When and why did you become a CHP Board member?
I’ve been a board member for a little more than one year. I am new to the [Berkshire] community and have lived here for about 2 years. Being on the Board is important to me because CHP was seeking to add diversity to the Board, specifically a Latina representative. I want to help CHP connect to our Latino community so that Latinos in the Berkshires know about our services and impact.
What made you want to serve on the Board?
It is important to let people know what makes CHP different. Even in my mind before I learned about CHP, I thought it was just about clinics and providing medical treatment. But when I researched CHP before joining, I learned how the organization is unique because it is about community and community ties. In our times right now, we have a lot of divisions – political divisions, racial divisions – and with CHP it doesn’t matter. What matters is that CHP wants to be able to make things better for everyone. I love that, and I want to support that. I think that is so important. It is not easy for somebody to say they need help, but CHP is here, and is looking to help people.
What have you learned as a CHP Board member?
Not only am I new to the community, I am new to the experience of being on a non-profit Board. So, I have been trying to understand the process and my role. I have been reading and doing a lot of research about the healthcare system in the US. Right now, we are in a crisis. I spend a lot of time reading about different things that impact CHP. I want to not just listen but help make important decisions, to be a voice for Latinos.
Are there CHP activities that you feel most proud to support?
I feel most closely tied to our work with Latinos and elderly people. The population is so large in our community. And people really need to know what CHP is – we are not just a medical clinic, we are community. We are working to make people’s lives better.
Why did you decide to become a donor as well as a board member?
Sometimes we can say oh I am not rich, or I don’t have money to give. But it doesn’t matter the size of the gift. You can imagine if everybody in the community gave $10 how much that would be. That is my goal – every one of those donations adds up and counts and makes a difference. People think we get funding from the government and that everything is paid for, and that is not the case. CHP builds bridges and closes the gaps we have in the community. That is important, and we need to support that right now.