Heidi Goldstein, founder of a project that delivers food to needy families in Tompkins County at the end of each summer, has been chosen the 2019 Laura Holmberg Award by the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation.

The award, which recognizes unsung heroes in the community who have made an impact through volunteer work, was presented at the Women's Fund Celebration on Oct. 17 at Ithaca College, attended by 250 people. The award was established in 2006 by Anna Holmberg, a lawyer with Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP in Ithaca, in remembrance of her mother.

"Heidi's history of working to make lives better for people, often through creative initiatives, spans many years," says Stacey Murphy, chair of the Women's Fund Advisory Committee, which selects the award recipient. "The Ithaca Rotary Harvest shows one way of how she creatively combined different areas of her life - education, love of children and healthy food - to address a need she saw in her community."

Since Goldstein started the Ithaca Rotary Harvest in 2007, the program has delivered food to 84 families, including 297 children, on the last three Saturdays in August. She created the project to serve families with a child in the Ithaca City School District's pre-K program at a time when federally subsidized free meals are not available.

"I wanted more fresh fruits and vegetables going to families who were not able to get them," Goldstein says. "And I wanted to do something in my own neighborhood. Rotary does so much worldwide, but I wanted to stay home and do it here."

The project is organized by the Ithaca Rotary Club, which donates $1,000 annually to supplement the produce with grocery staples, in a collaboration with the school district, and the farmers' market. The project is one of the many ways Goldstein has made a difference in the lives of children in Tompkins County.   (read more)