Dear Friend,
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the SHARE Foundation. During the last two and a half decades, we have impacted thousands of lives in southern Arkansas. Our health and wellness mission has been at the forefront of all that we endeavored to do.
We have granted out millions of dollars to local non-profits who have championed health and wellness in our community. Through various programs/agencies, SHARE has helped the uninsured get medical care, the dying receive comfort, pay for the training of health professionals, teach teen drug prevention, provided spiritual care to patients at the hospital, teach generations how to swim, and ensure that our community has a state-of-the-art fitness center to encourage healthy living.
What will the next twenty-five years hold for SHARE Foundation? We hope to maintain the quality of services that we offer, always look out for better and more ways to serve our community, be an employer of choice, and continue to make southern Arkansas a focal point of health and wellness.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We depend upon volunteers, members, patients, families, donors, and overall good faith from the community. We stand on twenty-five years of history because of you!
Thank you for helping us fulfill our mission,
Dr. Brian Jones
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FEBRUARY 26, 1996 – SHARE Foundation established
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Added Interfaith Clinic, Chaplaincy Services at MCSA, and Life Touch Hospice as agencies.
Also initiated Grant Making to other non-profits in Union County with kindred missions. -
Arkansans for Drug Free Youth became a SHARE Foundation agency. ADFY was later named PRIDE Youth Programs and is now known as eXtreme Youth Programs.
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Wellness center venture began with assets transferred from the local YWCA and opened as HealthWorks Fitness Center and underwent a $5.4 million dollar renovation within the next two years.
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SHARE Foundation opens the John R. Williamson Hospice House- a sixteen-bed facility providing end-of-life care to patients and their families.
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In honor and recognition of the many contributions made by Mr. Knox White to the health and fitness of our community, the SHARE Foundation Board of Directors dedicated and renamed HealthWorks Fitness Center building as the Knox White HealthWorks Facility on June 3, 2015.
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Held the 25th Annual First Financial Bank SHARE Benefit Golf Tournament with proceeds bringing the total amount raised by the tournament for Interfaith Clinic to over $1 million.
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As a response to the concern over the increased incidence of violent crimes, SHARE worked in collaboration with over 200 community partners to develop the Union County Violence Intervention Plan (VIP). The first 10 violence intervention partners were selected to adapt, develop and grow evidence-based programs and services in Union County to reduce and prevent crime and violence.
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Rock Steady Boxing, a unique exercise program adapted to people with Parkinson’s disease starts at HealthWorks and SHARE Foundation was named as one of the Best Places to Work in Arkansas.
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Palliative Care of South Arkansas was established.
While SHARE does not stand for anything specifically, it was named because of the Service, Health, Art, Research, and Education the founding board knew we would be part of and provide long into the future.
Services and Health were provided through our very first agency which was then Community Hospice, now known as Life Touch Hospice. When we were formed, we were gifted an extensive art collection that you see all through SHARE properties, at the South Arkansas Community College library and outside the Warner Brown building. Many of these paintings were donated by local artists depicting local scenes. Other pieces, cast in stone, portray the history of South Arkansas were commissioned by well-known artists across the county. Research is something we have done since day one to determine what the real-time needs are of families in Union County and we have worked collaboratively with others to meet those needs. SHARE also operates a scholarship program that is funded strictly by donations to assure men and women with financial needs have funds to pursue their education in the medical field, mainly focused on nursing. We also added PRIDE Youth Programs, now known as eXtreme Youth Programs, that teach prevention education to youth in grades K-12. 
I started as a receptionist that paid the bills, did payroll, even changed lights, and plunged a few toilets. At one time, I had performed every job SHARE had to offer except the President position, that I never wanted, and being a hospice nurse. We went from around 12 employees to over 150 at one time.
I have been fortunate to see the growth and impact that has been made in Union County and surrounding areas. I cannot begin to imagine what Union County would be like without SHARE Foundation and the programs it supports. I consider it a privilege to have had the opportunity to learn and grow professionally and work beside the best employees ever. Those founding board members are and would be proud to see what has been accomplished. The programs we operate now are a testimony that we stay tuned in to the needs of South Arkansas and truly strive to improve the health and well-being of those that live here.
