Giving Back to Families in the Community: Your Local Women's Resource Center

By: Hayley and Skylar

“We’re kind of like a hidden gem in some ways.” Stara Chandler-Smith says when we sit down to interview her.  As the executive director of the Ogallala Women’s Resource Center, Ms. Chandler-Smith does everything from working with clients, giving speeches and purchasing things for the Women’s Resource Center to getting the mail and sweeping the floor.

The Women’s Resource Center works with families in the community by helping them explore their options, obtain clothing and formula, giving parenting classes and also offering counselling. Ms. Chandler-Smith has worked with kids as young as twelve. Strengthening families is one way that Ms. Chandler-Smith helps the community.

The biggest struggle that Ms. Chandler-Smith has had while working at the Women’s Resource center is trusting herself to do the job. However, her favorite part is meeting new people and hearing their stories. If she can help them avoid heartache or save a child’s life, Ms. Chandler-Smith feels accomplished.

Ms. Chandler-Smith hopes to set the center on a course to grow. She hopes to expand the services, client base, donor base, and to be better known in the community. When asked if she thought she deserved more recognition, Ms. Chandler-Smith stated, “I think the Center deserves more because it actually does some really incredible things. It has some really awesome things to give back to the community. I’d like it to have more recognition in that manner. Not praise, but just more knowledge and information out there about it.”