close

Community Leader: SHIM’s Jim Guffey

By Suzanne Elliott 4 min read
article image -

Jim Guffey studied sports management at Robert Morris University.

He thought maybe he might one day work for one of the professional sports teams. But, fate intervened.

While at Robert Morris, Guffey, now 48, had the opportunity to do an internship at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Marquette, Mich. It was there that Guffey said he fell in love with the idea of working on special events, and perhaps more telling, nonprofits.

“My first job after graduation was with the special events office at the City of Pittsburgh,” said Guffey, the executive director of South Hills Interfaith Ministries, a Bethel Park nonprofit that helps struggling individuals and families in the South Hills become self-sufficient. He worked on the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta, the Great Race and the Pittsburgh Marathon, to name a few.

After he left the city, Guffey, a Castle Shannon resident, worked for the American Heart Association and the United Way of Allegheny County. He found himself drawn to nonprofits and the idea of helping people.

“I’ve always found if you work hard and treat people right, then good things will happen,” Guffey said.

About a decade ago, Guffey said he was approached about becoming director of development and public relations at SHIM, which at the time, was a small nonprofit. Because he is active in nearby Hamilton Presbyterian Church, he knew his church supported the nonprofit. Plus, he liked the idea of working near his home.

Guffey applied for the position, was hired and now runs the organization. Four people worked for SHIM, which, at the time, had an annual budget of $320,000. SHIM now has 15 employees and a budget of $1.3 million.

“I love my job,” he said.

Guffey said it is important that SHIM, formed in 1968, continues to grow because the number of people in the South Hills who need help grows each year. An average of 4,000 people and their families are helped annually by SHIM, he said.

“The number of people now in suburban poverty is growing at alarming rates since the Great Recession,” he said. “The need has exploded.”

The programs offered by SHIM are numerous and change according to community needs, Guffey said. Perhaps the best-known service SHIM offers is its food pantries located in Bethel Park and Whitehall Borough – distributing more than 350,000 pounds of food annually. And in 2014, SHIM grew 10,000 pounds of fresh produce at its two food pantry gardens.

“I think Jim Guffey is one of the true leaders of the anti-hunger efforts in our region,” said Dennis McManus, director of government affairs for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

While the food pantries are one of its higher-profile services, SHIM provides clothing and other everyday items as well.

The nonprofit has a clothing room and is in the midst of a winter coat drive. Families can select items for each family member every time they use the food pantry. SHIM also accepts donations of school supplies, which it then distributes to 400 students in the South Hills.

“We help stabilize people’s needs,” said Guffey, adding that this could be through a food or clothing pantry, or something else. “Our focus is to get them self-sufficient.”

SHIM is a screening site for the Dollar Energy utility assistance program. Last year, for example, it processed 133 applications that resulted in $43,000 of utility assistance for those in need. And in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Pittsburgh and the North Hills Community Outreach, the WorkAble program was started.

This program helps unemployed adults in Allegheny County find work through training and counseling sessions such as job searching and resume writing. It is not a job placement service, Guffey said.

“What’s always amazed me is the diversity of people who need help,” Guffey said. “For example, there is a large foreign-born population in the South Hills that is growing.”

SHIM has been doing a lot of work lately with refugees who have been forced to flee their home countries, he said.

“They come from places like Nepal, Burma and Iraq,” he said. “We work with people from 30 to 40 different countries. You can pretty much take a world globe and throw a dart. Pittsburgh weathered the Great Recession better. This is why they are here. That is why we have to be open. SHIM has been at the forefront of this and we have carved a niche for ourselves. I find it very rewarding.”

The biggest challenge for Guffey, he said, is the breadth of what SHIM does.

“But, I get to see the results every day,” he said. “I sleep well because I did the best I could.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today