“For 50 years SICSA has remained steadfastly committed to making sure we are a safe landing spot for stray animals and animals that are surrendered,” said SICSA President and CEO Jack Omer. “I think what is most impressive about the organization today is that we have expanded our services and offerings to be so much more than what we were in 1974. Our focus today is not only serving the animals in our care but serving the animals and humans that are not within the shelter’s walls. We want to be a community resource to animals and humans.”
Best of Dayton 2024 winners
In addition to SICSA increasing its pet food distribution by 400 percent, the organization’s Help Center is making strides and maintaining bonds.
“Our Help Center provides emergency and crisis temporary housing for animals while their humans who love them are going through transitional periods of their own,” Omer said. “The goal is to reunite the animals with their humans after their situation has been remedied.”
SICSA was also voted Best Place to Work, which Omer views as a direct acknowledgment of how effective the organization has been to remaining committed to its staff.
“We lead our people and manage our expectations but we all do it within an environment of caring, empathy and support, which is really critical,” he said. “We’ve created a workplace environment that is respectful and kind. In the employment market today, we have to recognize we have great people working with us and for us. And my job, as the head of the organization, is to ensure those individuals feel very valued. Our commitment to customer service and our commitment to doing the right thing for our pets and the customers coming in and potentially seeking adoption is a priority as well.”
Jessie Sullivan, director of adoption and alternative services, also acknowledges the organization’s empathetic appeal.
“The work we do can be incredibly difficult and very emotional – we have a lot of pets who wait a long time to find homes or have difficult medical conditions — but SICSA has worked really hard over the years to take care of our staff,” Sullivan said. “Without our staff and volunteers SICSA wouldn’t exist. And we work hard to make sure the culture of the organization is where people want to be and stay. I think everyone who works at SICSA starts here because they love the animals but once you’re here it’s really working with the community that is the most satisfying. We get the opportunity to not just adopt pets to people who are looking to add pets to their family but we also get to support people who need assistance keeping pets in their home.”
Sullivan, who has been with SICSA for nine years, takes particular pride in the Adoption Center’s personable approach.
“We do our best to make the adoption process welcoming,” she said. “We want to make good matches and I think people come here to adopt because they feel welcomed and supported.”
Omer has been associated with SICSA since the early 2000s when he was a donor and an adopter. Looking ahead to the organization’s next 50 years, he anticipates more forward-thinking and innovative endeavors will arise whether from a financial standpoint or through community-focused programs.
“We are developing some plans to make sure the organization sustains itself for the next half century,” he said. “We just opened a new endowment fund with the Dayton Foundation where we are seeking community dollars and legacy gifts that will go into an endowment that will aim to fund the organization in perpetuity and permanence. With great excitement we look forward to the future.”
More details
SICSA is located at 8172 Washington Church Road, Dayton. For more information, visit sicsa.org.
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