Unlocking Community Impact Through Giving With Susan Ryder

December 18, 2024

In this episode of You Can’t Take it With You, Jim Dunlop sits down with Susan Ryder, Community Engagement Associate at Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region, to discuss unlocking community impact through everyday generosity. Susan talks about recognizing opportunities to give, the courage it takes to act, and the ripple effect of helping families in need. She also shares the innovative work at Family Promise, from keeping families together to partnering with churches for shelter solutions.

Susan Ryder is the Community Engagement Associate at Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region, an organization dedicated to assisting families experiencing homelessness. She has contributed to the community through her work at Grace Lutheran Church’s Giving Pantry and by writing about nonprofit, DEI, homelessness, and social justice issues for TheBurg magazine. Susan enjoys connecting people to resources and has a passion for the outdoors, reading, and crocheting.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

[02:33] Susan Ryder talks about her background and career journey
[05:56] Susan’s generosity origin story
[07:55] Why true generosity costs something but is still worthwhile
[10:00] How Family Promise keeps families experiencing homelessness together
[14:58] Nonfinancial ways to give and support others
[20:28] Susan shares a story about having the courage to provide life-changing support
[26:41] The value of stepping out and having the compassion to care

In this episode:

Generosity comes in many forms, and sometimes, the most impactful actions stem from seeing a need and having the courage to step forward. But how do we identify these opportunities to give and make a lasting difference?

According to Susan Ryder, a passionate advocate for community engagement, generosity begins with recognizing the resources you already have — whether it’s time, skills, or simply a space to share. She highlights that true giving often comes with discomfort, requiring courage to act when it’s inconvenient or unexpected. From helping neighbors with childcare to supporting families facing homelessness, Susan emphasizes that generosity is not limited to financial contributions but thrives in small, thoughtful acts.

In this episode of You Can’t Take it With You, Jim Dunlop sits down with Susan Ryder, Community Engagement Associate at Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region, to discuss unlocking community impact through everyday generosity. Susan talks about recognizing opportunities to give, the courage it takes to act, and the ripple effect of helping families in need. She also shares the innovative work at Family Promise, from keeping families together to partnering with churches for shelter solutions.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Related Episodes

Quotable Moments

“Generosity costs us something, but it’s not always financial. It’s a willingness to share your resources, whether time, knowledge, or energy.”
“My earliest memories of my mother were being generous at Christmastime, always inviting people who didn’t have family around.”
“True generosity is not always going to feel good. It’s going to feel like a pain, and that’s okay.”
“Have the courage to care. It takes courage to step out into caring about people.”
“Once you see, you can’t unsee; it’s just a lot easier to turn your head.”

Action Steps

Volunteer your time and skills: Volunteering can be an impactful way to give without financial cost. It addresses the need for community support and logistical assistance, which are crucial in helping organizations and people in need.
Identify and utilize resources wisely: Using resources like buildings or vehicles can significantly aid community efforts.
Listen to understand needs: Listening is a critical first step to understanding how you can best offer support and make a meaningful difference.
Offer practical help and hospitality: Providing practical solutions to immediate needs can address specific challenges individuals face and foster stronger community bonds.
Cultivate the courage to act generously: This mindset is effective as it empowers individuals to take responsibility for creating positive change, even when it requires personal sacrifice or facing uncertainty.

Sponsor for this episode:

This episode is brought to you by Advent Partners — a financial planning partner dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey.

Our seasoned team of professionals is committed to guiding you toward your financial goals. We offer tailored solutions based on your specific needs, from standalone financial planning to integrated financial management.

Whether you are planning for the future, investing for growth, or navigating financial hurdles, Advent Partners is here to provide insights, recommendations, and a clear financial roadmap.

To learn more about Advent Partners and how we can guide your financial success, visit AdventPartnersFP.com.

Episode Transcript

Intro 00:00

Welcome to the You Can’t Take it With You show where we feature stories around generosity designed to inspire and encourage others to do meaningful things in their communities. Now here’s your host, Jim Dunlop.

