After 14 years of service to the organization, including the last three as president and CEO, Wednesday marked the final day at the United Way of Central Kentucky for Christa Shouse.
“I’m just so thankful that I’ve been able to go on this journey and watch things go from a dream to a reality, and I’m very proud of all the years that I’ve been here, very proud,” Shouse said.
Shouse says she is honored to have been part of the growth of the organization, perhaps best evidenced by the office going from the Peddlar’s Mall on her first day to the current offices at 604 East Main Street in Elizabethtown. She says the organization has been able to expand its offerings, both for people who receive support and the people who help provide that support.
“It’s meeting the basic needs and it’s also helping people find their place in philanthropy, whether that’s through volunteering,” Shouse said. “Volunteers can be somebody helping us pick up trash, but it could be a board member or a committee member or a leader like in our Community Garden. That’s led by one of our volunteers who also is a board member.”
As Shouse departs the organization to “focus on her lifelong passion for creative endeavors”, she says she hopes whoever steps into the role has “absolute love for the community” and continues expanding efforts to be ready to help people on their worst days.
“I think the old saying goes ‘you never know what somebody’s going through’ and that’s absolutely true, so I’m really thankful that United Way has the presence it does in the community because we are solution-oriented and we are problem solvers, and then there’s no agency out there that can do that on their own,” Shouse said. “It takes all of us working together to work towards those community issues.”
United Way of Central Kentucky Board Chair Kirk Chadwick will step in as interim president and CEO while the organization’s search committee seeks a permanent replacement. If you are interested in applying, visit www.unitedwayck.org/careers.
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