 When Jane Bettencourt-Soto and her family moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1993, it was “for the kids”. Jane and her family were looking for better schools, a more tolerable climate, and new friendships. No one knew when Jane arrived in Santa Clarita, just how many groups and individuals would be touched by the warmth of Jane’s service and friendship.
When asked about her decision to become involved in community service, Jane says: “It has always defined my life.” Looking at the organizations Jane has supported, donated to, volunteer for, and helped launch, it is clear that service has kept Jane busy.
The common threads in Jane’s life and her decisions to serve are: Passion, Faith, Family, and Community.
She is a natural recruiter. When you meet and speak with Jane, it is soon apparent that she is thinking about how your gifts can be used to help someone. This is a gift and a discipline that has helped her to lead, chair and organize groups, organizations and non-profits all across the Santa Clarita Valley.
It is rare that someone can move so effortlessly between front-of-room roles and quiet, unheralded service roles the way Jane does. She will lead, chair, organize and coordinate meetings or events with ease, professionalism, care, and attention to detail. Her heart and her effort (which she has brought to the Betty Ferguson Foundation for over nine years) point her to new and exciting ideas, events, and ways to impact her community.
“Every waking moment is an opportunity to serve” says Jane, and when she first found the Betty Ferguson Foundation (in 2000), she went there to stuff envelopes, answer the phone, and do anything that needed to be done. After eight years, countless ideas, man-hours, and volunteer service, it was decided by the Board of Directors that Jane should become its first compensated Executive Director.
Upon receiving her Certificate of Achievement from the Leadership SCV Program in 2006, Jane was quoted as saying, "Leadership is an Action, not a Title".
Jane is a teacher, a passionate advocate, a servant, a recruiter, a committed wife and parent. She does not acknowledge boundaries, obstacles, or distractions, and it is hard to imagine meeting Jane, and not being touched by her warmth, compassion, and drive to help.
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