Today we’d like to introduce you to Aleece Spalding.
Hi Aleece, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After graduating from business school at the University of Texas at Austin, I worked for IBM for eleven years in sales, education and executive briefings. Staying at home to raise my three children and volunteering in their schools gave me appreciation of the importance of being involved in my community. I learned about Ship Outreach through my church and started to volunteer at their Community Day outreaches, which opened me to pressing needs in the community that I had had no idea about. Getting to know individuals and hearing their stories as I prayed with them at these outreaches showed me that they were no different than I, they were just in positions where they needed help. I felt a sense of solidarity with those I met and knew that I wanted to be a part of what Ship was doing. From there, I started to work as Ship’s volunteer coordinator. Three years ago, I volunteered to help the 501©3 with a strategic plan, which led to becoming Ship’s Development Director. Now as their Executive Director, I oversee all operations and programs. I’ve loved getting to see Ship grow for the past fifteen years and am excited to continue working and connecting with those in our community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Though there have been many bumps along the way, none of the struggles that I have faced personally are comparable to what community members in the Southeast Raleigh area face every day. Recognizing that some individuals have a difficult time just getting by due to their socioeconomic status led to my desire to really understand the people in these situations and their needs and to give back and help them out as best as I could. I was drawn to Ship Community Outreach because I saw that their mission aimed to do just that—to fill in the gaps that were keeping community members from progressing forward and finding faith and hope.
As you know, we’re big fans of Ship Community Outreach. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Ship Community Outreach is a nonprofit organization based in Southeast Raleigh whose mission is to work alongside our neighbors towards social and economic change that uplifts our community. We help fill in the gaps and meet the needs of low-income Wake County residents through our five initiatives: Bread of Life which distributes food to over 30,000 community members monthly; Galley Grocery, our low-priced nonprofit grocery store in a food desert; the Ship Yard, our free weightlifting facility; the Transitional Employment Initiative (TEI), our employment readiness training program; and our Anti-Trafficking Initiative, our initiative that works with women on the streets seeking healing and restoration that was just started up this year. What sets us apart and has allowed us to grow has been the trust and relationships we’ve built with our neighbors in the South Park community over the past 20 years as they’ve given us the opportunity to show them that we truly care about them and aren’t going anywhere. Founders, Pastors Chris and Dr. Jacqueline Jones have sought to meet the needs of the community and to be the “boots on the ground” by developing programs like our weekly street outreaches, monthly Community Days, summer Ship Yard youth camps, and our employment program for those who are gang impacted. None of this could have been possible without our partnerships with local churches and nonprofits—they’ve helped us both extend our reach to those in the greater Raleigh area through different programs and initiatives and provide those we serve with information about other local resources that can meet their needs. Together, we’re striving to create healthy and safe communities free of dependencies that are capable of producing strong families, all while giving our neighbors the opportunity to experience hope for themselves.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
A lot of different ways! We’re grateful to have stayed open despite the pandemic, and we’re in need of resources and volunteers to ensure that we continue meeting the needs of our community. Our greatest need currently is financial donations to give our new trafficking initiative the funding that it needs. Our current director is a volunteer, and we want to support her work and mission by hiring her on staff as soon as we are able. Additionally, we’re in need of food donations to keep our grocery store stocked and supplies like laptops with cameras for our students to use in our TEI class. We’re also in need of volunteers to help out with different initiatives, whether that’s helping at our street outreaches and Community Days or teaching a class in our Transitional Employment Initiative (TEI) course. Lastly, you can help by reaching out and partnering with us, whether that’s through your company or organization, and connecting with and spreading the word about us on social media!
Contact Info:
- Email: aleece@shipoutreach.org
- Website: https://www.shipoutreach.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shipoutreach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shipoutreach
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ship_Outreach
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj-y-yeKZ0p22dTBvsQhoVw
- Other: https://linktr.ee/shipoutreach
Image Credits
Bisi Cameron Yee
