time ago that problem solving is great, but our capacity to listen and truly be present and offer comfort and sincere [00:17:00] and regard to someone who's struggling matters more.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. And I would imagine, especially since they know that it is continuous. It's not a one and done. I've seen the therapist, okay, I gotta go back out and face that situation, whatever that situation may be. Whereas here, they have the ability to return and you encourage that. Return, 

Genelle Smith: right. Because the, there is therapeutic benefit to community.

I'm, I might be available offering hugs and care, but so will the other women and children in our, they wrap around each other. So there is something that's happening that's more than just the services. It's community. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Genelle Smith: And that's a very special thing. 

Jeff Holden: We'll continue the conversation. On how solutions come from collaboration, right after we recognize the people who make this program possible.

I'm thrilled to have Western Health Advantage partnering with us as they do so much to support so many [00:18:00] nonprofit agencies in our community. As a truly local health plan, you'll find individual and family options, employer options plans for CalPERS and Medicare Advantage. From medical services to pharmacy health and wellness support, as well as behavioral healthcare, Western Health Advantage has a plan that fits what you need as an employer for profit or nonprofit business, individual or family.

You can find more@westernhealth.com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations. Annually, we survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. If you would like a copy of the survey or to discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. 

Jeff Holden: If [00:19:00] your organization is looking for non volunteer positions at any level, consider using our platform for your recruitment, whether in podcast content or in the newsletter the audience we're speaking to.

Has your next teammate Simply reach out to me through the website, non-profit pod.com, for a customized solution to your open positions. Speaking of community, we have a big one and a supportive one. Who are some of the organizations that you would collaborate with? People that we would know, other organizations that are possibly in the social services or nonprofits that work with you and you with them.

To help minimize the, the concerns for the issues that you're servicing. 

Genelle Smith: I think our biggest partnerships are in the Food network, right? So if you think about, oh, 

Jeff Holden: interesting. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah. Our food network is amazing. In Sacramento, we have a huge food justice movement, which is really trying to make sure that we are recovering food [00:20:00] so that it isn't ending up in landfills and waste, but is in fact getting into the mouse of people who need it.

So, you know, the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services and all of their efforts. We have some other Recco food recovery partners, right? We actually call this food rescue. We have volunteers and, and there's like a, an opportunity to do a food rescue. There's food that's gonna go in the garbage. Can we go get it?

And, you know, and then. Of course doing this all within an element of food safety, right? So it's all done with, you know, us maintaining our environmental standards for food safety. Mm-hmm. And, and I think being very creative with the meal itself, using tons and tons of donated food. Creating just so that means we have a smaller budget to get creative with how we put all that food together.

That includes, um, find out farms, a great organization that like actually harvests the fruit off of people's trees so that it doesn't rot on those trees and gets them to our organization. So those food partners are key in all of our efforts and I think it's pretty remarkable how much food we [00:21:00] divert from landfills and what does that mean for our community that that's happening and for the environment.

Jeff Holden: That is such a big deal because we see it at the grocery store. We know how much waste there has to be, and it's disturbing sometimes to think that there's people who could use that. If there was an infrastructure or a way to get to it. And it sounds like you have one that you've built yourself.

Genelle Smith: Sacramento has one. 

Jeff Holden: Ah, 

Genelle Smith: Sacramento has a great food infrastructure for keeping food out of landfills. 

Jeff Holden: That's wonderful. 

Genelle Smith: It's really, I, I think it could be a model I. Honestly it's really good. Some of the, you know, the food justice effort is we are the farm to fork town. Yes. So it's farm to every fork. And what does farm to every fork really look like?

And that includes, we have partners at the farmer's markets who give us their extras. I mean, we, it's pretty remarkable. And I think it is an effort that everybody can get behind is recognizing that we don't want waste. 

Jeff Holden: It's encouraging to hear it, and yet it's still so frustrating to [00:22:00] think that we have communities that are food insecure when we have so much we have this abundance and we maybe just need to coordinate it into the right paths in some way, shape or form.

