Melissa Moore Janes
The vivacious personality of Melissa Moore Janes is evident as soon as she rushes in the door of the crowded Starbucks, closing the wind out quickly behind her as her bright eyes search for the two students who will interview her. Her warm smile and assured handshake immediately tell me she is a woman with passion and drive; this makes her a perfect fit for the team at the Children's Assessment Center. She joined the board in 2006 after being extended an invitation by friends already involved at the Center. Their enthusiasm for the CAC's mission was contagious, and after taking a tour of the facility, Janes did not hesitate to get involved to make a difference for the children suffering sexual abuse.
As a mother of three children, a 9 year old and 7-year-old twins, Janes feels compelled to help at-risk children in unstable situations. “The need for our services is so great in the community,” says Janes. “If the Center didn’t exist, children would end up in emergency rooms and police departments.” These settings are often less than ideal as they cannot provide the services the children really need but merely follow standard protocol that can be upsetting. The Center offers a more accommodating alternative, she says, as it “is a warm and welcoming place; it’s as much like my home as I could envision it to be.” Janes understands that the services provided by the Center are crucial because “sexual trauma to kids usually takes place repeatedly over a period of time, and children don’t report it until much later, if ever.” Also, she is aware of the unfortunate truth that victims of sexual abuse who go untreated often become perpetrators themselves.
Janes’s role as a volunteer board member includes attending meetings which provide leadership for the Center. As a board member, she works closely with the executive director and offers feedback on issues about budgetary plans and staffing issues. Janes serves specifically on the Development Committee, which is a working board where all the members are responsible for accomplishing tasks related to leadership and fund development. Because this is a volunteer position, it is evident that Janes truly feels passionate about the mission of the Center and desires to do what she can to help these children; she feels her involvement at the Center “is the equivalent of being able to put [her] arms around the kids.”
Outside of her work at CAC, Janes is a full-time wife and mother living in East Grand Rapids. She enjoys being active in the community by devoting her time to being a Girl Scouts leader and serving as a board member for other organizations she supports. Janes feels her leadership role at the Center allows her to offer the gift of hope and healing to those that have been victims of sexual abuse, and she plans to continue her work there indefinitely.
— Grand Valley State University Writing Student
