A letter from the Board Chair
In 1992, Noreen Springstead started working at WhyHunger’s front desk. This month marks her thirtieth year at the organization and her eighth as Executive Director. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating this important milestone, which demonstrates not only Noreen’s lifelong commitment to ending hunger and ensuring everyone’s human right to nutritious food, but her expertise, wisdom, and leadership honed over three decades.
Throughout the years, Noreen has worked nearly every job in the organization, learning WhyHunger inside and out. When she stepped into the Executive Director role, Noreen followed in the enormous footsteps of Bill Ayres, WhyHunger’s co-founder. Many organizations crumble as the founder moves on, but not this one. After nearly a decade of Noreen’s leadership, WhyHunger is stronger than ever – programmatically, financially, and organizationally.
Tough times are the true test of leadership, and without a doubt, the last two years have been difficult. Amid global pandemic and hunger crises, Noreen led WhyHunger with compassion and grace, lifting up new leaders and empowering her staff to have more impact and raise more funds than ever before.
In 2021, WhyHunger’s revenue exceeded $8 million for the first time in its history, and we provided unprecedented support to grassroots organizations, farmers and workers of color, food banks and pantries, and families and communities in need.
I am so proud to be a part of the WhyHunger family. Our work to fight hunger now and invest in long-term solutions is powerful and effective. When I talk about our work, I always say that solving hunger is not like searching for a cure to a rare disease. WhyHunger and our grassroots partners already know the solutions. Our goal is to mobilize the resources and foster the public will to enact these solutions across our nation and globe.
With Noreen’s leadership, WhyHunger is doing just that, and we’re on a momentous trajectory.
I am honored to lead the Board in supporting our brilliant and hardworking staff and the work they do each day to end hunger for good. In celebration of Noreen’s significant milestone and WhyHunger’s incredible impact, I invite you to make a donation today.
Together, we can build a healthy and vibrant future.
Sincerely,
Caren Berlin
Chair, WhyHunger Board of Directors