Even our most agriculturally rich yellow county has one of the highest incidences food insecurity. Mind boggling to me, but I'm thrilled to hear that you've got yourself in a good situation where you're able to service the community that is coming into the organization with the resources that you've got.

That's fantastic. 

Genelle Smith: So that means our actual cost per meal is about 54%. 

Jeff Holden: Oh my gosh. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: And it's a healthy meal. 

Genelle Smith: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Incredible. That's, I hope people are listening because they need to reach out and figure out what it is you're doing so well and model it. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah. It's collaboration and partnership. Getting involved with other people who have your same goal.

Jeff Holden: In terms of food, we talked about [00:23:00] Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. I. Who else? Who else do you see? 

Genelle Smith: Well, there's, you know, there's a lot of small organizations. There's repl, which is a very interesting food rescue organization where they even actually pay you to rescue the food. I mean, there's like, there's all these little tiny ones in there in the work that are about, you know, we have another one called Daisy Chain who picks up some food from different little markets that they're throwing away and.

You know, it's still good. So there's little partnerships in there of people and big Yes. So across the board of just trying to leverage those food resources the best we can. 

Jeff Holden: How about other, other social services? Outside of food? 

Genelle Smith: Oh, outside of food? Mm-hmm. So, I mean then it, the breadth of that is just about how much the need is in our community, right?

So after food, when we look at our women's wellness community, it is really just about survival needs, right? Like shelter, safety, those types of things. And so in that work, we are collaborating with anybody that we can. And you know, the shelter landscape is far worse than the food landscape. Mm-hmm. And we can solve hunger in our organization much [00:24:00] easier than we can find shelter for.

And so we spend a lot of time, you know, just making sure that we're connecting how we can and plugging into those resources, knowing that it's not gonna be a quick fix. Mm-hmm. Affordable housing is one of the. Most needs in our community. I mean, we all know how much we're paying for housing, right? Mm-hmm.

And we see the feminization of poverty and men and children, poverty and the housing costs going up. 

Jeff Holden: Who would be the most likely support mechanism in that situation then? 

Genelle Smith: It depends, right? Every circumstance is different because you might have someone who's a senior and maybe has a mental health diagnosis.

I mean, all of these things are gonna offer you different options. Sometimes it is just about collaborating with a 2 1 1 and going through the coordinated care intake with rare mm-hmm. You know, folks, and that's a whole process and, and hoping that you can nav help them navigate through that process. So it just really depends on each person and what they might qualify for and, and what they're, what they're willing to accept.

Right. In terms of help, I have folks [00:25:00] that really do not wanna shelter environment. They know that they can't do well in those struggle and communal living. And so I'm gonna honor that and try to figure out other options. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Let's talk a little bit about funding, and we scratched the surface of that a little bit earlier in the conversation about the way that you look at your funding.

But how is it that you get what you need to sustain and maintain, and obviously you're doing it well because you're here 40 years later. 38 years later. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah, whatever that, that. 38. Yeah, 38. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you. 

Genelle Smith: We're getting we're, we're closer to 40 now, but, so funding, I think the first thing I would say is that we are fiscally very frugal.

We're excellent stewards of our resources. We understand how to use both financial donations and inkind donations to leverage those donations to maximize them. We don't spend our money on frivolous things. I mean, our, our technology infrastructure, all of that is old, old, [00:26:00] old, right? We, we just get by, we make due.

And so the first thing is that like we're able to maximize things just by our own efficiency and our willingly and our willingness to be inconvenience. Mm-hmm. Right? That I don't need the convenience of a perfectly good working pin and brand new highlighter. I can use the donated ones, right? This is the kind of thing that we consider so that we can actually serve our community better.

And this is all our team developing. Then I think our donors know that and I think they support us because they know that we're gonna maximize that dollar for them. And so really wellspring is run by the generosity of people. Mm-hmm. Not only just giving those in kind donations, but writing that $5 check or sending over some cash or making sure that they can include us in the big day of giving or something like that.

