stories of giving

Over the last 18 months, nonprofit Beverly Bootstraps has navigated the most challenging times Executive Director Sue Gabriel has seen in her nearly 30 years as a nonprofit leader. “How often do you have to manage an organization when someone’s life could be at risk?”...

Gift of Real Estate Fuels Family Philanthropy THE AHERN FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST By Michelle Xiarhos Curran When the Ahern family decided to sell their 90-year-old commercial painting business, there was one major asset left: the commercial property located in downtown...

When it comes to philanthropy, some people donate their time. Others champion their favorite causes with financial support. Then there are people like Anita Worden who jump in with both feet – because she can, and she believes she should.

“We are fortunate in so many ways for what we have, and to not see other people get the benefit of that would be shameful,” said Worden, an entrepreneur and North Andover resident who, along with her husband, James, gives to causes they care about through the couple’s donor advised fund at ECCF. “For me, giving back is about trying to elevate peoples’ stations in life and increase opportunities for everyone to succeed.”

When Warren Waugh and Bud Lyon opened BMW of Peabody in 1994, they made a pact. “We both agreed that we would give back to the community,” said Waugh. “It’s a way of communicating who we are and what we believe in.” Lyon passed away in 2012, but that original agreement, made by two business partners nearly 30 years ago, has endured. Today, Lyon-Waugh Auto Group supports a multitude of charitable causes and nonprofit organizations right here in Essex County – and beyond. And Essex County Community Foundation is proud to have been chosen as the corporation’s philanthropic partner in this work. ECCF is now home to two Lyon-Waugh philanthropic funds that help the collection of luxury auto dealerships streamline their corporate giving.

As Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August of 2017, the apples in Michelle and Ben Langille’s small backyard orchard in Manchester, Massachusetts, were just beginning to ripen. Hearing about the devastation left behind by the storm, the Langilles’ two elementary-aged children got an idea. They would pick and sell the apples to raise money to help the thousands of people suffering in Harvey’s aftermath. They set up a stand on the sidewalk in front of their house and called their philanthropic business: The Crabby Apple: Apples for a Cause, and encouraged passersby to take an apple and leave a donation.