Combined Community Services (CCS) Board of Directors announced today that Executive Director Randy Polston has concluded his time leading the organization to spend time with his family and pursue further work with the Warsaw Community School Board.
“The Board of Directors would like to extend our gratitude to Randy for the five years of service that he dedicated to CCS,” said Board President Santina Spiteri.
During the five years of Polston’s tenure, CCS has gone through the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in economic inflation. Both circumstances have produced record numbers of guests coming to the doors of CCS needing services, and at the same time, have created some financial challenges within the organization, according to a news release from CCS.
“Despite financial challenges due to inflation, the staff at CCS has continued to pour their hearts into the organization and serving our neighbors in need,” Spiteri explained.
The Board of Directors believes that the community can come together to keep CCS’s services alive in the community for neighbors who need them.
To serve in the interim, CCS Director of Self-Sufficiency Sabrina Phillips will be fulfilling the role of the interim executive director. With help and support from the Board of Directors, Phillips and the board will work to ensure that operations continue uninterrupted, and CCS will continue to serve neighbors in need.
Phillips has been part of the organization for over 22 years and during that time has dedicated her life to the mission of CCS. She has filled this interim role one other time in her tenure at the organization.
“Sabrina’s passion and kindness have helped countless guests who have come through CCS’s Self-Sufficiency programs,” explained Spiteri. “As a board, we are excited to support her as she leads CCS to continue to serve our neighbors in need, while the board works fervently in the search process.”
The Board of Directors has put together a search committee and will work to fill the executive director role for CCS. Additional details about the selection process will be shared as they become available.
CCS provides emergency assistance services to their guests through utility assistance and Dane’s Family Food Pantry. Alongside these services, CCS helps guests by providing two self-sufficiency programs. The services and programs are designed to come alongside neighbors in need and take them from being in crisis to achieving stability, the release states.
The need for these services and programs continues to rise. CCS is now serving over 900 families a month from the food pantry, which surpasses any of the numbers they saw during the pandemic. The staff is able to serve these numbers of guests due to their passion and the generosity of the community. CCS will continue to work with current partners and donors and churches, as well as seeking new funding opportunities so the organization can continue to provide these services to the record-breaking number of guests that come through its doors.
“CCS has been in this community for 40 years, and we are determined to keep this organization serving its guests for the next four decades,” said Spiteri. “The staff and Board of Directors of CCS are looking forward to coming together with our donors and fellow community members to continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we serve our neighbors in Kosciusko County.”
CCS is in need of food donations and volunteers to help in the food pantry and other areas of the building. Find out more about CCS’s needs and how to donate at ccsgives.com.