Check Out Colette DeRaud’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colette DeRaud.  

Hi Colette, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in southeast Michigan and pursued a Bachelor of Science in Public Health at Eastern Michigan University. The program at Eastern required an internship, and one of the opportunities was to intern at Community Action Network (CAN). I was intrigued by CAN’s mission and applied for the internship! I was offered the position and completed my internship with CAN in April of 2017. I loved working at CAN so much, I didn’t want to leave when my internship was over! I was fortunate to have the opportunity to stay on part-time, working with CAN’s food distribution at our Bryant Community Center for a summer and then directing the After School Program at our Hikone Community Center for about a year. We ended up getting a grant to allow us to bolster our education program at our Bryant Community Center, and I became the Assistant Director – I ran the food program, which is the largest food distribution site in the county, and the elementary after-school program (ASP) in addition to resource coordination and advocacy work for the neighborhood we serve. After 2 years in that position, I took an opportunity to become the site director at our Hikone Community Center, where I did a lot of the same work, just for a different community. Finally, after 2 years at Hikone, I was able to make another switch to become our Director of Community Wellness and Engagement. During my time at CAN, I was always eager to do more work relating to wellness and public health. So, this position was actually created just for me! All the pieces fell together, and I was able to pull together this position based on the needs of the organization (which just so happened to include my passion of public health and wellness!). 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I have definitely had to learn patience along the way. My dream was always to do more work with public health – it is a passion of mine, I could see the need in the community, and of course, it is what I studied in school! But one of the biggest barriers in a non-profit is finding funding to do the important work. Over the past decade or so, even just the past 5 years, CAN has grown so much. Since I have been working with CAN, we have grown by 3 community centers and a number of full-time staff members. It is such an honor to work for a growing non-profit and see the number of families we are able to serve grow each year. So naturally, I was ecstatic to learn we had the opportunity to create a new position for me that would allow me to help CAN continue to grow! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I work for Community Action Network (CAN), a non-profit in Washtenaw County. CAN partners with children, youth, and families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for themselves and improve the communities in which they live. CAN envisions the closing of socio-economic gaps by educational and enrichment programs for children and teens, supportive services for families who are under-resourced, and challenging systems rooted in racism and inequality. In other words, we operate 6 community centers (plus one admin building) and run food programs, after-school programs, free educational summer camps, community events, back-to-school drives, holiday gift drives, advocacy work, transportation assistance, rent and utility assistance, and more in the communities we serve. We aim to work very collaboratively within our communities to ensure that folks have their basic needs met and are thriving, not just surviving. I just became the Director of Community Wellness and Engagement for CAN and in that role, I do a lot of development work, which most recently included procuring about 400 filled backpacks for the students in our neighborhoods as they go back to school as well as some internal design work, like newsletters, flyers, etc., and finally, work in our Health Disparities Committee to build out a system to address health disparities within our communities. 

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is any amount of improvement from the day before. Whether that be one of our kiddos who completed a puzzle they were struggling to complete or our organization obtaining a grant we work hard to apply for. Every amount of improvement is a success – and “improvement” is something that only oneself can define! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/canwashtenaw
• Instagram: /canannarbor
• Facebook: /canannarbor

Image Credits
Community Action Network