What is the CHC?

The Center for Healthy Communities (CHC) is the umbrella organization for over thirty programs (i.e. grants and contracts) that support communities across the state of California.

How did I get involved?

Funny story — sitting at a cafe having breakfast, I overheard a conversation about an event happening (CalFresh Day) and that a flyer was needed. Being the social guy that I am, I took it upon myself to walk up to the table and offered to help. Overjoyed, the table allowed me to participate.

What projects did I work on?

CalFresh Outreach Campus Handbook
This was a digital handbook that took a span of four months to complete. During the time that COVID-19 was in full-swing, I had met with my director on Zoom for weekly meetings to go over revisions and ideas. 

The handbook itself had over forty staff members across multiple CHC locations involved with content, collaboration, editing, and so forth.

After the handbook was finalized, a conference was scheduled to showcase it to upper management within the organization. I took on the role of the main presenter to reveal the handbook, which was well received.

CalFresh Day
This was a community event that takes place on college campuses every year. In 202 I haelped with marketing the CalFresh Day event in Chico, CA providing social media ads, flyer, and graphics to help promote the day of the event.  

What were my challenges?

Both projects presented their own unique challenges.  Calfresh day was challenging because it involved quick-turn arounds and fast revisions. At one point, a QR code was to be added to a flyer and when it had printed, it was not working, and this was only after they were printed. Good thing was that it was tested before handing it out.

The handbook was challenging because so many people were involved in piecing it together. It had to go over many revisions and last-minute changes. Before the day it was presented, my director and I were still finding errors and making revisions up until 7:00pm.

How was I successful?

I was successful in the way that I felt what I was doing was making a difference. Both the handbook and the social event supported a cause to help college students who are in need. My involvement with the CHC left a fingerprint on their goal, which is a major win for me.

how was my overall experience?

I had a wonderful experience working with CHC. I hope to continue to be involved with other organizations that are like-minded and want to be part of a bigger cause.