{"id":2145,"date":"2018-11-07T17:15:28","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T22:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2145"},"modified":"2018-11-07T17:24:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T22:24:56","slug":"deborah-hundley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2145","title":{"rendered":"Deborah Hundley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Driving Inspiration <\/em><\/h1>\n

By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Paul Carmen Viggiano<\/em><\/p>\n

Deborah Hundley will be the first to tell you she\u2019s an introvert at heart. However, each step of her career \u2014 from teaching to founding a local nonprofit organization, Providence Services of Syracuse \u2014 has given her the opportunity to adopt skills based on connecting with new people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I had just stayed in my comfort zone, I wouldn\u2019t have grown,\u201d she said. \u201cI would have missed so many things.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Deborah was growing up, she wanted to be an astronaut. She discovered she had a hearing problem, though, which set her on a different path. In college, she considered studying medicine but eventually landed on biology and teaching.<\/p>\n

She began her career teaching eighth grade biology. After some time, she found a job in church ministry. It was the best job she\u2019s ever had, Deborah said. She loved working to help people in that capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many needs that weren\u2019t being met,\u201d she remembered. \u201cSo, my thing was to start helping those needs be met. We started all kinds of programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

She followed that path until her husband got laid off from work and the duo moved to Central New York for his new job.<\/p>\n

Deborah hadn\u2019t been sure of her next career move until she saw something in the newspaper about an opportunity to become a certified financial planner. Having followed stock markets as a hobby, she found the idea intriguing. She pursued that as her next career path, working in the financial sector for more than 20 years, until she retired in 2014.<\/p>\n

After the Haiti earthquake in 2010, Deborah\u2019s life changed again. She felt compelled to find a way to help. Initially, she\u2019d planned to travel to Haiti with a group of people from the area. About a week before they were supposed to leave, however, they realized they didn\u2019t have enough money to go.<\/p>\n

Deborah was initially relieved; she\u2019d been nervous about the trip. But then she learned she could still go if she traveled with people from around the country. She ventured out of her comfort zone and went to Haiti to help rebuild orphanages and care for people in need. The experience gave her a completely new view of the world, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came back, I was a different person,\u201d she said. \u201cI saw a level of poverty way beyond even my imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

She found herself reorienting herself with her day-to-day life when she came back to Central New York. The experience eventually led to her volunteer for Hopeprint, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the refugee population, and to be open to fostering two refugee teenagers. They\u2019re both in college now and doing well, Deborah said with a smile.<\/p>\n

Through discussions with other volunteers at Hopeprint, the subject of local unemployment came up. Having worked in downtown Syracuse, Deborah had been familiar with the issue of unemployment in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out at lunch, I would see all these people walking aimlessly. It always struck me,\u201d she remembered. \u201cSo, as I was getting close to retirement, I thought, \u2018You know, when I retire, I want to try to give back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Talking to other people at Hopeprint, Deborah learned the problem wasn\u2019t lack of motivation or lack of jobs; it was lack of practical transportation. Without access to cars, people found themselves dependent on public transportation, which didn\u2019t necessarily fit their work schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just blew my mind,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She began reading studies on transportation, trying to arrive at the root of the problem and determine how she could help.<\/p>\n

In March 2013, she founded Providence Services of Syracuse. According to the organization\u2019s website, they aim to \u201cprovide transportation services to and from work to enable New Americans and under-resourced Americans to accept employment where community transportation services are not available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providence Services now employs two drivers and plans to expand to four other communities in Central New York in the next few years. Deborah\u2019s goal is to eventually share their model across the country with other areas in need.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, they will continue to bridge the gap between people who need employment and available jobs, helping to fight poverty in Central New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s trying to find a solution,\u201d Deborah said. \u201cWe don\u2019t necessarily fit everybody, but we can make a big dent.\u201d SWM<\/em><\/p>\n

To learn more about Providence Services of Syracuse and how you can help, visit providenceservicessyracuse.org.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Driving Inspiration By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Paul Carmen Viggiano Deborah Hundley will be the first to tell you she\u2019s an introvert at heart. However, each step of her career \u2014 from teaching to founding a local nonprofit organization, Providence Services of Syracuse \u2014 has given her the opportunity to adopt skills based on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/009_SWM_Deborah.jpg?fit=5200%2C3433&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":968,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=968","url_meta":{"origin":2145,"position":0},"title":"Sue Foster","author":"Staff","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Power of Failure\u00a0 By Lorna Oppedisano| Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 Sue Foster, Manlius Pebble Hill School science department chair, occasionally poses a theoretical, big picture question to her students. \u201cWhat would you do if you knew you couldn\u2019t fail?\u201d she asks. \u201cIf you were guaranteed success, what would you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=99"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/SWM-AUG-Alexis-Emm-Photograffi-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C802&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1985,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1985","url_meta":{"origin":2145,"position":1},"title":"Jenniffer Benedetto","author":"Staff","date":"August 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Teaching Education Appreciation By Lorna Oppedisano | Photography by Alexis Emm\u00a0 \u201cEveryone has a story and everybody has gifts. 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