Why Community Chest was Started
Deborah and I (Shaun) have always wanted to work in a place where we could act upon our convictions. We wanted to do lifework and we had to create a place in which to do it.
This led us to found Community Chest (CCI). Although we knew very little about running a business, we were determined to build an organization that could take risks, and steadfastly engage a very divergent, rural Western community to build the youth and family supports that were heretofore missing. The motivation to do this work emanates from years of working with people and a vision of how that work translates into a plan for social change in our community and state.
Beyond creating an organization in which to act with intention, we brought a desire to build community locally and to address some very difficult social issues statewide. What seemed to be missing from many “human systems” was doing all that it took with an eye on the horizon, acting as if ending homelessness or building a preschool was as vital to our lives as food itself. This gave purpose to our work and gave the volunteers and colleagues a belief in their ability to succeed in bringing about social change. This fundamental belief in the ability of others to make a contribution— no matter what their age or expertise, to choose to live with integrity, respect and work toward the common good, underlies all that we do at CCI.
As unorthodox as it may sound, we set out to build an environment in which this conviction to bring about lasting social change could flourish. At the core of this conviction are a handful of beliefs that inform our work: all people have essential dignity; as a basic requirement of being alive all people on the globe must have food, shelter, clothing, safety, and literacy; the world must live in peace; and that these issues must be addressed locally.
These beliefs have sustained cultures throughout time but to articulate them in local government, schools, and community is to personalize human rights at home. This is what we have tried to do and it is what motivates us to continue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This fundamental belief in the ability of others to make a contribution - no matter what their age or expertise,
to choose to live with integrity, respect and work toward the common good, underlies all that we do at CCI.