Jim Dunlop 00:16

Hi. Jim Dunlop here, a wealth advisor and host of this show, where I sit down with people who get it when it comes to generosity. I’m excited to have guests who can give us stories on generosity to not only inspire our listeners, but to give practical ideas on ways we can give. Today’s guest is Susan Ryder. Past guests of our show include Jim Langley, Phil Cubeta, and Janet Riggs. But before we get to Susan, I want to share that today’s episode is brought to you by Advent Partners. Ready for good. Advent is a financial planning team dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey. At Advent Partners, we’re ready for good. Our bold, ten-year vision is to help clients donate $100 million to transform lives through generosity and planning. United by generosity, relationship, excellent authenticity, and fun, Advent Partners empowers meaningful lives and lasting community impact. To learn more about Advent Partners, visit readyforgood.com. Before introducing today’s guest, I want to give a big thank you to Angela Zimman at Wilson College. Go check out Wilson and Angela and what Angela are doing together at wilson.edu. Angela introduced us to Susan. So now Susan. Susan lives in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats. She and her husband have raised three sons. She works at Family Promise of the Harrisburg Capital Region in community outreach. She writes for TheBurg, a Harrisburg-based monthly magazine focused on nonprofit DEI, homelessness and social justice issues. At Grace Lutheran Church in Camp Hill, she coordinates the Giving Pantry, a weekly food and basic needs pantry. She enjoys connecting people to resources. She enjoys the outdoors and reading and crochet. Welcome.

Susan Ryder 02:01

Thank you. Thanks for having me. And I co-coordinate with my good friend Jackie at the Giving Pantry. I. I want to make sure everybody knows I am not a lone Ranger in that regard.

Jim Dunlop 02:12

These types of things cannot be done by soloists. So very good. Well, Susan, I’m really excited to talk to you today. And before we get into some of the things that I know you’re excited to share, could you tell us a little, give us a little a couple minute autobiography about yourself?

Susan Ryder 02:33

Sure. So, I grew up in a little town in western Pennsylvania, two hours east of Pittsburgh, Evansburg people who go to IUP have to pass my parents’ house typically, and I grew up with seven siblings. I have a twin sister there. My dad was a steelworker and spent lots of time outside. In the summertime we went to the swimming pool. My mom would get money from money that my brothers left in their pockets, and that’s how she got money for us to go to the swimming pool. Which I think is hilarious because my husband’s always finding money in my pockets, but he doesn’t usually keep it. Spent a lot of time on my cousin’s farm, sled riding, and enjoying the outdoors. And I still very much enjoy the outdoors. I went to college. I was the first one in my family to go to college. I went to Central Penn Business School and I worked in medical assisting for eight years, worked for pediatricians and plastic surgeons. Then I stayed home with my kids for a while and decided I wanted to go back to school, an urge I resisted for a long time because it’s like it’s just too much work. And then I decided, no, it’s something I really needed and wanted to do. Started at Hacc, which was great. Got an amazing education there and then went to Messiah and got my communication degree. Angela Zimman also, I think she had her master’s or PhD in communication. And then I worked for a couple of churches, which I thought was great because churches can notoriously be really bad at communicating, and I felt like that was my niche for a while. And then I ended up well during Covid, I ended up then without a job for a year, had not a great experience at another job and left. Took me a little while to find another job. In the meantime, I wrote a book which still sits waiting to find a publisher. Turns out getting published is harder than writing the book. And now I’m at a Family Promise. And that just kind of seems like everything just kind of fell together, you know? Throughout your life, you do things that don’t seem to connect. A little bit of this. I did a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. But then in the end, it seems like the circle connected. And when I started at Family Promise, all these resources that I gathered through my writing for TheBurg, I never thought I would be a writer. That’s something I forgot to mention that I write for them. And so, I fell into it. And it turns out that it’s been just one of the great joys in my life to do that. And the people that I’ve met have been utterly amazing.

