CHT's Strategic Plan: 2025 - 2028
Mission
Our mission is to foster a healthy and equitable community for all in the Pajaro Valley through leadership in advocacy, collaboration, and wellness
Vision
We envision an equitable Pajaro Valley with health, wellness, and a full quality of life for all
Guiding Principles for Wellness in Action
- Leverage data, research, and community input to best meet the needs of our community
- Serve the whole family and the whole person
- Foster empathy, inclusion, dignity, and cultural sensitivity to serve our staff and community
- Stay curious, learn about, and acknowledge the unique cultural differences, perspectives, needs, and experiences of our community to inform our services
- Strive for excellence in stakeholder engagement and ensure we meet the needs of our staff, Board, partners, and program participants
- Invest in developing and empowering employees so they can then empower the community
North Star Goals (Strategic Objectives)
- Design and open a community Wellness Center to better serve the unique needs of our community
- Build and strengthen strategic partnerships with grantees and other external stakeholders for greater collaboration and impact
- Diversify revenue streams to support the organization’s goals and economic sustainability
- Ensure equity is embedded as a central tenet that guides organizational culture, governance, policymaking, and grantmaking
Wellness Center
What we must do to create an effective Wellness Center
- Goal 1: Understand and meet the unique needs, barriers, cultural norms, and desires in our community through the design of the center
- Goal 2: Promote, communicate, and educate about the vision, reaching out to the community to shift the mindset around health and to support community members in prioritizing their own health
- Goal 3: Build the model and then the partnerships needed to provide all the components we envision—considering depth, breadth and sustainability of offerings
Partnerships
What we must do to build and strengthen partnerships
- Goal 1: Shift relationships with grantees from transcational to relational and strategic, investing in each other's growth and results
- Goal 2: Create and share with staff a summary of current grantees and the resources and services offered by them for additional strategic partnerships and referrals
- Goal 3: Establish Director of Programs to help integrate programs and staff internally for better alignment and collaboration
Organizational Sustainability
What we must do to ensure organizational sustainability
- Goal 1: Diversify revenue streams and strengthen management of debt and income to not just build the center, but sustain running it for the long-term
- Goal 2: Strengthen internal professional development and career pathway opportunities to retain staff over time
- Goal 3: Engage the Board through training and gain more support on fundraising
Centering Equity
What we must do to center equity in our organization
- Goal 1: Actively recognize and seek input from multiple perspectives for continuous improvement
- Goal 2: Support new Board members to succeed through clear expectations, mentorship, and onboarding, ensuring the Board reflects the diversity of the community we serve
- Goal 3: Establish a new Director of Programs to help integrate programs and staff internally for better alignment and collaboration
Our Strategic Initiatives
For 25 years, the Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley (CHT) has promoted health equity in the Pajaro Valley. Our commitment began in 1998 when we responded to the urgent need for diabetes education. Today, our strategic direction centers around health equity and wellness through the promotion of activities, choices, and lifestyles that prevent illness and enhance quality of life. This strategic initiative led to new programs, including VeggieRx, El Mercado Farmers Market, and Community Gardens.
CHT provides the tools and resources to empower Pajaro Valley residents to make simple lifestyle changes, leading to longer and more fulfilling lives. By prioritizing prevention and addressing the root causes of diseases, we aim to create lasting positive impacts on individuals’ health. We also recognize that many chronic illnesses are influenced by societal issues such as poverty and food insecurity. To address these challenges, we implement interventions that target the social, environmental, and behavioral determinants of health.
New and future initiatives include:
- Community Gardens – in partnership with the City of Watsonville and Monterey Bay Master Gardeners, we are building two new community gardens in low-income Watsonville communities to increase access to fresh, nutritious food.
- Active Wellness – with support from the Central California Alliance for Health, we are launching new exercise and movement classes at our upcoming wellness center, Centro de Bienestar. The classes will be free for Medi-Cal members.
- allcove Pajaro Valley – we are leading a collaborative effort to build a new holistic mental health drop-in center for youth 12-25 that follows the allcove™ model developed by Stanford University’s Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing.
