Notable Neighbors

Submitted by Lu Klaiber, Communications Chair

Sheryl Inglefield Caring Neighbors

In November of 1998, Sheryl and her family moved to Rose Hill from Michigan. They were warmly welcomed into their new community even before they arrived. Their new neighbor called them at their Michigan home, and invited them to dinner the day after they arrived, which happened to be Thanksgiving!

In 2016, a year after Sheryl and her husband closed their island retail store (Celebration Supplies), she was invited to join the board of Caring Neighbors. Caring Neighbors is a non-profit organization established to help senior citizens stay in their homes for as long as possible as they age. When Sheryl arrived at the meeting, people started shaking her hand and thanking her agreeing to become the Director of Caring Neighbors, and she still holds that position, seven years later!

The position of Director of Caring Neighbors afforded her the opportunity to do her volunteer responsibilities from home while taking care of her ailing husband. Before long Sheryl’s heart was touched by the many senior citizens she would speak to on the phone as they shared their specific needs with her. Additionally, the disbandment of another churchaffiliated charity, “Friends with Wheels,” left many seniors outside of Rose Hill in need of transportation and experiencing other problematic circumstances. This led to Caring Neighbors expanding beyond Rose Hill. Since the expansion, Sheryl has utilized her “at home” time helping seniors with a variety of special needs even going beyond the main objectives of Caring Neighbors which primarily include visiting, help with household chores or transportation.

Caring Neighbors has grown their relationships with other nonprofits such as Bluffton Self Help, The Deep Well Project and the Tri-County Office on Aging, to assist Bluffton area seniors with home repairs, acquiring government subsidized cell phones, qualifying for food stamp cards, assistance from charities, and other special needs.

A volunteer for Caring Neighbors shared, “Sheryl has been an excellent Director! She’s highly organized and very motivated to do whatever she can to assist seniors in need. She perseveres to find the best solutions for difficult situations. She’s truly one-of-a-kind!” Sheryl feels blessed to be able to make the lives of several seniors in Bluffton a little better. As with any charity, volunteers come and go as their lives change. Currently, Caring Neighbors’ volunteer force is very low.

Sheryl would be delighted to speak to anyone who might be interested in joining their mission. 843-368-2096

If you would like to nominate a neighbor whose careers, talents, military service or life experiences would be interesting to share with the community, please contact Lu Klaiber at lklaiber@hotmail.com