Running Toward Impact: Claire Doty’s marathon of service

For Claire Doty, contributing to the Mt. Pleasant community is a balancing act between professional and personal endeavors. 

As the assistant director of marketing and communications for the College of Education and Human Services at Central Michigan University (CMU), Doty finds herself plenty busy. And yet, she also serves as the president of the Mt. Pleasant Jaycees, a member of the Craft Beer Festival committee, and as a volunteer for Into the Light—all while training for a marathon.

Curating this work-life balance takes a great deal of self-awareness and restraint; rather than viewing balance as a license for leisure, Doty has instead focused on expanding her opportunities to serve her community. 

Courtesy Claire DotyClaire Doty volunteers for Adopt a Family initiatives.
As a lifelong resident of Isabella County, growing up in Shepherd, Doty’s ambition to serve her community stems from a desire to improve the place she’s from, and she’s found several ways to do so. 

Regarding her enthusiasm for community involvement in multiple different areas, Doty says, “I think I have a good work-life balance. When I leave work, I’m done with work. I’m off the clock. I think sometimes people struggle to leave work at work, and I don’t think I’m one of those people.” 

This mindset has allowed Doty to give time to other organizations, like the Mt. Pleasant Jaycees. 

“I have work [during the day] and then I have the Jaycee stuff on my free time, but I enjoy doing that, so I don’t view it as additional work,” she says. “I just see it as a part of my personal life.”

Courtesy Claire Doty
Maintaining such a balanced approach to life has certainly required effort on Doty’s behalf, but it also requires a healthy work environment, which Doty has worked hard to find. In both of her professional roles—first at the Mt. Pleasant Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and now at CMU—Doty has had exactly that. 

“I [think it’s important] to go with your gut feeling and not rush things,” she says on the process of finding these positions. “When I graduated, I didn’t have a job lined up, and I felt like nothing seemed right for me. [In the end], I’m glad I decided to go with my gut and let things play out the way they were supposed to. I made so many wonderful connections working at the CVB, and those connections helped me get this job at CMU.” 

Doty’s message is not one of passivity, but rather of patience. 

For Doty, her patience is crucial in allowing her to serve the Mt. Pleasant community, as the list of needs is continuously growing. 

Courtesy Claire DotyClaire Doty with community members during Feed the Need.
“There are several nonprofits and organizations in the area that give back, but despite all of that, there are still needs that may never be met,” she says. “Unfortunately, we just live in that world. If I have even a small hand in combatting that, I’m just thankful to have the opportunity to give back to the community.”

Rather than despair at the reality that a community may sometimes have needs that exceed its resources, Doty has decided to face the challenge and help wherever she can. Whether that’s helping connect CMU students with opportunities for their futures at her day job, or through spearheading the Jaycees community service efforts after-hours, Doty cares deeply about how her actions might benefit her community.

“I’m very thankful to be in these great organizations and to be able to give back to the people within the community—especially the community I grew up in,” Doty explains. “There’s such a need [for assistance] and there are resources available to help people that they might not even realize that we have. [It’s important to] get people familiar with that and help promote those resources to people.” 

The organizations that Doty is a part of are certainly able to accomplish this, but the ways in which community members can help are not limited to the same pathway that Doty has taken.

On the diverse array of options to contribute to the Mt. Pleasant community, Doty says, “People might think that if they do something small, it isn’t enough, but it can be enough, and I think anyone can contribute if they find the right group to be involved in. There’s always going to be needs within the community, so I would just love for people to get involved with any organization.”