The Sarah Center: Creating a Caring Community
Sarah Center Director Adina Wofford thinks back to one of her favorite days at work. It was a Wednesday, and seemingly everyone at the center had good news. Goals were being realized and obstacles overcome. One woman had just found a new place to live after experiencing homelessness.
One by one, they shared their stories. Everyone had something good to say about themselves.
“It felt like I kind of hit the lottery a little bit,” Adina says. “It felt like it was all my good news. The people here are going through so many serious issues. It makes my job so worth it just hearing them be so happy about the smallest things.”
Adina celebrated her 10th anniversary with St. Francis Seraph Ministries (SFSM) in February. She started as an administrative assistant when her godmother, Carol Sogoba, was teaching sewing. She then became the Sarah Center’s retail manager.
As the center’s director for the past two years, Adina has fostered an environment that puts students and members first and empowers them to use their skills and talents to become entrepreneurs.
“I really love Adina. She is really soft-hearted and kind,” says Ronda Barrit, who’s been coming to the center for more than 20 years. “She’s for us.”
The women who come to the Sarah Center all face some kind of challenge, Adina says. Many are struggling to stretch their paychecks. That’s why she encourages them to explore new things and find what “they can see themselves doing over and over again and it doesn’t feel like work” to generate supplemental income.
The Sarah Center has a long history of helping its members sell their handiwork. The center had its own retail storefront in the former Vine Street location and also set up booths at Findlay Market, pop-up shops, and other opportunities. The pandemic put the retail focus on hold temporarily, but this spring, Adina plans to set up shop at outdoor markets like the Beekman Community Market on behalf of the Sarah Center artisans.
Like the center’s members and students, Adina is a passionate creative. She studied graphic design and computer animation in college and loves photography and crocheting. Learning how things are made — and watching the women at the Sarah Center bring new clothing, curtains, and other designs to life — is one of Adina’s favorite parts of her job.
At the end of the day, what fulfills Adina the most is the Sarah Center environment. There’s a therapeutic aspect to the creativity and to the conversations. Peace replaces stress. Calm replaces anxiety. Hope replaces worry.
“You can feel that anxious energy when they come in, and then you can feel it when that positive energy balances out,” Adina says. “Seeing people grow, seeing their attitudes change and what they create, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”