Making a CHANGE from early on

Chantelle Marie Fondren was first introduced to United Way as a teenager. While attending Chesaning High School, Chantelle became involved with the Holiday Wish List program as well as Youth Service Days. She was also a part of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Leadership Institute which is where she deepened her understanding of how she could serve the community. “Each program was truly an eye opening experience and inspired me so much. I brought the idea of Make a Difference Day to my home town, where with the help of local officials, I organized a community clean-up day in which 70 of my fellow classmates volunteered to clean up eleven different sites in the community,” said Chantelle. Her community involvement did not stop there. Chantelle chose to stay in Saginaw County and attend Saginaw Valley State University and continues to give back while attending college. “I try to volunteer at least once a month in the community. In addition to being a college student, I am also a team captain on my SVSU Cross Country team. Along with the athletic department, I encourage my teammates to go above and beyond to become more involved with volunteer efforts. Through working with United Way, I hope to continue to be an active, giving citizen in my community. I enjoy all the programs that I have been involved with and hope to continue to inspire and encourage more community members to become involved, especially the youth and students of our community. My overall life goal is to be able to someday give back to my Saginaw Community that has given me so much,” added Chantelle.