Page 16 - 2019-2020 Annual Report v3

Hunger Express Poverty Fund

It has been a long-held dream of Carrie Brigham to
have her own fund at the Community Foundation, one
that is now realized. “When the Community Foundation
started 25 years ago, I remember telling (founder)
Bob Armanino, ‘One day I’ll have my own fund there
to help people in need,’” says Carrie. Food insecurity
has always been close to her heart, and it was a natural
fit for her to establish the Hunger Express Poverty Fund
to provide immediate and emergency hunger relief
for the homeless, hungry, food-insecure, and those
affected by natural disasters in Mendocino County.
“I’ve prepared meals for over 50,000 people since 2013,”
she says. “On Christmas day I walk the rails and hand
out sandwiches. As a result, I know almost every person
experiencing homelessness in our community. Because I
talk to them and feed them, I let them know they are
important and someone cares.” Carrie embraces
generosity and kindness every day, and her heartfelt
acts of giving not only impact people now but will
ripple decades into the future.

“Even if I only make an inch of difference, I want to
leave my community a better place and want to
continue to grow my fund,” she says. For this
reason, Carrie became a Partner in Philanthropy
(PIP) and has named the fund as a beneficiary of
her life insurance policy, ensuring it will grow
significantly upon her death. PIPs encourage
others to look toward the future and think about
ways they can create an enduring impact on the
causes they care about, and we are thrilled to
have Carrie among them.

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