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“Eight years ago, my life completely changed and I began making a difference,” says Michelle Rhodes, a Lean analyst for CHG Healthcare in Salt Lake City. “I found out that I was pregnant — at age 20 — and decided on adoption for my son.” The adoption experience prompted Michelle to mentor women in similar, difficult situations and to support various youth development programs.
Michelle is one of our four Difference Maker winners who will join our CEO Scott Beck on an all-expense-paid trip to Kenya, Africa, this summer for a mix of service projects and vacation adventures. CHG’s Difference Maker program is an annual recognition award that honors employees who are passionately committed to helping others.
Transforming a trying time
During Michelle’s adoption experience, she came in contact with many expecting women who had low self-esteem and had very few positive female role models. Over the next few years, she mentored a dozen women, helping each one through every step of her pregnancy or adoption journey. “Having received the same emotional support, I recognized how crucial this was to my grieving process,” Michelle says. She also spoke at conferences, offering her perspective to adoptive parents.
“Because I was so heavily involved, I had many opportunities to re-live the emotional pain that I experienced when I placed my son for adoption,” Michelle says. She pushed through the pain, sacrificing her time, attention, money and emotions to help women who did not have a support system.
Continuing to give
Throughout college, Michelle actively volunteered with Dixon Girls Leadership Forum, an organization that mentors and empowers young women.
During her master’s program, she connected with YMCA of Idaho Falls. Due to funding issues, the organization’s youth development program was in jeopardy. Michelle gathered her classmates to provide assistance, working pro bono to create a new business model that could support the program.
In addition to the donation drives Michelle organizes at CHG, she adopts families in need and personally donates money to multiple charities. And she looks forward to going to Africa to help the people there, too. “I’m committed to giving back,” she says.
See Michelle’s reaction to being named a Difference Maker and hear what she’s looking forward to most:
Michelle is one of our many team members who make a difference in our world. CHG encourages our employees to give back to our communities through paid Volunteer Time Off. Helping each other is at the heart of CHG — through PTO gifting, donations to our Employee Compassion Fund, and other programs. See our other benefits¬†and consider joining our CHG family! Check out these career opportunities.
