Melissa Graybill
I was born and raised in Juniata County. I established CC5 because I have seen how this community comes together to help those in need. It was always important to me to teach my children the value of compassion and charity but I found that it was difficult to find ways for them to help others and make a difference locally.
I started out by doing simple things around the holidays such as providing gifts for foster organizations or donating to toy collection bins . As I was able to do more, I expanded to provide meals for local families and holiday gifts for families with children. I started to find myself being approached by individuals that wanted to help. People wanted to contribute but did not know how to do so on their own so they wanted to give me money to support my efforts.
These gestures were touching but I did not feel comfortable knowing that people were trusting me with their hard-earned money and I had no way to offer them some accountability. I decided that I would continue my efforts and I would help others to do the same, but I would do it the right way.
I have created an organization that allows people to give to others. This provides an opportunity for everyone to contribute and no matter how big or small, their gift will help serve the local community and collectively will make a difference.