SHARE Foundation Director Outlines Goals for New Bedford Agency

For more than 40 years, New Bedford's SHARE Foundation has provided technology assistance and equipment free of charge to physically and developmentally disabled people so they can better communicate and live fuller lives.

The SHARE Foundation (Society for Human Advancement through Rehabilitation Engineering) began its work at UMass Dartmouth, led by Professors Les Cory, Phil Vial and Rick Walder.

The foundation is now a stand-alone nonprofit with offices in the DeMello Institute on Union Street in New Bedford. Vial remains as the Director of Technology; Cory and Walder are deceased.

The Executive Director is Jack Dresser. He joined the SHARE Foundation last May after a 30-year career in health care fundraising. Dresser visited Townsquare Sunday to discuss his job and the challenges of leading a small nonprofit.

"Our clients have conditions such as ALS or cerebral palsy, or perhaps have suffered a  stroke or spinal cord injury," he said. "We use adaptive technology to help them overcome these challenges."

"We adapt laptops and tablets to the specific ability of the client to enable them to better communicate with their caregiver or family, or to operate in their immediate environment, like turning on lights or television," he said.

Dresser said he spends about 50 percent of his time on fundraising and outreach, and the rest working with staff and learning the technology aspect.

"Technology continues to evolve at a quicker rate than it ever has before," he said. "It's up to us to keep up with the technology that's available, and come up with ideas to adapt this technology to meet our clients' needs."

"The goals over the next year are to continue the stabilization of the organization after COVID, which set us back a little bit, and interrupted our relationships with other organization that serve disabled people," Dresser said. "We're rebuilding our fundraising effort as well so we can continue to grow, adding new clients throughout the region."

If you would like to help the SHARE Foundation continue its important work, visit the foundation's website to make a donation, or call (774) 992-0674 Tuesday-Thursday.

If you would like your organization featured on Townsquare Sunday, please email the host at jim.phillips@townsquaremedia.com.