Board Member, Clarissa Christman

This month, we want to highlight board member Clarissa Christman. Clarissa is the VP of Business Development @ Christman Attorneys, PLLC. She has served on the GLR board for 2 years and played a key role in getting Grace Like Rain started. She first learned about Grace Like Rain through CEO, Michelle Conner.We asked Clarissa to share with us what helped her make the decision to serve on the board and how that decision has impacted her today.“Three years ago, long before this organization was named Grace Like Rain, Michelle shared her vision with me to be the hands and feet of Christ specifically by helping local homeless families out of the cycle of poverty. The purpose of rallying around a homeless family to help provide assistance for housing, employment, childcare, and financial training while sharing the gospel and love of Christ immediately resonated with me. I fell in love with the ideathat the Grace Like Rain staff and volunteers would act as a surrogate immediate family to the local homeless families. In the past, I served on the board of Restored Hope, a non-profit that rescues women out of sexual exploitation, and helped with the startup of this organization. I chose to serve on the board of Grace Like Rain because I felt that my past experience with Restored Hope could help GLR get off the ground in its infancy stages. More importantly, I serve because I passionately believe in the vision and purpose of GLR.”“As a board member, I've been most impacted by the families that Grace Like Rain serves and how a community of volunteers, focused on the same purpose, can help to bring about life-altering improvement for those in need. Many times, a homeless family can find freedom from the cycle of poverty through the simple love and guidance of a faithful volunteer who can offer the 3rd, 4th, or 5th chance to rise. It is beautiful to watch as a once homeless family becomes empowered with the help of an organization like GLR and in return, both the parents and the children flourish and become successful citizens within their community.”