Being Bonterra: Melissa Sheetoo on the power of showing up for others

Sixteen years ago, Melissa Sheetoo answered a Craigslist ad for a job at CyberGrants. She wasn’t looking for a “forever” role, just something that sounded interesting, stable, and as the post promised, would allow her to support nonprofits. What she found was the beginning of a 15+ year career path and a deeper relationship with service that still shapes how she shows up today. 

Melissa started in the contact center when CyberGrants was still a family-owned business. The work was practical: password resets, troubleshooting, and guiding users through the platform. But the reason she clicked “apply” had less to do with the tasks and more to do with the mission. 

CyberGrants has evolved over the years and is now part of Bonterra, but for Melissa, that original spark still matters. It is rooted in the same drive that draws her to volunteering, showing up where there is need and doing the work that helps communities thrive. 

A Craigslist ad that turned into a meaningful career 

Melissa’s story didn’t begin with a carefully curated five-year plan. It began with a leap: applying for something she didn’t fully understand because the “why” felt right. 

Today, she is a technical account manager at Bonterra, working primarily with life sciences customers whose focus centers on medical education and research programs. It may not be the kind of work people immediately associate with social good, but it’s still an essential part of the larger impact ecosystem. 

“At the root of why people use our software, it’s because they believe in the greatest good in some fashion. There is work to be done, and there’s an opportunity to move the needle.” 

That belief is what connects her professional life to her life outside of work. And outside of work, she has been building something meaningful for more than a decade.  

The trip that changed her perspective 

National Volunteer Month is a time to recognize the people who give their time, skills, and energy to causes bigger than themselves. For Melissa, that recognition comes with a passport stamp. 

Melissa has been volunteering since she was a teenager, mostly through Hope Worldwide, a nonprofit organization that provides health, educational, and humanitarian services to underserved communities around the world. In 2012, she traveled to Guatemala, where she had her first real encounter with what she describes as extreme material poverty. That experience stopped her in her tracks. 

“My time there really humbled me and opened my eyes beyond the world I experienced day to day.” 

She committed to going back the following year, and the year after that. She has now made 14 trips. The trips are structured as pop-up medical brigades: three days, three communities, twice a year. Patients can access general medicine, gynecology, vision care, counseling, and limited dental services. Every child receives routine fluoride treatment, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Many patients are also living with waterborne parasites, so anti-parasitic medication and several months of vitamins are distributed at every visit. 

Melissa’s role has changed over the years. She started in the lab, running basic blood panel testing. More recently, she works in the pharmacy. 

“It’s just counting pills. Filling prescriptions. It’s not a glamorous job. But it has to be done. So, I will count pills all day.” 

That simplicity is the point. Real service usually looks less like a highlight reel and more like showing up, doing the unglamorous thing that needs to be done, and trusting that it matters even when you can’t see the full picture. 

Servant leadership, in real life 

When Melissa talks about what volunteering has taught her, she doesn’t reach for one defining moment. She points to a pattern she has seen repeated across 14 years: servant leadership in its clearest form. 

“I never see anyone unwilling to do something. No one is like, ‘That work is beneath me.’ Everyone is willing to do anything. It’s not about ego. It’s about the work and the outcome.” 

That mindset is rare. And she has watched it ripple outward in ways that are hard to quantify but impossible to miss. 

Over the years, Melissa has seen young local volunteers in Guatemala, people who were first patients or community members touched by the clinics, grow into adults who chose careers in medicine, counseling, or social work because of what they witnessed. They took the experience and made it part of how they want to shape their futures. 

“Wanting to take that experience and make it part of their lives… that’s pretty special.” 

Volunteers bring great value 

National Volunteer Month exists because volunteerism needs champions. In 2022 alone, volunteers contributed an estimated $167 billion in economic value to communities across the U.S., and that number doesn’t capture what happens when volunteers cross borders to serve. 

For those interested in getting started, Melissa’s advice is simple and intentionally low-pressure. 

“Start small. You don’t have to start volunteering with the idea that you have to change the world. If you can impact one person in your community, that benefits them.” 

Her recommendation: start local, start values-based. Think about what you genuinely care about, whether that’s education, nutrition, the arts, parenting support, or your own neighborhood, and find organizations doing work in that space. There is no shortage of causes that need people. The barrier is usually just the first step. 

And for anyone who has already volunteered once: build on it. 

“If you’ve never done it, try once. If you’ve done it once, try to do it monthly. It’s better than doing nothing.” 

Service as a way of life 

Melissa is clear-eyed about why she keeps going back to Guatemala year after year. It is faith-driven and personal, but it is also practical. She needs it to stay grounded. 

“I feel like I need this to keep my perspective open and go outside of the privileged world I experience day to day. As long as I know I need it, I’ll make space for it.” 

That is what being Bonterra can look like: not only working toward impact through your role, but choosing to stay connected to the human reality of why impact matters in the first place.