Join the Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors:
- Karen Betenbaugh, Chairman
- Mike Deems, Vice Chairman
- Angela Casler, Treasurer
- Ann Ponzio, Secretary
- Jack Andrews
- Sheryl McWatters
- John Schleh
If you are interested in joining our Board of Directors, please call or email our Executive Director, Brad Montgomery, at (530) 891-9048 or brad@chicoshelter.org for more information. If you'd like to read the minutes from recent board meetings, scroll to the bottom of this page. Thank you for your interest.
A Message from our Board Chair:
It’s so exciting to be involved with this compassionate, amazing organization. I became involved with the Shelter a few years back when funding was such an issue because I couldn’t stand the thought that a homeless shelter could go under in our community. We are so far ahead of where we were then, thanks to all of the people that work at the Shelter (my heroes!) and so many people who donate their time and money to ensure we continue to be a vital, dynamic organization.
Life as Board Chair is complicated here at the Shelter, in fact, everything about the Torres Community Shelter is complicated and challenging! As Board Chair, one of my focuses is on stabilizing our funding…everything we do, EVERYTHING, hinges on a stable source of funding for the Shelter, so that’s got to be a priority. Another priority is working ensure we are helping our guests move forward with their lives and that their time here will be empowering, encouraging, motivating and dignified—that staying at the Shelter won’t be a low point for them, but a starting point. A third priority for me is working to dispel stereotypical images of what it means to be homeless, and also working to ensure that our public image is professional and compelling through our website, the newsletter, and Facebook. This helps potential guests, supporters, and other agencies know who we are and what we do, and it helps to bring in donations from the community, which are vital. Finally, it's important to me that the Shelter is a great place to work, and I want to continue to make this a priority. I want staff to be proud of what they do here, and I want people knocking at the door to work or volunteer here because our programs are so successful and well run.
It’s a tall order and here’s what I do to stay focused: Are our guests moving forward? Are we moving forward as an organization, as an employer, as a driving force in our community in helping people who need it? I think that as long as we are moving forward, we will always be headed in the right direction.
In closing, I want to share a selfish reason for being so involved. I came to this organization wanting to help people and something unusual happened to me. I’m not the same person…the Shelter helped me too! Recently I sat for a long time talking with someone on the street, someone that was homeless, someone that years ago I would have walked past with my eyes averted. What’s changed? My perception, compassion, understanding and connection to people have all changed for the better because of what I’ve seen and learned here as a volunteer for the Torres Community Shelter. That’s why I’m excited to be heading up the Board of Directors. That’s why I’m involved. We are all people—how can we not get involved?
—Karen Betenbaugh, CCSP Board Chairman
A Message from Past Chairman Sheryl McWatters
Almost two years ago, we started our People Helping People (PHP) donor campaign. We thought it would be easy—such a simple concept. If just 4,000 people, families and/or businesses would give at least $10 each month to the Shelter, our basic monthly expenses would be covered and we would have a sustainable, local funding base. Our energies and time could then go in search of funding to add and improve services to help our guests become self-sufficient rather than spending so much time raising money just to pay the bills.
But, it hasn’t been as easy as we originally thought. So, if I could ask just one thing of you for the Shelter’s future well being, it would be this. Please join our People Helping People Team or, if you have already, urge a friend or family member to join us. Just contact the Shelter or click here to find out the many ways you can make your PHP donation, including automatic on-line donations through PayPal. We truly can’t do it without you!
—Sheryl McWatters, Past Chairman
Here are the minutes of our recent board meetings:
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