SECU Foundation gifts OMI with $1.2 million to use for community shelter

Nancy McCleary, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
·2 min read

Apr. 11—The State Employees Credit Union Foundation presented a check for $1.2 million on Tuesday to Outreach Mission Inc. to use toward construction of the Samuel J. Wornom Community Shelter.

"We needed $4.2 million to build the shelter and we had raised right at $3 million," said Hamer Carter, president of the OMI board of directors. "This gave us the last piece."

The 8,500-square-foot facility will be located at 507 S. Third St. in Sanford and will be housing for men and women as well as single-mothers and their children. Upon completion, it will replace OMI's current men and women's shelters that are housed in buildings more than 100 years old.

The SECU Foundation provides funding for scholarships, local and community development projects, health care and human services, according to McKinley Wooten Jr., a member of the foundation's board of directors.

The foundation raises money through the State Employees Credit Union, which has 2.7 million members, who pay a $1 fee each year that goes into the foundation's coffers.

"We look at this as a partnership in Lee County, but we also serve surrounding counties," said Laura Spivey, executive director of the OMI Shelter.

Former Sanford Mayor Chet Mann, who was in office when plans and fundraising efforts for the shelter began, was in attendance.

"I am thrilled," Mann said. "This is the kind of moment that mayors live for. We've had a lot of wins here and this is a big one."

Caitlin Duke is the associate director of grants for the SECU Foundation. The OMI staff and board of directors have impressed foundation board members with their zeal and determination for the shelter.

"This is an extremely passionate group of people," Duke said. "We knew they were designed to proceed."

The shelter is named to honor Samuel Joseph Wornom III who died in January 2022. He was a co-founder of The Pantry convenience store chain and CEO of Macks Stores, a discount chain, until that company was sold in 1980. Wornom was an original investor in Spring Lake Cinemas.

Wornom was dedicated to making for Sanford and Lee County better by serving on several nonprofit boards and as a volunteer in many organizations. He was a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club of Sanford-Lee County and served on its board. Wornom was a National Trustee for the Boys & Girls Club and led the N.C Area Council and Alliance board.

"We've seen a whole lot of changes, but this is going to be a whole new level of playing field," Carter said.