Publisher’s note: This Chester County Leadership profile was originally published in July 2015.

Last year United Way of Chester County, led by CEO Claudia Hellebush, worked with 145 Chester County companies and raised close to $5 million dollars, monies that went to help nearly 1 in 4 Chester County residents.

No other organization in the county works with more companies, talks to more people, shows up at more events and has a greater impact on the lives and welfare of more Chester County residents than the United Way of Chester County.

VISTA Today asked Claudia about growing up in Malvern, her education, first at West Chester University then at Temple, her Executive Director’s role at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chester County when she was just 23-years old, assuming the CEO role at United Way in 1995 and the Leadership Chester County, a community initiative she helped launch, now in its fifteenth year.

Didn’t you grow up in Chester County, Claudia?

Yes, Malvern.

What was growing up in Malvern like back then?

Malvern was a quiet little town back then. Once you got past the borough, there was nothing but acres of farmland. We never traveled further west than the intersection of Route 100 and 30, and that was only to visit the Guernsey Cow ice cream store. Malvern was a lovely place back then, and it’s a lovely place now.

How many siblings do you have?

There were five of us; four boys and me, the only girl. I am the second oldest.

What was it like to grow up with all brothers?

It was wonderful my brothers and I were close in age and close in friendship. We had an open door policy in my house so when the 5 of us had our friends over it was a party. We lost our mother early in life and that situation created a very strong bond among us which is just as strong today.

Were your parents Chester County natives?

My parents were from Ardmore. My father was an insurance executive and my mother was an accomplished artist and pianist. One of my fondest memories were the evenings that she taught art and music classes for free.

Did any of that talent rub off on you?

You can’t find anyone with less musical talent than me. My family doesn’t even allow me to sing at birthday parties.

What did you do to earn money in high school?

I was never a babysitter. I had four brothers to keep an eye on so that didn’t leave a lot of time for watching other people’s kids. My first high school job was at Hot Shoppes at the corner of Route 30 and 252 in Paoli. My best friend and I worked the registers and in those days there weren’t as many fast food venues so we were always really busy. It was a crash course in customer service.

Where did you go to college?

I went to West Chester University and earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and later a Master of Science degree in Administration with a concentration in Social Work.

Describe your first professional employment.

I worked at the Devereux Foundation as a teacher in their day school. In the evenings, I attended Temple University studying Family Therapy. The Therapist route didn’t seem right so soon after that I took a position as the area director at Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chester County. A year later I became the Executive Director. I never thought I would work in the non-profit world, but I got hooked. Thirty-five years later, I’m still here.

What memories stay with you from your time at Big Brothers Big Sisters?

I loved working with the kids and interacting with their parents. Just a couple of weeks ago, I got together with a former little brother who is now 44 years old. I met him when he was nine. He is very successful in both his business and personal life. He’s a great person, with a great mom who recognized that a Big Brother would bring out his potential. It was extremely difficult to leave that organization, but I have great memories of extraordinarily caring people who felt the call to help a child. I was honored to be a part of it for 16 years. I saw hundreds of “Bigs” as well as “Littles” benefit from their relationships.

Was transitioning from Big Brothers Big Sisters to United Way of Chester County difficult?

When the opportunity to work at United Way of Chester County came along in 1995, I saw it as a way to move from street level (direct service) to aerial view (community level). It took a while to adjust. The environment was completely different but now after 20 rewarding years I can emphatically say it was a great move. I have been surrounded by people who want to make the community a place where everyone has the opportunity to have a good life. What could be better?

What are United Way of Chester County’s big challenges or opportunities for the rest of this year?

Getting face time with senior level managers of companies will always be our top challenge. These are extremely busy people. Once we get that face time and tell our story, there’s nothing that people don’t like. United Way offers an opportunity for businesses and employees to easily give back to their community. We know what the issues are, we know who can address them and we can show them the results. We have a tremendous opportunity to build our campaign to make great strides in our work on education, financial independence and health.

What types of companies does United Way look for?

We welcome any company or individual who wants to partner with us to help people in the community. Companies that choose to run a United Way campaign have very positive cultures and very high regard for their employees. They see the United Way campaign as a benefit to employees. It’s an easy way to be charitable and to become involved in community service.

Our current portfolio of 145 local businesses ranges from businesses with 20 employees to corporate giants like Bentley Systems, J&J, QVC and CTDI.

Campaigns can be run as simply as using a paper pledge form or for larger companies it can be handled all electronically. What matters is that everyone participates. It’s the collective power of large and small businesses as well as individuals that gives us the ability to help those who need us.

United Way of Chester County does much more than raise money.  You run a Leadership Training program as well. Tell me about that.

Sixteen years ago, Randy Schauer, an attorney with Fox Rothschild in Eagleview, came to me with an idea. He talked about the problem of seeing the same people being tapped over and over to join this committee or sit on that nonprofit’s board. Chester County of all places has so many talented people we knew there had to be a way to reach them and connect them with opportunities to serve in leadership positions.

We started talking about different models for training people and preparing them to sit on a nonprofit board. We visited other community-based leadership training programs in the region and then enlisted partners across the community to join us including the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry and West Chester University, a three-way partnership that has made Leadership Chester County the success it is today.

Annual class size is intentionally limited to no more than 30. Classes are monthly and start in October and run through May. LCC draws people from all walks of life; veterinarians, attorneys, doctors, clergy. Leadership Chester County grads have served 314 different non profit organizations.

Finally Claudia, what is the best piece of advice you ever received?

I don’t think there is just one. I have had a long career because of so many talented people helping me along the way. On a personal level my influence comes from my family starting with my paternal grandmother who was a part of my life until I was 45 years old. She was very kind but very strong, worked until she was 85 years old, was very independent and took care of herself into her nineties. Whatever advice she gave was worth following.

Ok, if it had to be just one thing it would be what my husband John always says and that is, above all, be fair in all that you do. I try to live up to that… but to be fair, I am not sure I have a perfect record.