hand up

your best when you’re at your worst. You’ve got to go out into the workforce to interview for a job, and you’ve got to be your best, but you don’t have anything.” Through the efforts of Lisa, the other Givers and many local businesses, the women got makeovers and were given new makeup and other self-care items to help them feel their best. The women even got Michael Kors bags and Rustic Cuff jewelry.

In 2021, The Givers worked to provide a safe place for the less fortunate in our community to spend their Christmas. This idea stemmed from Lisa thinking about Mary and Joseph and wondering what they would have done had there not even been room in the stable. From there Lisa thought about the folks in our community with no place to go at Christmas and the movement started. Lisa got a quote from the Rose Stone Inn for how much it would cost to rent all their rooms for two nights. She then put the amount needed out to The Givers page and had it funded in a matter of hours. From there, things snowballed in the best way possible. They added a dinner for the folks spending Christmas there and even gifts to go with it.

Lisa and The Givers also help with smaller needs like when a little boy got his bike stolen and they replaced it, or when a young man couldn’t afford to go to prom this year and they paid for a ticket and got a tux donated. An elderly woman couldn’t pay her gas bill, so Lisa reached out to The Givers to help and soon after her bill had been covered for an entire year. Sometimes a family needs just enough food to get them through to the next payday; The Givers are there to help.

Lisa also serves on the New Emergency Resource Agency Board of Directors and is very passionate about volunteering with that organization. NERA is our local food and resource center and can help with food, utilities, rent and prescription costs. Lisa is passionate about feeding our community and goes a step further in this personal mission by filling the Blessings Box at the Poncan Theatre as often as possible. She said she’s even filled it multiple times in one day just to go back and find it empty again.

Lisa’s family is of the utmost importance to her and she is grateful to them for supporting her giving for all these years. Lisa’s husband is Darren Sloan. Lisa says, “He and my children – Evan, Peyton, Riley and Cade – have had to make great sacrifices for me to be able to do what my heart calls me to do, both financially and time wise. My neighbor Dave buys me lotto tickets in hopes that one day I can build the homeless shelter that I want. Darren says it wouldn’t do any good for us to win because I would give it all away. For Christmas Eve, when other families are having a wonderful dinner, my family gets pizza because I’m busy trying to help our community feel the blessings in Christmas. I appreciate their sacrifices and believing in my mission. I couldn’t do any of this without their support.”

Lisa recognizes that people often need help and often don’t want to ask. “Sometimes people just need a hand up and there are people in the world that will take advantage of the system. But then there are people that are just stuck in the middle. They don’t need help all the time. They just need a temporary hand up.” Lisa has proven she’s more than willing to be that helping hand. She uses her community connections to help when and where she is led to help. Through creation of The Givers, Lisa’s blessing our community one need at a time.

If you’d like to help, you can find more information about The Givers on their Facebook page at Facebook.com/ thegiversponcacity.

All photos are from Lisa/The Givers Facebook page. One is of an award she received from the North Central Board of Realtors called the Eagle Award.