In the more than five years since the founding of Impel Wealth Management, I have occasionally highlighted a person or organization that has made an enormous difference in our community. We call these “special tributes”, and we reserve them for truly deserving candidates. Today I am happy to share our first triple tribute with you, our trusted friends and clients.
Source: Facebook.com
In 1995, a local CPA referred me to meet with David Fair, the Executive Director and founder of Shelter Care, Inc., a nonprofit organization that’ has been in existence since 1972. My initial meeting with David Fair was life-changing in that it led not only to a business relationship, but more importantly, a personal friendship that had a tremendous impact on my life. On May 19th, Shelter Care celebrated 50 years of God‘s faithfulness, along with a tribute to the life and legacy of David Fair. It was a great night in a room filled with friends and acquaintances, many of whom I had not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic, or since our kids went to CVCA together more than a decade ago. To give you some idea of what a big deal David Fair was to our community, retired pastors Marshall Brandon and Knute Larson both spoke during the evening’s events.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Shelter Care and the impact it makes on the lives of at-risk youth, I have provided some additional information and links below that were copied, with permission, from their website or from the program for the evening’s event.
David was a kind and encouraging man. He became a true friend and mentor to me. He was somebody that I could look to for guidance and wisdom as I walked through my own life‘s journey and challenges. Sadly, David passed away in 2015. I miss my talks and breakfast meetings with him. Luckily, I still get to see his wife Barbara regularly, and the work of Shelter Care is being carried on by their son Wes Fair and their incredible team.
In addition to honoring both David Fair and the Shelter Care organization and mission, we were very pleased to have a third reason to celebrate that night. Hollie Ashworth, our client and good friend, was honored that night as the first recipient of the David Fair Award. Hollie began working for Shelter Care as a case manager in 1986. In 2002 she became an outreach coordinator, and then finished her career as director of development, a role she served in for nearly 5 years starting in 2013. She is truly a special person with a servant heart.
Source: Jesse's IPhone
Nathan Ollish, CFP, and I, along with our wives, Lauren and Rachel, were thrilled to be able to share the evening and our table with Hollie and Jeanne Sobul, and her daughter Karen. Jeanne ran the administrative and financial side of Shelter Care for decades and kept things running smoothly. It was a great evening to celebrate the impact Shelter Care has had on thousands of youth in the greater Akron area over the last 50 years. Thank you for allowing me to share the special triple tribute. People and organizations like this touch lives in unseen ways, and I believe that it is part of what makes our community so special as we continue “Moving Life Forward”.
Additional Shelter Care Info:
Shelter Care is celebrating 50 years of service in the Akron community and honoring the life of its founder, Dave Fair. Dave was a man of faith who spent much of his life honoring God through acts of service to others. One of these acts was creating Shelter Care for youth and families in need. In 1972, Dave partnered with the Juvenile Court Judge, William Kannel, with a mutual vision of creating a program for youth who were being placed in juvenile detention for issues pertaining to their mental health and home lives.
In order to provide a safe place for youth in need, Dave founded Shelter Care, Inc. and developed a family-model program that, to this day, has proven to be effective in meeting the needs of children from the child welfare system, the mental health system, as well as the juvenile justice system. The programs offered through Shelter Care provide a continuum of care network for youth and families in Summit and neighboring counties and include the Safe Landing Youth Shelter, Respite Program, the Highlands Teen Pregnancy Shelter, and Street Outreach Services (SOS).
Their mission is to provide healing, restore hope, and recognize the value of youth and families in crisis through residential and non-residential services. They serve roughly 1,000 youth and families (residential and non-residential) between all 5 programs each year.
Website https://sc72.org/
Facebook Video https://www.facebook.com/ShelterCareInc/videos/1064857573552162
© 2022 Jesse Hurst
The charitable entities and/or fundraising opportunities described herein are not endorsed by or affiliated with Cetera Advisors or its affiliates. Our philanthropic interests are personal to us and are not reviewed, sponsored or approved by Cetera.