Fighting hunger can take many forms. Some give food. Others help distribute it. Donations ensure meals make it to the table. But no matter how it’s done, one truth remains: every person in a community can lend a hand to put food on their neighbor’s plate.
As Senior Director of Principal Giving and Strategic Philanthropy at Feeding Westchester, Elisabeth makes sure that Westchester residents have more than one way to support their neighbors. She not only spreads the organization’s mission but helps others understand the reality of hunger right in their backyard.
But before she can do that, Elisabeth must first address the stigma that surrounds hunger in Westchester.
“I think many people know of Westchester as an affluent community. Many of our donors are from those communities.”
Part of Elisabeth’s role is educating donors—helping them see the need just outside their doors and showing how Feeding Westchester is stepping up to meet it.
She’s more than a natural fit for this work. With a heart open to serving others, Elisabeth gravitated toward the nonprofit world shortly after college.
“I love being able to help our neighbors… to get involved, to understand the mission, and to be a voice.”
For Elisabeth, the role goes far beyond raising funds. It’s about building relationships rooted in a shared purpose.
“To hear the stories and the motivations of our donors, building a relationship with them, and understanding how we are bringing this awareness and sense of purpose—this is what I love.”
Elisabeth feels it’s her duty to paint a picture of local needs and invite others to be part of the solution:
“Imagine that one of your neighbors doesn’t have access to nutritious food. How can you be a part of changing that for them?”
Before her current role, Elisabeth was the Senior Director for Corporate, Foundation, and Community Giving—nurturing relationships with institutional partners, engaging corporate teams, and inspiring them to give and volunteer.
By fostering these engagements, partners are inspired to become more involved in the mission. As Elisabeth puts it, “they become our advocates.”
Though she spends much of her time with donors, Elisabeth is always drawn back to the mission at hand—and immerses herself with the neighbors she aims to serve.
She recalls a moment at a mobile food pantry in Tarrytown, where she was touched by a simple interaction with a neighbor—one that continues to fuel her passion:
“I was helping a gentleman. He needed help with a bag, so I said, ‘I’ll help you to your car.’ We went over to his car… and we chatted a little bit about the Army. I talked about my dad being a vet, and he was a vet… and then I didn’t see him again. But it was just a nice moment that I was able to help him a little bit more than normal.”
Later, when reviewing Feeding Westchester’s annual report, Elisabeth opened the centerfold and saw a familiar face—the very man she helped that day.
To her, it was an incredible reminder of the people at the heart of this work. Someone she never thought she’d see again was quite literally at the center of Feeding Westchester’s “why.”
Thanks to Elisabeth, neighbors are supported in countless ways—and the greater Westchester community gets to be a part of it.
There are so many ways to be part of Feeding Westchester’s story, and you can take action to help fight hunger in your own community.
You can make a one-time or monthly donation, start an online fundraiser, get involved through volunteering, attend or sponsor an event, or explore a corporate partnership. You can also make a lasting impact through planned giving.
Learn more at feedingwestchester.org/get-involved.