Jim Dunlop 05:37

So, we have a mutual friend as we’ve talked about, and Angela, she said, oh, you need to talk to Susan. She’s one of the most generous people I know. So, I want to ask this question. You know what drives your own personal generosity and what is your generosity?

Susan Ryder 05:56

Well, that’s very kind of Angela. It’s hard for me to accept that label, but my mom always said, when someone gives you a compliment, just say thank you, so I will do that. My mom was very generous. My earliest memories of my mother were being generous at Christmas time. There was, you know, we had a big household, but there was always people in our home who weren’t our family. They were people who didn’t have family in the area. They were alone. And she would always have them at Christmas time, and they would eat with us, and they would have a gift, always—gloves or something like that. And she would always send them home with leftovers. She would always send them home with a cookie plate. And that’s just how my mom was. I remember one time there was a fire at the candy store across the street from us. Terrible day in the neighborhood when it burned down. My parents weren’t sad particularly because, you know, we spent a lot of time over there, but.

Jim Dunlop 06:57

I would imagine that was a tragic for you and your siblings.

Susan Ryder 07:02

Oh, it was terrible. You know, it’s terrible. It was a frigid western Pennsylvania day. I just remember that everything was icing up. And my mom was saying the fireman’s boots were full of water. The police officers had these flimsy little gloves on. And I remember my mom running around the house getting gloves for them and inviting them into the house to warm up. And that was pivotal, I think, in this desire to help people. And I get choked up. Probably the most I get choked up is when I talk about goodness. So, you know, bear with me if I get choked up.

Jim Dunlop 07:45

That’s quite all right. Okay. Let me ask you another follow-up question to that in your mind, Susan, what makes generosity?

Susan Ryder 07:55

Generosity is really interesting because I’ve been thinking about this, you know, really for a few weeks. And generosity costs us something. And that sounds like a bummer, but it does. It costs us. But it’s not always financial. That’s where we always think. And trust me, we need the financial. And I can talk about that later with Family Promise a little bit. But generosity is a willingness to share your resources. And those resources could be your time, your knowledge, your energy, your buildings, your vehicle. It’s a recognizing that people have a need and you can fill it with what your resources are. And I wrote a blog a bunch of years ago called Not So Jolly Generosity and generosity doesn’t always feel good. I’m sorry. I hate to, you know, be a wet blanket and all, but it doesn’t. And true generosity is not always going to feel good. It’s going to feel like a pain in the rear sometimes. It’s going to be inconvenient. It’s going to cost us a little bit of something, and that’s okay. That’s why it’s generosity. Otherwise, I don’t know what you call it, but generosity can be inconvenient. And yeah, so I think that’s what generosity is. Sorry if I’m really ruining it for people.

Jim Dunlop 09:31

If it was easy, everyone would do it. It’s easy to scroll through social media and I live with two teenagers, so I know that. But it’s hard to put the phone down and do something for somebody else sometimes. So, I totally get what you’re saying. So, tell me, you’ve mentioned Family Promise. Tell me about your work at Family Promise and what Family Promise does.

Susan Ryder 10:00

So, Family Promise assists families experiencing homelessness or in danger of experiencing homelessness. And I say in danger because HUD has different definitions of homelessness. And it’s confusing. By HUD’s definition, people who are housed in any way, whether it’s a hotel or doubling up with people, they’re not eligible for shelter, a shelter program, because they’re not considered homeless. They have to be in an uninhabitable building. So, Family Promise can assist families even if they’re housed at the moment. But they know that things are falling apart, and they need a place to stay. We keep families together. Typically, families are separated by gender in a shelter at like 12 or 13. And the sad part about that is boys in particular are really left out because a mother could take her 12-year-old, 13/14-year-old daughter into a shelter with her. She can’t take her son, and nor can a father take a little child into a into a shelter. So even if he’s 16, he can’t go into a men’s shelter. So, we keep families all together so parents or partners can be together because they’re usually separated, and children can be with their parents. It’s heartbreaking. The thought of that especially as a mother of sons. So, we have a day center in Camp Hill and that’s where the families are during the day. They go to work in school, and then they also get case management to work on whatever their issues. Their concerns are things that are affecting their stability. And then during the evening. And what makes Family Promise a little unique in the shelter realm is that we have a network of congregations, and that’s where our families spend the night. And that’s where generosity comes into, because the churches basically, you know, they let us use their building for a week at night and they house our families, and they give them a meal, hospitality. Very much Family Promise is relational and not just transactional. And that, I think, is what can make us a little bit different as well. At the day center and at the churches, they really care about the families. Not that other shelters don’t. It’s just a broader group of people that care about the families. And they provide van drivers to take the families back and forth and their volunteers at the churches are amazing because they basically, especially the volunteer leaders, take a whole week and dedicate it because it can be a little chaotic week, you know, and they dedicate that week to making sure our families have a place to stay. And that’s utterly amazing to me.

