TORRANCE TRIBUNE October 27, 2016 Page 7 TerriAnn in Torrance Celebrating Heroes Story and Photos by TerriAnn Ferren There are all kinds of heroes, famous, and not so famous. Sharefest is a local non-profit organization serving the greater Los Angeles area, founded in 2006 by South Bay resident, Chad Mayer. Sharefest helps communities through its two major programs. One is an Annual Workday, where hundreds of volunteers join together improving areas where we work, and play. For example schools, parks, city buildings, community centers and other public areas are given a ‘face lift’. The Workday relies on working coalitions and enables communities to improve themselves. Their other program, the Youth Development Academy, consists of a summer, and a year-round academic component, providing mentors, academic courses for high school credit, and tools to prevent violence, learn life skills, and achieve self-sufficiency and awareness allowing for productive, informed decision-making. The program curriculum promotes the value of education, improves educational outcomes, and creates a path for effective, realistic career planning. That sounds like a huge undertaking and I wondered how this organization got started. Chad Mayer is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Sharefest, who lives with his wife Valerie, and their two children Eden, age 11 and Beau, age 7 in the South Bay. “I knew early on that I wanted my life and career to be about doing something I was passionate about, something that would allow me to serve others. I’ve always wanted to live a life of purpose and meaning,” said Chad. Moving to the South Bay while with the Air Force in 1999, Chad knew he didn’t want to leave the area after his Air Force duty ended. He told me that the idea for Sharefest came from his desire to bring organizations and churches together to give back to communities. He started with one community project aimed at building working coalitions to meet needs and foster volunteerism. It has been thirteen years and now Sharefest has an annual Workday that brings nearly 3,000 volunteers to complete 250 projects at schools (West High School being one of them), community centers and other sites across the South Bay and Harbor City areas. What really impressed me was this organization does this at absolutely no cost to the recipients, thanks to the organizations and companies sponsoring the project sites and donating materials. The next Workday takes place on May 6, 2017. “Sharefest is also committed to developing youth as future leaders. That is my other passion. I love seeing young people get excited when they realize they can do something to help bring positive change to their communities. Our goal is to empower them to not look to others for solutions, but to realize that they have been created to make a difference in other people’s lives, despite their own circumstances,” said Chad. Sharefest does this by serving underserved youth by providing them with education opportunities they may not otherwise have. They also focus on team building and leadership development, and center their learning on getting to know their communities and finding ways to give back. Chad said the way communities and organizations come together blows him away every year. “I’ve definitely grown a lot through my work with Sharefest. I was 25 years old and newly married with no children when I first got involved. Now, still happily married to my wife, [Valerie, and two children, Eden, and Beau,] my family is my biggest support through the ups and downs of building a solid organization,” added Chad. He told me Valerie is his rock throughout the evolution of Sharefest and one of the main reasons for Sharefest’s success and without her support, he would have given up long ago. Chad said, “If someone would have painted a picture of the success we would have, I might have laughed. I couldn’t envision at that time where we would be now. God has been good to us and has definitely given us favor with those who we are blessed to serve and partner with.” Chad told me he loves living in the South Bay with the beach so nearby, with the amazing sports teams, the amazing school districts, and the wonderful people he has met. I wondered what Sharefest has been up to lately and found out they had just completed a 12 day home makeover for Salvador Lara, a community hero in Wilmington. The project officially kicked off on Aug. 25, when Sharefest and Wedgewood joined together to surprise Salvador with a complete home makeover. Salvador has given of himself to his community unceasingly by launching the Clean Wilmington program in 2007. Check out the video at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=3Hrvsj4cySU and see how Salvador’s home was transformed in two weeks. Incredible. This amazing organization runs on funds donated by community businesses, and their annual gala. This year, the 13th Annual 2016 Sharefest Gala, takes place on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Torrance Marriott at 6 p.m. The event, An Evening of Everyday Heroes, Architect of Transformation, will honor Jerry West with the Bill Sharman Humanitarian Award, presented by Mychal Thompson. Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be John Ireland. This prestigious award will be bestowed on Jerry West for his selfless philanthropy. “There are people who leave an indelible mark of excellence upon the lives of others as they propel them to achieve greatness. For as long as I have known him, Jerry West has been helping others fulfill their dreams on and off the court. While Jerry is known to most for his basketball achievements, it is an honor to present the Bill Sharman Humanitarian Award to him at the 2016 Sharefest Gala in recognition of his lifetime achievement of quietly and selflessly helping others. My husband would be so proud for him to receive this award,” Joyce Sharman, Wife of Bill Sharman, Honorary Chair of the 2016 Sharefest Gala. Bill Sharman, right, acknowledges the crowd with Gail Goodrich, left, Jerry West and Pat Riley during a 2012 ceremony at Staples Center to honor the 1971-72 team on its 30th Anniversary (Getty images). I recently spoke with 2015 Sharefest Legacy Award Recipient, and Honorary Chair of the 2016 Sharefest Gala, Joyce Sharman, wife of the late Bill Sharman, NBA twice Hall of Famer as player and coach, founder of the shoot-around, and the 3-point shot, about how she got involved with Sharefest and she told me, “I had the great privilege of meeting Chad through an associate, Carter Calhoun. Chad was working with Carter to plant a garden with his Sharefest youth for a non-profit that Carter and I were involved with at the time. I was extremely impressed with Chad and his passion for what he does. It was just 2 years ago, but I feel that I have known Chad and Brenda forever. They are both wonderful people and they are completely committed to making a difference for the young people that Sharefest serves.” Joyce also told me that she was impressed with Sharefest because they work with young people, showing them they can improve their neighborhoods and this in turn, helps instill pride and self-esteem by doing things such as painting community centers, participating in neighborhood clean up days, planting gardens, and much more. For tickets and information about becoming Sharefest Volunteers Beautifing West High School grounds. a sponsor for the Sharefest Gala in Torrance, access www.sharefest.inc.org/gala. What about the future of Sharefest? They have just moved into a new building which will allow them to extend their youth programming providing a positive, safe place to learn. They plan on establishing a Youth Development Center, which will help local youth explore and engage in positive contributions that they can make within their communities. It will be a place they can get academic support, learn about key skills for college and career, explore their creativity, and develop skills to become leaders in their schools and communities. They will do this through mentor relationships and peer collaboration. One of the biggest areas of focus will be on civic engagement. They want the youth to identify civic concerns in their schools or communities, and interact with local leaders, finding ways to address problems. “We hope to show them how they can step up to make a difference in their communities, regardless of their personal circumstances,” said Chad. If you would like to get involved with Sharefest, contact them at www.sharefest. org and learn how you can make a difference right in your own neighborhood. “I still pinch myself when I see people like Joyce Sharman and Jerry West take part in an event that supports our work. It’s been exciting and humbling to see the many people who have stepped up to participate and support the work of Sharefest,” added Chad. True enough, heroes sometimes come quietly among us, doing remarkable things. • Salvador Lara viewing his newly remodeled home.
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