Her Journey Leads to Giving Back

Melanie Johnson is a longtime donor of the CCS Foundation. Her three scholarships have helped so many students focus on and achieve their new careers. It’s her history from her own college experience through her career path that inspired her to give so generously to local students.

“When I was growing up it was never if I went to college; it was always when,” Melanie said. “I attempted one year of college, but I struggled. Later I went to a one-year practical nursing school.”

She moved from Minnesota to California after that and worked as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital before returning to college to retool for a degree in social work. She attended a junior college, which helped because the school offered her personalized academic counseling. It ended up putting her on her career path.

After graduating from San Diego State, Melanie worked in residential agencies for children. She also worked for three summers at a backpacking camp that offered scholarships for kids who could not afford to go to camp in Northern California. Then she moved to Washington and started a position as a social worker in the Department of Social and Health Services. By the end of her career, she was a program manager for the state’s Adult Protective Services program in Olympia, where she developed policy.

“I was inspired to offer avenues for success by the many clients I encountered throughout my career,” Melanie said.

She chose Community Colleges of Spokane and the Foundation because of how it fits students’ lives.

“Not all students can afford college,” Melanie said. “Not all students are ready for a four-year college. CCS offers more individual assistance.”

Her first scholarship supports single parents who want to work in social services. Her second scholarship supports culinary students and was inspired by a friend who graduated from Spokane Community College’s Inland Northwest Culinary Academy. Her third scholarship also was inspired by a friend, whose son needed both mental health and substance abuse counseling. Melanie heard about how CCS is developing a bachelor’s degree program that combines those fields and wanted to support those students.

When asked about what impact she hopes to have, Melanie said she wants to support parents to be a positive role model for their children.

“Most of us have had someone in our lives who has offered and given us good advice. By supporting the services and scholarships offered through the Foundation, donors are doing just that in a different way.”

While Melanie donated a small inheritance to make her gifts possible, there are so many ways to make tax-smart, transformational gifts. Contact Heather Beebe-Stevens at 509-434-5125 or h.beebe-stevens@ccs.spokane.edu.