Be the Change: Cindy Dodds – Mirroring Kindness and Compassion in Shasta County

“One day, I went to a grant writing workshop,” says Cindy Dodds, founder and executive director of Tri County Community Network (TCCN) in Burney, CA (burneytccn.org). “I came home announcing I was going to write a grant to create a teen center. My husband rolled his eyes—and that was my motivation.”

The Minnesota native and her husband had been living in Southern California but moved north in the early 1970s to raise their son and two daughters. “We thought we would move ‘back to the world’ once our children were grown,” says Cindy, but instead the couple’s roots in the North State deepened. In 1990, right after attending the grant writing workshop, Cindy partnered with the McConnell Foundation, which purchased the vacant Bank of America building. After doing a great deal of repair work, Cindy and her team opened Tri County Community Network, starting with a teen center and quickly adding an afterschool program, a senior nutrition program and a preschool. She explains, “We basically listened to the community and responded to local needs, not really having any idea what we were doing. It was just a stroke of good luck we survived.”

Lynn Dorroh of Hill Country Clinic has worked with Cindy Dodds since shortly after TCCN became a 501c3 in 1996. She credits Cindy and not luck with TCCN’s survival and success. According to Lynn, Cindy has “shepherded many community projects that have made Burney a better place to live. She is pragmatic, solution-oriented and open-minded. She makes hard work lighter with her wit and humor.”

Under Cindy’s direction, TCCN’s offerings range from early care and education to job training and support for individuals with mental health challenges. Cindy has particularly loved supporting Spanish-speaking families through a component of a program funded by First 5 Shasta called Bright Futures, which helps parents learn English through Rosetta Stone so they can better advocate for their young children. Joy Garcia, the former executive director of First 5 Shasta, worked closely with Cindy Dodds through Bright Futures and other programs. She describes Cindy as “a woman of integrity who cares deeply for her community and demonstrates this love through connecting her community to valuable resources.”

In a world with infinite needs, figuring out how to even begin to make a difference daunts many with good intentions. But Cindy has learned how to see and respond to a wide range of needs. For starters, Cindy keeps her focus on local needs. “I’m not changing the world. I’m not solving starvation of children in Yemen. There are people much smarter and with more power than me working on that,” she explains. “All I can do is make my own little bubble better.” Cindy Dodds emphasizes the importance of working with “a tribe,” using the power of the united community to accomplish change. She speaks highly of her staff, praising their ability to operate TCCN with or without her.

Cindy also recognizes that sometimes just a small effort can make a big difference. “The population in Shasta County is very dispersed,” she observes, “and there aren’t tons of people. So, it makes sense for us to stick our fingers in many dikes because when a need arises, it doesn’t require a huge venture to meet it.”

To renew and refresh, Cindy turns to the great outdoors. “I have a charmed life,” she says, describing her lovely home with pigs, chickens, bees and pine trees. Cindy loves to exercise and many of her favorite hours are spent with her hands in the dirt, tending her garden. The winter months, when the earth is too cold to cultivate, serve as an important pause in the rhythm of her life. “I wonder if I would appreciate the beauty so much if it didn’t die in the winter,” she reflects.

Above all else, however, Cindy values people. “What keeps me coming back to work every day is my yet-unsatisfied curiosity about the human condition,” she says. “I wonder how much of who people become is what we mirror for them. Aren’t we all sort of a collection of the response we get from people?”

According to Cindy’s theory and the reports of those around her, Shasta County is kinder and more compassionate with Cindy as its mirror.

The mission of our be the change column is to feature community members from the North State who are actively making a difference in community life. If you would like  to nominate someone who is making a difference, please write  to pn@northstateparent.com.