Right. Some way that they're always just kind of thinking of us. Part of our, our strategy at Wellspring is to not really seek these large government grants, right? Because they're unpredictable and they sometimes require us to limit what we can do and the type of information [00:27:00] we need to give, which can, which might 

Jeff Holden: infringe on the dignity of the individual.

That's 

Genelle Smith: right. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

Genelle Smith: And so we are in a trusting partnership with our community that. They will support us as long as they think we're needed. Mm-hmm. And we will continue to honor those gifts and do our best to steward them into the, our mission. And that seems to work, seems to be our message. I mean, we do some, we do some small grant writing, you know, from various places for different things, but they're not like these large.

Jeff Holden: What's the operating budget you're working with 

Genelle Smith: right now? It's about five 50. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. So a little over half a million dollars. Mm-hmm. Not, not small by any means. Mm-hmm. With only eight people. Mm-hmm. 200 people a day coming through the operation with 500 volunteers. It's a lot. I mean, you're doing it with 100, a hundred ish.

That's, it's just amazing to me to think that that much is passing through. I. On any given day. Does that include weekends too? 

Genelle Smith: No, just Monday through Friday. Just Monday through 

Jeff Holden: Friday. Okay. Yeah. 

Genelle Smith: We have [00:28:00] this, we try to have this belief that sometimes the burnout in social service work is because you're stretching a bit too far.

Mm-hmm. And so having that weekend, I think is important for everybody in some ways to try to not create this kind of. Never close operation. Right. And the founders believed in that too. They, they believed in like, you know, having breaks. And we need to trust that our community's gonna figure it out during those days that we're not creating a dependency.

That we are somehow there as a support. Not as a place of like our own detriment of never having time off or never having a space where the organization can rest itself. I, I think organizations need to rest too. I think that might sound to some people a little strange, but I think a building needs to rest and a space needs to rest.

Jeff Holden: Well, what you deal with can be overwhelming and I think a respite is necessary. However it comes about. There certainly needs to be a break. You can't consume. That's sort of a [00:29:00] social diet, if that's an appropriate term, and expect to remain healthy because it'll eventually wear on you and, 

Genelle Smith: and we don't turn away from it.

We welcome it 

Jeff Holden: and no, you're walking into it. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah. And there that has to be part of the work and part of how we stay. I think present to that and open-hearted. I sometimes will talk about, you know, do we have our feet under As, or is our spine straight? Is our heart open, and I think those are the three. I think respite, you need to do that.

Mm-hmm. Some one part of that will break down into burden. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, burnout's real. 

Genelle Smith: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: No doubt about it. This is a great segue to the next question. If money were no object, somebody comes to you. Janelle, I've got a blank check. If I like your idea, what would the organization look like if you could do whatever you wanted to do with it?

Genelle Smith: It's interesting. I do get this question and [00:30:00] one of the, in fact, I've even had donors who've been like, what could I, you know, if I really wanted to make a big donation, what would, what would be the dream? Yes. And I, I love the question because it speaks to, you know, this idea of possibility of hope. Mm-hmm.

And every time I, when I hear this, I always think, well, I would just wanna keep doing what we're doing. Right. 'cause I really so value what we're doing and doing it really well. And so I think I would add the healing more of that healing work, the more that I, I am with women and understand the level of trauma our community has been through.

The more I recognize that we need to do healing work, that there needs to be some space in all of that to continue to do those really important endeavors of in the human spirit. And that those are just as important as our survival needs. So I feel like it would be, it would be related to healing. And often I think we do some healing work already.

Right. But I'm, I'd love to expand that and dream about it. 

Jeff Holden: [00:31:00] Mm-hmm. 

Genelle Smith: You are really endeavoring to do it. 

Jeff Holden: For those of our listeners who are not seeing your response, you're viscerally changed. Explaining that dream. 

Genelle Smith: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: I mean, you smiled, you got excited about it. And I think that is really that effusive part of somebody who is really into that mission and understands it so well.

And when a donor hears it or sees it, they can see the engagement and the enthusiasm for it, and they're more likely to say, okay, I can do a little bit more because I know it's gonna be put to good use. You just can see it. Thank you. And I'm excited. I, I, I love when we ask the question because most people do get really excited about it, and in some cases have thought about it.

