Neighborhood House Board and staff extend our heartfelt thanks to Mari Yerger for her 21 years of service as our Director of Fundraising and Communications. As she transitions into retirement, we laud her for her tireless dedication to our mission and her tremendous work ethic.

When Mari was hired in 2003, fundraising was led entirely by our board and a small team of other volunteers. Through the years, Mari built her department into a five-member professional fundraising and communications team.

A granddaughter of Armenian refugees, Mari always experienced Neighborhood House’s mission personally and has dedicated her work life to lifting up our communities. She translated her own experience into the extraordinary passion and commitment that fueled the many successes that Neighborhood House enjoyed throughout her tenure.

“Time and again, when Neighborhood House faced a need or challenge, Mari stepped up and put the organization on her shoulders.” – Executive Director, Chris Chiacchierini

With Mari’s leadership, Neighborhood House fundraising showed steady growth – through celebratory moments, like our Centennial Celebration in 2005, and challenges brought by the Great Recession in 2008. Throughout, Mari creatively built her lean department as needed, launching an internship program, and recruiting more volunteers to achieve ever-increasing fundraising goals.

In 2010, Mari’s development team launched the Leadership Circle, Neighborhood House’s highly successful program to recognize major donors.

From 2012 through 2014, Mari provided leadership in the capital campaign for our Children’s Center at Stephens Creek Crossing, a state-of-the-art center for our flourishing Head Start Program.

More recently, Mari spearheaded initiatives that expanded Neighborhood House’s fundraising, resulting in more than doubling revenues in the last five years. During the pandemic, she successfully adapted fundraising strategies to meet the unprecedented demand. She also transitioned our largest in-person fundraiser from a labor-intensive dinner-auction to a more mission-focused happy hour.

In 2023, Mari secured Neighborhood House’s first ever award of federal Congressionally Designated Funds – $1M for the Growing Our Village capital campaign – raising critical resources for our important new program facility.

“Mari is so amazing at stewarding relationships and keeping supporters connected to Neighborhood House!” – Lori Alfonso-Ryan, Neighborhood House volunteer who has served on our development committee for 12 years.

Besides her fundraising and communications contributions, Mari also brought expertise in program development and evaluation. She ensured that funds were utilized to achieve optimal impact.

Reflecting on her decades at Neighborhood House, Mari says that she “is deeply honored for the opportunity to support an organization that is so effective at combating poverty and promoting equity for people from marginalized communities.” She has “especially enjoyed working alongside so many wonderful people—staff, board, donors and volunteers, who care so deeply about their disenfranchised neighbors.”

We will miss Mari and wish her all the best in her retirement. Mari’s retirement email address is mariyerger@gmail.com.

I started using the Free Food Market. I learned about more programs that could help us. But the biggest change wasn’t the services themselves.

It was how I was treated. 

For the first time in my entire life, I was met with dignity. 

I wasn’t talked down to. I wasn’t made to feel ashamed for needing help. I wasn’t forced to “prove” I deserved to survive. At Neighborhood House, people spoke to me with genuine respect, something I have so often not been given, simply due to my circumstances. That changed everything. Even now, it still brings tears to my eyes. 

When you’re disabled, when you’re parenting alone, when you’re just trying to get through the day without falling apart…asking for help is hard. Being treated with kindness backed by action? It’s life-changing. 

That kindness empowered me. 
I joined the Head Start Policy Council. 
I became involved in statewide advocacy work. 
And eventually, when someone asked if I would consider joining the Neighborhood House Board, I said yes. 

Being on the board fills a need I’ve carried my whole life: the deep need to give back. There is so little any one person can do alone. But when we connect, when we come together as a community, everything becomes possible. 

People sometimes ask me why services like Neighborhood House still matter. 

My answer is simple: 

Because income inequality is growing. 
Because our systems do not prioritize people in poverty. 
Because without places like Neighborhood House, people really would go hungry. Children would go without resources necessary to thrive. Housing insecure families would be turned out into the streets. 
And that is simply not acceptable.

Until we change the systems that create these conditions in the first place, we need community-based organizations that keep people alive, keep families housed, and treat every neighbor with dignity.

And there’s one more thing I want you to know:

No one chooses this. 

Everyone is doing the best they can. 
Sometimes people just need a little boost.

When you donate or volunteer at Neighborhood House, it is truly life changing. You may never meet every person you help—but please know there are so many of us who feel overwhelmed with gratitude because these services exist.

I am one of them.

So today, as we close out the year, I’m asking you to help more neighbors like me.

Here’s how you can help right now: 

  • Make a gift today — your support goes directly to families who need it most.
  • Start a food dr​ive — our Food Security Program is a lifeline and always needs support. 
  • Share my letter with a friend who believes in a more just and caring community.

Thank you for believing in this work.

Thank you for believing in people like me. 

With gratitude,

Love 
Board Member & Program Participant 
Neighborhood House 

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