Jim Dunlop 13:12

That’s pretty cool.

Susan Ryder 13:13

Yeah, it is cool.

Jim Dunlop 13:14

You know, I’m familiar with the organization because I have a good colleague who’s very involved with your organization. So, it’s certainly something. But I probably have to be honest, I didn’t have that granular of information of what you’re doing. It’s just pretty cool that the philosophy and also the churches coming together to solve a community-based problem.

Susan Ryder 13:36

It’s considered a community response to homelessness. And I would be very remiss if I also didn’t mention our Up programs and Up programs help with housing, back rent or security deposits to get into housing. Wheels Up helps with transportation costs like permanent transportation costs like a car repair or down payment on a car. I’m trying to think—anything that would prevent you from losing your car because you need a car in this area, and a lot of people don’t know, people don’t have cars or they don’t have reliable transportation. And that really affects employee employment and access to so much. And we have a program called Heads Up which also helps with mental health stuff. So yeah, those programs are to try and help people not need our services. And we would prefer that.

Jim Dunlop 14:42

So, you know, I want to go back to when we were kind of talking about what makes generosity and generosity. You made the comment. It’s not just about giving money. What are the different ways that people can be generous?

Susan Ryder 14:58

They can be generous with their time. I’m going to share a story.

Jim Dunlop 15:03

Please do.

Susan Ryder 15:04

My neighbor, good guy, has two kids. He single dad. He lived with his mom, and she was super helpful to him getting the kids to school, things like that. And he could rely on her for that. And she died. And he didn’t have anyone to get the kids to daycare. And he had to be at work at seven, which meant at 6:30 he had to leave. First of all, he didn’t really have money for standard daycare, and this was a pivotal time for him. Right? I was just like, hey, I don’t know if he asked me or if I offered, I’m not sure, but so he would bring the kids to the house in the morning and then I would get them on the bus. I mean, I was already getting my own kids on the bus. And that’s just something I don’t think people think about, you know, how you can be generous. And I would be tired, you know? And I’d walk down the steps, open the door, the kids would come in, they would lay on the couch until like seven or whatever, 7:30. Then we’d all get up and, you know, our business around. So it wasn’t like I was answering the door and giving them a cup of cocoa when they came in. You know, I was tired too, so they would lay down and whatever. So that that kind of generosity right there, the churches who are with Family Promise, you know, we they let us use their building and congregations often have very large buildings that aren’t getting used all the time, and they share that building with us. And I know lots of churches. Grace Harrisburg. Grace UMC Harrisburg is hosting their Christian Churches United Women’s Yearlong shelter now, when it was just winter, now it’s yearlong and it’s much needed. And so they’re opening up their building. And for them to do that, we can be very protectionistic about our belongings sometimes and their resources. Our knowledge is a resource. Do you know how to fix things? Could you help somebody fix something instead of having to spend $500 on a plumber to fix it? And just seeing the need is also really that has to happen first. Adam Grant, this just came across my feed yesterday. Let me read it here. It says generosity rarely starts with an offer of help. It often begins with a question about what others need, and then the quote continues. But that’s the crux of it seeing it. And then what do I have? Or what do I have access to that could help this person, even sharing your belongings? Just thinking outside the box in that regard.