Not always, but in many, they have an idea because a donor has asked, well, what if? And they're there and it's just [00:32:00] wonderful to hear it. Now, back to the reality of it all. What is the greatest need that you have? 

Genelle Smith: Right now, this week, yes. That changes. I'm sure it's dynamic. Yeah. But it's usually always like the tangible things, the in kind things, like diapers for example, we give out over 200,000 diapers a year.

Gosh. It's a huge, gosh, huge thing for the women in our community. And so, you know, we are always needing those in kind donation of diapers. People who just think of us. People do diaper drives and put their offices together. Just such a beautiful effort to support the, really, the children, but also the mm-hmm.

Caregivers. And then, you know, I think the other really big need we have is everybody's goodwill towards those who are suffering. Make sure that we're seeing people in their struggle 

Jeff Holden: that may be the easiest or most easily fulfilled opportunity I've ever heard. It's just a mindset. [00:33:00] It's just one individual at a time saying at least I understand.

I may not even be able to empathize, but at least I understand that you need something, and that's amazing. I've not ever had anybody say that. It doesn't cost anything. I don't need anything outta your pocket. I just need you to think and look at things a little bit, just a little bit differently. 

Genelle Smith: I really think that is a thing that would change everything, actually.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. How about connection? If somebody's interested in learning more about the organization? What's the best thing to do? 

Genelle Smith: They can always reach out through any of the media, means that we have our website, our social media, pick up the phone, give us a call. Any of those are good? 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. For the benefit of Yes.

Genelle Smith: So it can visit our website@wellspringwomen.org. That's a great place to get more information. And you can also put an inquiry there and it goes right to the percent. [00:34:00] 

Jeff Holden: Okay, so wellspring women.org. WELL spring.org. 

Genelle Smith: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And what's the phone number just for the benefit of those who are listening? 

Genelle Smith: 9 1 6 4 5 4 9 6 8 8.

Jeff Holden: Okay, great. We will put those in the show notes as well to make it easy for everybody to access. Wonderful. The organization has been around now almost 40 years. Yes. And you and your team. Again, I am just amazed that 200 people can come through those doors every single day. That's just amazing that you're able to service it with a team of eight.

Your volunteers and community support, not big funding, and lots of dollars coming through from social services or federal or state grants, and what you're doing is amazing in a model that could be replicated in other areas and learning about this food service that you provide, the the, the food [00:35:00] rescue.

First time, I've heard those two words put together like that. I'll dig deeper into it. 

Genelle Smith: I love it 

Jeff Holden: because it's so important, and as we look at health equity, it all starts with what goes into our bodies. I mean, we can't think straight if we're not eating well. And the fact that you're able to do that and provide that for these women and children, not only does it provide them a nutritious element to the day-to-day functioning, but it also helps educate them that that's a better way to eat and they'll feel better over time.

So you're covering so many bases with what you do on a day-to-day basis as well. It's just amazing. Thank you for what you do, thanks to your team and keep it up for another 40. 

Genelle Smith: Thank you. I'll definitely spread that back to our team. They love to hear that type of encouragement, and I really appreciate you offering us the opportunity to chair our mission.

Jeff Holden: Thanks, Janelle. Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. I hope you [00:36:00] enjoyed the episode. If what you heard moved you, please reach out to that organization and do what you can to help. If you like and appreciate what we're doing to support local nonprofits, please give us a positive review.

Subscribe and share. If you're a nonprofit with an interest in participating in an episode, you can reach me at jeff@hearmeowstudio.com. If you have a need for the services or products our sponsors offer, please reach out to them. Captrust fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations. Runyan Saltzman Incorporated, RSE, marketing, advertising and Public Relations, creating integrated communications committed to improving lives and Western Health Advantage, a full service healthcare plan for individuals, employer groups, and families.

The Nonprofit Podcast Network is a production of. Is recorded at and edited by Hear Me Now [00:37:00] Studio.