Shaugers Honored by WomenRising with SUEZ Corporate Partner Award

By Alexandra Gakos

Life has a tendency to come full circle. No one knows that better than Donald Shauger.

For Donald, it is not enough for him to simply remember his roots—the many years of struggle his family faced when he was growing up. It’s not enough for him to just picture his tireless mother, who was a single mom, working six to seven days a week to put food on the table for her five children, one of whom was terminally ill. And it’s certainly not enough for him to just recall the embarrassment he felt, as a young child, when his mother would pay with food stamps at the local ShopRite grocery store.

For Donald, those are not just memories. They’re driving forces in his life.

Donald’s experiences have fueled his unceasing work ethic and his lifelong passion to give back—not only to give his own family the best life possible, but also to improve the lives of those facing situations similar to those of his childhood. Having seen the other side, Donald is unfailingly committed to doing everything he can to help struggling families overcome the obstacles in their lives. Donald and his wife, Lisa, never pass on any opportunity to pay kindness forward: whether they start a scholarship fund, help pay off someone’s student debt, fund someone’s college tuition, donate holiday meals to those in need, offer employment to someone looking for work, or simply make a donation to a nonprofit, they see each opportunity as an important reminder of what life is truly about.

In recognition of the Shaugers’ extensive philanthropy—and their commitment, in particular, to WomenRising, a nonprofit charity that helps women and children in need—the Shaugers recently received a special honor: WomenRising’s SUEZ Corporate Partner Award. Presented to the Shaugers at WomenRising’s annual Celebration of Service Gala held virtually on October 15, 2020, the award not only represents the Shaugers’ commitment to others, but also symbolizes Donald’s deeply personal tie to WomenRising’s mission as an organization that can build a lifelong success story for those who once struggled.

“As someone who was raised by a single parent, I know how tough it can be for struggling families to put food on their tables, but when others reach out to help—such as the people from our church who donated food baskets to my family when I was younger—that generosity and support of others can be exactly what you need to get through the difficult times,” said Donald Shauger, Executive Vice President of The Shauger Group. “We’re proud to be able to pay it forward today to help those who are in a similar position, and we are truly honored to be recognized by WomenRising for our commitment to them. Lisa and I hope our support can always have a lasting impact on others’ lives, during the time in their lives when they need it the most.”

“We’re incredibly honored and humbled to receive this year’s SUEZ Corporate Partner Award,” said Lisa Shauger, President/CEO of The Shauger Group. “It means so much to us. WomenRising is an organization that we have a tremendous amount of respect for. Each and every day, WomenRising has a profound impact on the lives of women and children: helping them through difficult times, giving them the resources they need to turn their lives around, and otherwise being a source of comfort, support, and empowerment.”

To support this year’s Celebration of Service Gala and to honor the memory of Donald’s mother, Laura, the Shaugers made a $10,000 donation this fall to WomenRising. Passionate about helping others in need, Laura Shauger was an example of the type of woman that WomenRising champions: someone whose work ethic and love for her family gave her the strength to rise above the challenges she faced. If Laura had known of WomenRising during her lifetime, Donald has no doubt she would have been drawn to WomenRising and the important work WomenRising does in the community. WomenRising, which offers assistance to approximately 10,000 women and children each year, provides social services and advocacy services; offers counseling, intervention, outreach, shelter, and resources in periods of crisis; lends support with job placement and occupational training; advises on legal options; and otherwise encourages and empowers women on the path to self-sufficiency.

“My mother often worked more than thirteen hours per day, while trying to care for the five of us on her own—my sister, Susan, passed away at only twenty-five years old, so things were difficult to say the least,” said Donald. “My mother sacrificed day in and day out, working hard to lift herself from under State aid and support us. Even though the odds were against us, she was determined to get through the adversity. She was also a model of kindness to others. Despite how difficult things were for us, my mother didn’t just think only of us—she also did anything she could to help those less privileged. I have so many memories of my mother going out of her way to help others in need, such as giving leftover food from the bakery she managed to kids at a Denville orphanage.”

“Until the end of her life, my mother never forgot the struggles she had faced and knew the importance of helping others in need,” added Donald. “Her experience was similar to that of many women at WomenRising. She always took time to speak with other struggling women about their lives and help them through tough times—she hoped her experience as a single mother raising five children would give other mothers hope they could also rise above the challenging times. She was an inspiration to me and so many others; I will never forget all she sacrificed for our family and all of the important life lessons I learned from her actions. If she were still alive, she would be proud of our support of WomenRising and their meaningful work.”