Jim Dunlop 18:15

Well, and I really like the idea of, you know, recognizing and seeing it first.

Susan Ryder 18:21

Yeah.

Jim Dunlop 18:21

And, just paying attention to what’s happening around you. So, shifting gears a little bit, but I know there’s somebody special that I want to understand and learn a little bit about. And her name is Aisha Mobley. Can you tell me who Aisha is?

Susan Ryder 18:37

So, Aisha works for Nasr Group and she does counseling there. She worked for Christian Churches United doing outreach, and I met her through Family Promise. I have only known her for a couple of years, but she’s just been a tremendous influence on the energy and time and love that someone puts into other people. And she also works for Breadcoin. And Breadcoin helps. Oh, boy. How do I explain? Breadcoin. It’s a currency that you can give to people. And they can go into certain restaurants and use that to eat. And so she works for them. But I’ve watched her at homeless encampments when I’ve written stories trying to find housing for people and situations, calling family members hours away to let them know that their loved one’s ready to come home. And if we gave them, if they gave them bus fare, were they welcome, you know. And she is tireless and she’s always moving and she’s just really an amazing person.

Jim Dunlop 19:51

Oh that’s neat. And I love hearing about people like that, that there’s so much that happens in our society. So much good that we don’t get to see very often or not many people get to see.

Susan Ryder 20:05

Absolutely.

Jim Dunlop 20:06

And there are people quietly making the world a much better place in everything they’re doing. I think. That’s pretty cool. So I always love, and you’ve shared a few already, but I was wondering, do you have any good stories to inspire our listeners around generosity?

Susan Ryder 20:28

Sure. So, this is a story about me which I don’t like telling, but it’s a really good example. So, I’m going to tell it. You know, we talked about listening, and a friend of mine had talked about how she knew someone that was allowing a family to be on their property with their RV because they were homeless, and use their electricity until they were able to change their situation. And I remember just, you know, sticking that story in the back of my head and thinking how awesome it was. Then when I was a student at Messiah, I met a young lady, and we were in class together. Comm. theory, I think it was. And as we got to know each other, she shared—it was getting close to graduation—she shared with me that she didn’t have anywhere to go, and she was telling her other friends this, but they were young college students, and they didn’t really understand what that meant. When she really meant she didn’t have anywhere to go. She did not want to go back to a very toxic relationship at home, and I was trying to find a place for her to stay. I made a bunch of calls and couldn’t find any place for her to stay, and it was like midnight one night and I’m laying in bed worrying about her, and I sat up and I was like my camper. She could stay in our camper and I was like, oh, that might be insulting to her. Like, I don’t want to insult her. But I was like, no, have the courage, have the courage to see about this. So, I contacted her, and she said yes. And so, we had a pop-up camper on the side of our house, and that’s where she slept. But she came in like she was a part of our family, basically. But she just slept out there. She had her own space and my house was full, like there was nowhere for anybody to go. So this was nice. And she was she lived with us for like 5 or 6 months till it got cold. And. But she’s like my daughter from another mother now. It takes courage to do crazy things. And that was a little crazy. And I called my husband who doesn’t always see the need, and he would admit that. But he’s happy to go along with harebrained schemes. So, he was like, I mean, I said yes to her before I actually asked him because I knew he would say yes. I mean, he’s a great guy. And he’s like, yeah, sure, that sounds great. And it ended well. It could have not ended well. I mean, that’s also a possibility. That’s why I say you have to have courage to care. And this was one of those times and it was nerve wracking for both of us. But it ended up working out really well. And that’s just one example of, you know, give it a try and you don’t have to have somebody live in your house. You don’t have to have somebody even live in your camper. But it’s just thinking about how can I help someone in this situation.

