Introducing to the Bell Board of Directors: Juanita Baxter
As Juanita Baxter begins her role as a member of Bell’s board of directors, she sees it as a full-circle moment. Her first experience with Bell was as a pregnant teen who entered Bell Family Shelter, alone and scared. Once her child was born, they moved from the emergency shelter into Bell’s Bridge Transitional Housing Program, where she learned budgeting and money management, parenting skills, and more. “I used Bell Socialization Services to help me through a difficult time. I have been blessed to now be able to give of my time to pay it forward.”
In addition to being a new member of Bell’s board, Juanita recently started a new job as the Health Equity Community Outreach Coordinator under the Community Health and Wellness umbrella at WellSpan Health.
Juanita has been a long-time United Way of York volunteer, served two terms on the board of directors for the York County Literacy Council, is a current member of the board of The Program: It’s About Change, and is a WellSpan partner with the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) Program.
Juanita feels that she brings a unique perspective to the table as a board member and hopes that her experience as a former Bell service user will be useful. She shared, “As a teen mom and high school drop-out, I am particularly proud of earning my bachelor’s degree from Penn State York in 2020. I started part-time in 2013 and during that time I was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda ETA XI Chapter which is a national honor society for adult students in higher education programs.”
Who is her inspiration? “My children and my grandchildren. I am far from perfect, but I am always trying to learn more, do better and be open to trying new things even if I am afraid. I am so excited to watch their journeys and achieve more and go even further than me.”