By Lauren Young
“Normally you’re supposed to sleep on it before you accept any job offer,” she said. “But I said yes right then. No hesitation.”
In the last week of June, Billings began her new position, acting as the point person and liaison between the nonprofit organization and other local community organizations.
Composed of more than 150 volunteers, the organization provides meals for those unable to prepare or provide healthy meals for themselves — serving Fayetteville, Manlius, Jamesville, DeWitt, Kirkville, LaFayette, Tully, East Syracuse, Fabius, Pompey, Syracuse and Bridgeport. Operating out of the Good Shepherd Church’s kitchen in Fayetteville, the program serves over 100 clients a day, most recipients being frail or homebound elderly, the chronically ill and disabled.
“One of the things I was so impressed with is how the board members have been running the place and volunteering … they’ve really been rolling up their sleeves. And to have a group of volunteers, besides the drivers that volunteer, that are willing to do that … I mean, how can you not want to work with such a great group of people like that?” said Billings. “We have a wonderful team here and everyone has been very welcoming.”
Billings has worked in nonprofit fundraising for nearly 20 years, previously running her own company — Eventi Management, Inc. — where she consulted with small nonprofits, serving as the chief advancement officer for Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways and as an executive director at Community General.
She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in International Relations and received her Master’s in Business Administration from Strayer University in Virginia.
“A lot of people say, why didn’t you [get your] MPA [Master’s in Public Administration], which would be a traditional route for a nonprofit, but I always felt that a nonprofit is a mission-based business, so you really need to treat it like a business in some ways,” she said.
Billings has also studied aboard “extensively,” visiting Russia, Germany and London.
“To have those opportunities, when you’re coming from Central New York — that’s amazing,” she said. “I was so grateful.”
One experience in particular was enlightening for Billings during a trip to Russia as a 14-year-old with People to People International, a travel program for students.
The activity? Waiting in line for bread.
“[In Russia], one of the things they had us do there…was stand in line for bread, a simple thing. We take it for granted — we go to the grocery store and there’s a hundred different types of bread,” she said. “But we sat in line for five hours, and we left with no bread.”
The experience, she said, showed her the “struggles the families went through, every single day.”
“I still remember that, and I was 14 when I did that,” she said. “It just had such an impact.”
Billings actually was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels years before taking her new position as executive director — delivering meals to the doors of Oswego County residents.
Billings’ grandmother was even a recipient of the organization’s meals, which inspired Billings’ to deliver meals herself.
“When I saw what [Meals on Wheels] were trying to do, I thought this would be really great,” she said. “I loved delivering [food], even when you were only stopping by to see someone, just to see their excitement and talk to them is really special.”
More than just inspiring her to volunteer as a young adult, Billings’ grandmother inspired her to give back to those who needed it most as a child, especially during the holiday season.
“One thing my grandmother has always instilled in me was to give back, and I remember when I was little, around Christmastime, we would always fill the baskets for Salvation Army,” said Billings. “Those are the memories that always come up.”
As Billings settles into her new position, she said she looks forward to focusing on the organization’s outreach methods and dismantling stereotypes of those who receive its meals.
“There’s kind of a stigma when it comes to Meals on Wheels,” she said. “When you think of Meals on Wheels, you think it’s for one group of people, and it really isn’t. I think that it’s a misconception … that people [in the areas we serve] are completely affluent and that nobody would need it.”
Billings said that some think qualification for Meals on Wheels lies in one’s financial situation, but that isn’t always the case.
“People assume that to qualify for Meals on Wheels you need to be in need, but sometimes it’s not about financial needs. Some people can pay themselves, but just need that help because it might be such a struggle to make those meals,” said Billings. “People don’t even know that’s an option.”
Billings also looks forward to creating training videos for drivers and kitchen staff and is currently trying to connect with other Meals on Wheels organizations from across the region, even reaching out as far as Binghamton, to learn about their “best practices.”
“I want to know what’s worked and what hasn’t,” she said.
Billings’ first project will be working with the Board of Directors on their Election Day benefit pasta dinner, partnering with Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
“It seems like a simple thing, but the fact that Carrabba’s is willing to partner with us — I just think that’s a great concept of businesses working with nonprofits,” said Billings.
To learn how you can volunteer, donate or learn more about the organization, visit its website at mealsonwheelseastonondaga.org or its location at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on 7248 Highbridge Road in Fayetteville.
