Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharon Cox.
Sharon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am the founder of the 16-year-old nonprofit The Ladder Alliance. I got the idea to start the nonprofit after teaching high school computer science in El Paso. Most of my students were children of migrant farm workers living in poverty. I realized the importance of my students learning computer skills, and the correlation between proficiency in those skills and the assurance of the students securing a well-paying job. During this time, I had this dream where I built a living facility in the middle of a cotton field where single Moms with children got to come live. While they lived there, at no cost, they learned computer skills as well as other living skills. They had to give back through and could either help in the vegetable garden, laundry facility or the dining area. As a single Mom myself, I didn’t have the funds to build this facility. I didn’t realize that the dream had stayed with me because after moving to Fort Worth in 2001, I was attending a church that had added a computer lab as part of their Sunday School classes.
When they held an open house, I remember walking into the room and just stopping as my dream came flooding back. What a great place to offer training… inside a church! There was one big problem, I didn’t know how to run a nonprofit! With the help of some committed church members and friends from work, The Ladder Alliance was born. We opened our doors to seven women from Women’s Haven (now SafeHaven) five months after the open house. The organization only operated at night as the staff was all volunteers. We provided training in basic Microsoft Office, dinner and childcare all at no cost. We stayed at the church about 18 months and moved to the first of three different sites.
In 2015, we were invited to relocate to One Safe Place (OSP), where 23 agencies, all dealing with domestic violence are collocated to provide needed services for survivors. One Safe Place is one of the largest Family Justice Centers in the country. At OSP, survivors can work with law enforcement, counselors, prosecutors, The Ladder Alliance, and other resources to emerge from the violence. We are able to provide participants with a “warm hand-off” to other social services and legal agencies within the building. The organization has grown from that first class of seven students to serving approximately 300 per year in three different computer skills training program. The original budget was nominal (run by volunteers) and is now a little shy of $700,000.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
You know, you always think that “getting to live your dream” would be just idyllic. Even though we all say that we want to live that life, it’s not what you expect. Founding a nonprofit and keeping it going is definitely not a smooth road. The biggest hurdle we have faced was in 2008-09 during the recession. We barely survived. At this time, there were four people working for Ladder. Everyone except me was laid off and we were able to work out a plan where the majority of our monthly rent was deferred. There were months where I only received half of my salary. There were weekly calls with the executive board officers where we talked about what money we had and what we needed to spend it on. Throughout this entire, however, ever none of our students knew we were about to go under and we never reduced the services we were providing for them. This included a dinner meal and free childcare while they went to class.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Ladder Alliance – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
The mission of The Ladder Alliance is to provide women victims of domestic violence and low-income women with the tools to lead self-reliant, independent and successful lives. The main tool we provide is job skills training. The training is three different levels of computer skills classes. Computer skills are now considered as essential as knowing how to read in order to obtain a job. The three different classes are the Basic Computer Skills Training (BCST), Professional Office Skills Training (POST) and Microsoft Office Specialist Training (MOST). The goal of the BCST class is to give students enough skills that will allow them to apply for a wide range of entry-level positions. The course is 72 hours and covers the basics of the Internet, email, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The POST program started about four years ago, is a much more comprehensive course and prepares students for an entry-level professional office position. The course is 320 hours, covered in 14 weeks where students attend class five hours a day, five days a week.
There are three main core subjects. The first course is advanced Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. The second is Business Communications consisting of both written and verbal communications. The last course is a certified Customer Service Skills class taught by Tarrant County College. There are short seminar type courses as well including financial literacy, eating healthy on a budget, and what are positive relationships. The MOST program is the newest class and is the most advanced course with the goal being to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist test in both Word and Excel. This is in the pilot phase where 14 students have attended the class and 11 have earned their certifications. The cost of each of these programs is $20. We want students to feel like they have a stake in the game, but we know they can’t afford much. We are not just focused on providing training. One of the most important aspects of all three programs is a rebuilding of self-esteem and self-confidence. Each class session begins with a motivational segment such as “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right.” Graduates have told us over and over again “Thank you for giving me my confidence back.” We get to watch students as they grow from a quiet, not looking at anyone to an empowered woman where they tell us “Don’t tell me I can’t.” We are known for providing a safe, nurturing environment where women learn essential job skills that can change their life and that of their children for generations to come. For many, this is the first time in their life they have felt supported and safe where they are actually cared about.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am amazed to say that I was a very timid, shy individual. I would wilt if I was called on by a teacher and had to answer a question. I’ve always had a very positive, happy attitude. I was very involved in the teen programs at my church. I loved being with friends and normal teen activities such as movies and going to high school football games.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1100 Hemphill, Suite 302 Fort Worth, TX 76104
- Website: www.ladderalliance.org
- Phone: 817-834-2100
- Email: scox@ladderalliance.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/ladderalliance
- Facebook: facebook.com/ladderalliance
- Twitter: @ladderalliance
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