“We want to do our part to support WomenRising and ensure the success of WomenRising this year and every year,” said Lisa. “Now more than ever, WomenRising—and the countless women and children who rely on the services provided by WomenRising—will need support. This year has brought many unique challenges because of the unprecedented, life-changing impact of COVID, which has forced countless people into difficult circumstances. WomenRising’s work is endlessly important, as they help people who are trying to get back on their feet, who are trying to break away from unhealthy domestic situations, or who are otherwise seeking help. WomenRising has been dedicated for over a hundred years to helping people in need. As a nonprofit, they rely on fundraising and the generosity of supporters in order to operate, and we’re proud to help them fulfill their important mission.”

According to Lisa, when she first visited WomenRising’s headquarters years ago, she was impressed by the amount and quality of support WomenRising offers women and children, from providing comprehensive counseling services to empowering women to get back into the workforce.

“Between the counseling they receive, between the transitional housing they receive, I just found it very, very impressive,” said Lisa. “The way they’re able to rise these people up from the most difficult situations they encounter and how they’re just able to move on to succeed in life, it’s a true success story. We really believe in their mission.”

Donald noted how meaningful it was to be presented with the award this year—the first year it has been awarded to a company other than SUEZ. The award was named after SUEZ in 2019 and was given to SUEZ in its inaugural year.

“It’s an honor for us because SUEZ and Shauger have the same type of philosophy of giving back to the community,” said Donald. “We’re proud to have formed a service partnership with SUEZ over the years and to have teamed up with SUEZ on so many philanthropic initiatives. We were introduced to WomenRising by SUEZ many years ago, and we have been dedicated to supporting WomenRising ever since. We are proud to know that our support of WomenRising will make a difference in creating success stories for women and children in need. It is so meaningful for us to be able to accept the Corporate Partner Award from WomenRising—especially since this award is named in SUEZ’s honor. We are proud to contribute to WomenRising in any way we can: being an annual sponsor of WomenRising’s Celebration of Service Gala, donating back-to-school backpacks to kids assisted by WomenRising, sponsoring their yearly golf outing, or doing anything else we can to make a difference.”

Supporting WomenRising is a constant reminder to Donald of his childhood growing up in West Orange, and of the impact others’ kindness and generosity had on his own life.

“I’m proud that Lisa and I have the same philosophy today that people had with me when I was growing up,” said Donald. “When SUEZ came to us as a corporate partner and recommended we get involved with WomenRising, we didn’t hesitate. We didn’t hesitate because it’s an amazing, phenomenal organization that is helping the current generation and is building the foundation for the next generation. We’re proud to be a service partner with SUEZ in the great city of Jersey City. At the end of the day, it’s not what we do today, it’s how we build tomorrow.”

“If people didn’t do what they did for my family, and if people didn’t give back to us, I don’t think we would be sitting here today,” said Donald. “I don’t know what my future would have been, but I do know what my future is, because of the backbone that I had from the community in West Orange. My tagline has always been, and will always be, ‘I wasn’t raised in West Orange—I was raised by West Orange.’”

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In total, as of November 2, the Celebration of Service Gala had raised over $120,000. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event was held virtually for everyone’s safety, rather than in its traditional in-person format. The event featured a prerecorded virtual ceremony with speeches by employees from various teams at WomenRising, as well as testimonials from WomenRising’s clients. The night also included a silent auction, as well as interviews with the Shaugers, as the SUEZ Corporate Partner Award recipients, and with Martha Lewin, as the Above and Beyond Award Honoree.

Lewin, the Above and Beyond Award Honoree, served as Executive Director of WomenRising for 29 years from 1976 to 2005. With a 40-year career in the nonprofit sector, Lewin was responsible for steering WomenRising into the organization it is today: Lewin was instrumental in merging the Bayonne and Jersey City YW organizations together in 1987 into the Hudson County YW, which eventually became WomenRising. Lewin played a vital role in the growth of WomenRising and the expansion of its offerings to better serve the needs of women in the community. Her lasting impact on WomenRising includes having formed many programs that still exist today: the Domestic Violence Program, Family Support Services, Supervised Visitation, Project Home (now Village of Families), and job training for hotel employment.

“Being a part of WomenRising is among the most important things in my life, so the award means just so much to me,” Lewin said during the gala’s virtual broadcast. “I want you all to also know that my story here is the story of a huge number of dedicated, insightful women—all the years I was here and some of the years before I was here, a cavalcade of women believed in the community and believed that they could do something meaningful. I feel honored to be in their footsteps as well.”

