South Hills Interfaith Ministries

Shim programming operates at four sites in bethel park, baldwin, whitehall borough, and west mifflin. While serving the greater allegheny county region, shim's programs primarily serve the communities of baldwin-whitehall, bethel park, brentwood, west mifflin, castle shannon, dormont, greentree, mt. Lebanon, south park, and upper st. Clair. Children and families, especially those who are foreign-born, are a particular focus of shim programs. Shim serves more than 400 children across all youth programs. Many children enroll at a young age and stay engaged through their high school graduation. -last year all 10 early childhood program graduates started kindergarten without needing language services. -in 2025, for the thirteenth consecutive year, 100% of youth mentoring seniors graduated from high school. 15 high school seniors graduated, most of whom are now enrolled in college. -shim's after school program and youth mentoring were recipients of a 2018 apost quality award-in 2019 youth mentoring received the excellence in mentoring award from the mentoring partnership of southwestern pa. -shim provided 1,700 backpacks with school supplies in 2025.to support kids from birth to graduation, shim offers home visits, an early childhood program, after school, youth mentoring, and summer camp. Shim provides essential resources and workshops for families including nurturing parenting classes, group counseling, enriching family activities, and immigrant services and connections (isac). Women and men gain additional support through women's group, family group, and dad's group. Additionally, bilingual staff provide walk-in support at shim's family center. Forty-two individuals attended nurturing parenting classes, and 17 dads completed the fatherhood program. Shim assisted over 300 clients through walk-in support at shim's family center.

Shim accomplishes the goal of building community by bringing together neighbors of all faiths and life experiences through the community gardens program, checkmates, and a very robust volunteer program. As an anchor nonprofit organization in the south hills, shim continuously adapts and expands to provide crucial programs to neighbors in need. Shim knows that a community's strength comes from the involvement and engagement of its members. Over 300 volunteers donated 15,000 hours in 2024. Some volunteers attend family volunteer events or group volunteer events. By offering these informative experiences to children and individuals unable to commit to weekly volunteer hours, shim shares valuable information to more community members, broadening their knowledge of the suburban poverty in their neighborhoods. Since its founding 57 years ago, shim values the importance of community engagement in the development of its programs. Shim staff work closely with refugee and immigrant families to understand and assess needs, to engage parents in their children's education, and to improve program offerings. Shim's close relationships with local families allows parents to feel comfortable entrusting shim to the care of their children. Shim staff members are an integral part of the organization's success. Shim leadership is committed to hiring culturally diverse staff, especially those from within the immigrant and refugee communities being served. Staff members are trained in mental health first aid, trauma-informed care, mentorship best practices and more to ensure compassionate and informed relationship building with clients. Consistent leadership combined with generous community support powers shim's critical services. Shim is poised to provide consistent meaningful care to neighbors now and into the future.