About Us
Our Mission
Enhancing Lives and Empowering Futures in Benton County.
Who We Are
Serving Benton County families since 1984, 501(c)3 since 2007.
Sharing & Caring of Benton County works to serve Benton County’s youth through our Christmas assistance program and the Irene Medrano Scholarship Fund. We believe hope and education are essential to positively impacting young lives!
Our Vision
We envision a world where every family has hope at Christmas and an opportunity for a bright future.
Our Christmas Program
Becoming our own 501c3 in 2007, Sharing & Caring of Benton County’s flagship Christmas program works to brighten the holidays of local children by lending a helping hand to their families in need during the holiday season. Through the help of sponsors, the program serves children by providing clothing, shoes, toys, a food box, essential household goods, and special needs. New & expectant mothers also receive a box of essentials to give mom & baby a healthy start. Each child who is served through our program is shopped for individually.
The generosity of our community helped us sponsor 3,000 children in 2023! That accounts for over 1,100 families in Benton County.
Every year, families in the Sharing & Caring Christmas program receive their gifts and basic necessities on what we warmly refer to as “Distribution Day”. A day where the culmination of our efforts, over the course of the year, are realized in the faces of our families. Picture it: moms thrilled that their children will experience the joy of Christmas, dads profusely thanking for the help during a difficult time. Check out the video to see the magic of a community coming together!
“Some 16 million American children — 22 percent — live in poverty, a factor that increases their chances of academic struggles, social and behavioral problems, and depression. Yet not all poor children are doomed to bad outcomes. Some survive and flourish despite hardships. Why? As a researcher who worked at the Yale Child Study Center from 1992 to 2005, Valerie Maholmes, PhD, suggests that poor children who succeed have a factor in common: hope.”
Stacy Lu, American Psychological Association, November 2014, Vol 45, No. 10
2023 E.A.T. winners
Irene Medrano Scholarship Fund
If you’ve heard of or been involved with Sharing & Caring, you likely know the name Irene! Irene Medrano served as the Executive Director of the program from 2002-2007 when the program was under the Boys & Girls Club umbrella and then from 2007-the first part of 2018 after the program became it’s own 501c3. It is her vision, heart and fiery passion for Benton County’s youth that fueled the growth of Sharing & Caring to include a scholarship fund.
It is our goal to ensure that every child in Benton County, regardless of their background or financial limitation, has access to education and opportunity!
Since 2016, Sharing & Caring has been funding Career and Technical Education (CTE) and professional development courses for high school students. These courses help students earn training and credentials, which in turn aid them in obtaining employment directly after high school. With the support of the community, we have been able to support over 1,800 Benton County students!