The virtual ceremony began with opening remarks by Sister Roseann Mazzeo, Executive Director of WomenRising. Mazzeo thanked the event’s Premiere sponsors—The Shauger Group, MetLife, and Lord Abbett—as well as the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and individual sponsors who donated to support this year’s gala, for their role in funding the “vital services” WomenRising provides.

“Throughout the year, we at WomenRising experience the generosity of volunteers, individuals, corporations, small businesses, and a lot of the city and county agencies who assist us in serving clients throughout the year. This is a celebration of those services,” said Mazzeo. “Thank you to those people. Your donation of any amount will help our families today, tomorrow, and every day.”

The virtual program also included information about WomenRising’s programs and services, told through a series of interviews with staff and clients. While giving a glimpse into WomenRising’s Domestic Violence Services Program, Domestic Violence Liaison Ericka Cabrera spoke of the increased challenges domestic violence victims have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic—difficulties that have made WomenRising’s work more important than ever.

“Domestic violence is the age-old pandemic before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Cabrera. “Victims of domestic violence really faced even more difficulty during the last couple of months that we’ve experienced. We have to keep in mind that, for domestic violence victims, they weren’t just facing an external threat, like the rest of us were, but they were also facing an internal threat right within the four walls of their homes. For these victims, it was a very crucial time to be able to access us in immediate, direct ways—and here at WomenRising we had to reinvent ourselves overnight pretty much to be able to still connect with clients in their time of need.”

WomenRising offers a 24-hour shelter hotline for domestic abuse victims, which allows them to seek immediate help and, if necessary, be provided with emergency shelter at a safe, undisclosed location. WomenRising also offers crisis intervention services, such as advocacy services and referrals, as well as partnerships with different community programs, including a partnership with the courthouse to help domestic violence victims understand their legal options.

“Domestic violence doesn’t stop—before the pandemic, during the pandemic. This is something that we are continuously working on,” added Cabrera. “And we want to be there to provide our services and assistance to clients as they need it.”

Argelis Hernandez, Triage Counselor with WomenRising’s Youth and Family Services team, highlighted the important role of the Youth and Family Services program, which provides clients with free counseling services and advocacy to help them process their trauma and grief. WomenRising’s goal is for clients to gain the tools they need to move past those obstacles, empower themselves, and become self-sufficient: with a step-by-step approach and regular guidance from counselors, they set and achieve milestones a little bit at a time. For Hernandez, it is rewarding to see her clients’ progress and transformation over time: her aim is to help her clients, often nervous and scared when they first arrive, ultimately see a “new version of themselves.”

WomenRising also guides its clients in meeting both short-term and long-term employment goals, according to Rosemary Nwabueze, WomenRising’s Director of Community Economic Development. Whether clients are trying to get back on their feet to return to work, or they’re just starting as a first-time worker, WomenRising provides them with the tools they need. WomenRising has a training center dedicated to helping clients with their search for employment, as well as a training program that enables them to build their skills and become more marketable to employers. Nwabueze noted that WomenRising’s mission is to help women find “sustainable employment”: rather than see them just jump from job to job, the goal is for them to “join industries that have career ladders, so that they have an opportunity to advance.”

During the virtual gala, a couple of WomenRising’s clients shared their experiences and WomenRising’s impact on their lives during their greatest time of need. One client, who is part of Village of Families—WomenRising’s Supportive Housing Program that assists clients with finding housing, furnishing their homes, and becoming self-sufficient—credits WomenRising with the progress and success she has achieved. In daily contact with her case manager, she is grateful for the support WomenRising has provided in every area of her life, not only in the form of financial and emotional support, but even in the activities—such as cupcake-decorating and cookie-making—her son can enjoy. As she aptly put it, “We’re working to always do better and better, with the help of WomenRising. The quality of life is one hundred percent better with WomenRising behind us.”

With so much at stake every day for WomenRising’s clients, WomenRising’s mission is an important one—one its employees do not take lightly.

“Working at WomenRising is not for the faint at heart—it’s for the passionate,” said Diana Thompson, Case Manager at Village of Families. “We have the ability to impact clients’, women’s, [and] children’s lives on a daily basis for the better.”

That passion is what first captured the Shaugers’ attention, and it is what will keep inspiring them to support WomenRising’s noble work.