Army worker in Owatonna earns special honor
“Hold on one second, I have to help somebody here,” explained Gina Shepherd, as she talked over the phone during the interview for this story. She is the Salvation Army social services director for the Owatonna area in Steele County, and you will be hard pressed to try and take her away from her work.
It’s that kind of dedication to service that recently earned Shepherd a special honor: “Supporter of the Year” from the Minnesota Valley Action Council.
“It’s very humbling,” Shepherd said. “Very appreciated.”
For the past couple of years, Shepherd has worked out of The Salvation Army store in Owatonna. There’s just enough space there for her office, among all of the housing goods and clothing for sale. The Salvation Army signage outside indicates help inside, and often it’s Shepherd who leads the way. If somebody needs rental assistance, if a family needs heating assistance, Shepherd helps.
Roberta Stenzel of the Minnesota Valley Action Council nominated Shepherd for the award. Stenzel wrote: “Many times if MVAC was not able to resolve a client’s crisis with energy assistance, or the client already spent their allotted funds, Gina would be able to help with at least some funding to keep the client’s utilities connected.”
Granted, Shepherd’s service is a lot more than financial assistance. She helped establish:
- “Cooking Matters,” a partnership with the University of Minnesota that helps people cook better meals.
- “Boots to Work,” a Salvation Army program in Owatonna that helps manufacturing workers buy steel-toe boots. She started the program after learning that people were being offered manufacturing jobs, but couldn’t take the jobs because they didn’t have enough money to pay for the steel-toe boots required. New steel toe boots can cost more than $100 per pair. Boots to Work helps offset that cost.
- “Diaper Bank,” a Salvation Army program that provides free diapers to families in need.
“I got my hand in everything , I tell ya,” laughed Shepherd. “But the award is really about a collaboration to do the most good.”
This conversation with Shepherd lasted 10 minutes. Afterward, she hung up the phone and got straight to work on helping the next person walking through her door in need of assistance.