Sheron Bender has been part of The Filling Station's story almost from the very beginning, and in this episode she sits down with Mary Ann LeRay to trace that journey from startup committee member to vice chair of the board, sharing the moments that shaped her deepest convictions about community, hunger, and service.
Sheron reflects on how Hurricane Florence marked a turning point in her involvement. Her home was spared flooding, so she spent long hours at The Filling Station distributing supplies that poured in from New Bern, Raleigh, and across the country. What started as showing up to help became a calling she hasn't stepped away from since. She also revisits the early days of The Filling Station, when a small group of church members wrestled with the risk of using donated mission funds, and how the question "But what if it doesn't fail?" became the quiet conviction that carried the ministry into its ninth year.
As a retired school counselor who spent 33 years watching hungry children struggle to learn, Sheron brings a clear-eyed urgency to her work. She describes her roles across the organization, from organizing the food pantry and serving on the nominations and orientation committee to coordinating roughly 250 volunteers for the historic New Bern Bridge Run. She also shares what it means to serve alongside Backpack Blessings, helping get food into the hands of Jones County schoolchildren during summer and holiday breaks, a program whose participation list has tripled in just one year.
Sheron's story is one of roots, resilience, and a belief that feeding people isn't just one part of the mission. It's the foundation everything else stands on.
