This Week's Nominee
| | Our 2023 Community Partner
While the challenges continue, so do the good works done by our neighbors, our teachers, our health care providers, our volunteers and so many others. This is their story. Ledyard National Bank is proud to support the 2023 Hometown Heroes, who were nominated by members of the community and selected by editors of the Concord Monitor. Nominate your Hometown Hero Today. |
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| | Hometown Hero: Kaleigh Greene helps her community, one volunteer position at a time
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
Monitor staff
Sometimes when Kaleigh Greene tries to list her volunteer roles, it’s hard to know where to start. There’s her stepson’s Boy Scout Troop, his school parent-teacher organization in Northfield, the Concord Young Professionals Network and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. |
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| And these are all positions in her free time. Day to day, Greene runs her own marketing firm that helps nonprofit organizations spread the message state-wide about what they offer.
“I kind of forget how much I do day to day because it’s just so scheduled into my daily life,” she said.
But there’s a common theme to her various roles – helping others access the resources they need.
“I think that a lot of people also are not aware of the things that they could have to potentially help them get out of situations and provide their best selves for their children,” she said. “For me, helping, whether it means the people directly in the organizations or community outreach, I think it really just provides them with just a little bit more of a chance.”
Her motivation for all this brings her back to her childhood.
Greene moved to New Hampshire for high school, where she graduated from Concord High School a year early, while taking classes at NHTI to get her associates degree.
Greene was raised by a single mom. They lived below the poverty line, but that was something she didn’t realize, nor understand, until she was older, she said.
“She always had a nice clean car. We had a nice clean home,” she said. “I never saw her struggle.”
Her mom, who owned a bakery, worked full time while going to school throughout Greene’s childhood.
“She was 24/7 booked, but she never once made me notice that because she worked so hard,” she said.
When they moved to East Concord, Greene felt the state gave her new opportunities. Now, it drives her commitment to stay in New Hampshire and give back.
“I feel like because I was given the opportunity by moving here, maybe I would have turned out the same, maybe I wouldn’t have,” she said. “I feel like the community here is very welcoming. If you need something someone will direct you to it. We’re looking to solve problems for each other.”
Previously Greene worked in marketing for a real estate firm. But when jobs began to lay off staff because the pandemic, and her stepson began homeschooling, she shifted gears and started her own business.
She began focusing on local food distribution groups – helping Granite United Way and the New Hampshire Food Bank spread the word about their services.
“A lot of people… just need to be educated about their resources and their community. The Friendly Kitchen, some people don’t know about that,” she said. “You don’t need to be homeless. It doesn’t need to get that far. You could just come because you want to provide a healthy meal for you and your child or to make ends meet.”
Next, Greene is focusing on raising money for the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce’s annual education golf tournament, where she is the volunteer coordinator.
Last year, the event raised over $30,000, she said.
And she also wants to continue to encourage her stepson to volunteer with her. Together, they’ll contribute to trail cleanups and Boy Scouts events.
“I try to encourage him to be really involved with his community,” she said. “Having the ability to really help him develop his own volunteer skills, I think is my next big thing.”
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