Jim Dunlop 23:37

You know, it’s interesting. So, you said this happened, I think, at Messiah and I’m very involved in my alma mater, Susquehanna University. And I suspect this is a story that plays out on many, if not most residential college campuses where there are a number of students that their primary residence is that institution’s dormitory or wherever they’re staying. Because they come from homelessness or their families are homeless or they’re in bad, toxic relationships, they get out and get to college and have nowhere to go. It’s a great story to share because it’s a practical thing you could do for somebody in a difficult situation. What I also like about it, Susan, is you’ve got to look around because there are people struggling in plain sight that we probably don’t recognize. I think we’d all have this image of the college kid. Oh, they’re in college. They’re at this very nice institution that costs a lot of money, so they must be in great shape. They probably come from a great family, and that’s probably true for a lot of the students there. But there are people in plain sight that are struggling or don’t have anywhere to go. And just being sensitive and looking for that, I think can make a huge difference in helping somebody.

Susan Ryder 24:59

Right. And believing people when they tell you things and because it’s not your experience, it’s kind of hard to understand that. But again, there was a professor at Messiah who told the story about how she got married out of college because she didn’t have anywhere to go.

Jim Dunlop 25:18

Wow.

Susan Ryder 25:19

And so again, that was, you know, take a story, tuck it in your head. And then when I met my friend, I was like, wait a minute, this happens to people, you know, and I don’t want this to happen to her. She’s trying to make really good decisions in her life. And so, let’s give it let’s give it a shot.

Jim Dunlop 25:38

Absolutely. So, Susan, I really appreciate you coming and sharing today with me and our listeners. This has been really awesome and practical, like just great ideas of just pay attention to what’s going on around you and what can you do that’s maybe a little different to help.

Susan Ryder 25:56

Right.

Jim Dunlop 25:57

I do have one final question, but before I ask it, I just want to let people know where they can find you. You can check out Susan’s work with Family Promise at familypromisehcr.org. You can find Susan on Facebook, or you can send her a quick note at ryder.susan@comcast.net. So, feel free to reach out to Susan individually if you’re interested in learning more about what she’s doing. Here’s our last question. If you could share some advice or wisdom on a billboard where it’s going to reach a lot of people, what would your message be?

Susan Ryder 26:36

My message would be have the courage to care.

Jim Dunlop 26:40

Okay.

Susan Ryder 26:41

Because it takes courage to step out into caring about people. Because once you see, you can’t unsee. And it’s just a lot easier to turn your head. And I think people don’t understand that. Maybe that’s what they’re doing sometimes. And I think people want to help. They don’t always know how. So just have the courage to care.

Jim Dunlop 27:07

Yeah. So, Susan. Thank you. We’ve been talking with Susan Ryder. I’ll call her a thought leader, but somebody who’s just a generous person, who’s taken time to share ideas with us on generosity. Thank you for joining us.

Susan Ryder 27:22

Thanks. Yeah. Thank you for having me. It’s been great.

Outro 27:26

Thanks for joining us to hear stories of generosity that remind us that you can’t take it with you. Visit our site at canttakeitwithyou.com for more details on today’s episode and to subscribe to future shows.

Disclosure 27:44

Neither today’s guests nor their company are affiliated with or endorsed by Thrivent Advisor Network. The views expressed in this presentation by the guest are their own and not necessarily those of Thrivent or its affiliates.

Advent Partners may utilize third-party websites, including social media websites, blogs, and other interactive content. We consider all interactions with clients, prospective clients, and the general public on these sites to be advertisements under the securities regulations. As such, we generally retain copies of information that we or third parties may contribute to such sites. This information is subject to review and inspection by Thrivent Advisor Network or the securities regulators. Advisory Persons of Thrivent provide advisory services under a “doing business as” name or may have their own legal business entities. However, advisory services are engaged exclusively through Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Advent Partners and Thrivent Advisor Network, LLC are not affiliated companies.

Unlocking Community Impact Through Giving With Susan Ryder

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

In this episode:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

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Quotable Moments

Action Steps

Sponsor for this episode:

Episode Transcript

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