By Alyssa Dearborn<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beth Trunfio\u2019s fingerprints are everywhere at the Ronald McDonald House in Syracuse. Celebrating her 20-year anniversary with the local organization \u2014 a significant milestone for anyone \u2014 Trunfio instills a sense of community, hard-work, and perseverance in everything she does.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis living room where we\u2019re seated today is the culmination of a lot of people\u2019s hard work, vision, and support,\u201d Trunfio said of the building, which was completed in 2012 and has served thousands of families since then. \u201cBuilding this new larger, fully handicapped-accessible Ronald McDonald House so that we can better serve families who are in crisis is really something that I am so proud of. It\u2019s not just what we built, it\u2019s what we\u2019re able to do in this home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Trunfio spent a significant amount of time helping better the lives of families and their children through her work at the House, her passion for giving began early in her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolunteering has always been something that I was interested in as a young person,\u201d said Trunfio.<\/p>\n
Trunfio\u2019s first \u201creal job\u201d was as an assistant to the director at a television station, and one of her major tasks was coordinating the station\u2019s annual telethon.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so much fun,\u201d she said. \u201cI loved the logistics, I loved meeting new people and coordinating those people to be an honest program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping to organize that one televised charity event led her into working with a human services non-profit organization. After spending seven years with her first non-profit job, she found her way back to the Syracuse area and to the Ronald McDonald House of Central New York. Through many happy coincidences, Trunfio created her own path in a rewarding career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been fortunate that I fell into this incredible career that I seemed to have an affinity for,\u201d Trunfio said. \u201cIt\u2019s rewarding to be able to wake up every day for more than 30 years \u2014 20 of them at the Ronald McDonald House \u2014 and be able to really look forward to my day and then go home at the end of the day feeling satisfied, gratified, and grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
As director she saw the opportunity to make visitors\u2019 lives easier. In her years spent at the Central New York organization she oversaw the building of a second larger, handicapped-accessible home and helped pioneer a community giving event called the Many Hearts One Home Celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope is that we can all continue to work together and partner together in what we\u2019re doing to ensure the good for everyone,\u201d Trunfio said. \u201cI think having the opportunity to live in a community that is so caring and compassionate \u2014 and the be able to witness that on a daily basis \u2014 is just rewarding and a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the generous nature of her work helped her to develop, as she called it, \u201cA glass is half full\u201d mentality, she never forgot credit the inspiration that came from the community as well as from the visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to meet families and be a part of the families\u2019 lives,\u201d Trunfio added, \u201cand to know that we\u2019re partners with a lot of their providers and team members shows how fortunate we are in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sense of hopefulness effected both her professional outlook as well as her personal outlook on life over the years. \u201cMy hopes and dreams are so tied to this organization\u2019s mission and to children, family, health, and wellbeing,\u201d Trunfio said. \u201cI hope the same for the good health and wellbeing for my family and certainly for those around me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trunfio \u2014 and the Ronald McDonald House as a whole \u2014 is without a doubt fortunate to have accomplished great things that make the lives of others better. But she is consistently realistic about what it means to be a leader in a non-profit organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of these service agencies and non-profits rely on volunteers,\u201d Trunfio said. \u201cWe were founded as a grassroots organization and that\u2019s what sustains us today. We rely on the community for funding and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the past years Trunfio has worked with the community to ensure that the House would never run short of enthusiastic community partners and volunteers. From encouraging high school students to join the House\u2019s Youth Advisor Board and inviting young adult professionals to join the Red Shoe Society to accepting enthusiastic volunteers who want to help at the House every once in a while, Trunfio has seen young people standing up to make a positive influence in their own community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always welcome young people who are interested in learning more about the organization,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can certainly do online research, but there\u2019s nothing like sending an email and arranging a time to learn more about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
To young people looking to make a difference in their community, the seasoned executive director said, \u201cJust take the first step.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Alyssa Dearborn Beth Trunfio\u2019s fingerprints are everywhere at the Ronald McDonald House in Syracuse. Celebrating her 20-year anniversary with the local organization \u2014 a significant milestone for anyone \u2014 Trunfio instills a sense of community, hard-work, and perseverance in everything she does. \u201cThis living room where we\u2019re seated today is the culmination of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,101],"tags":[995,157,990,179,400],"class_list":["post-2662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-causes","category-features","tag-beth-trunfio","tag-inspire","tag-philanthropy","tag-ronald-mcdonald-house-charities-of-cny","tag-the-philanthropy-issue"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fullsizeoutput-10870.jpeg?fit=3526%2C5297&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1658,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=1658","url_meta":{"origin":2662,"position":0},"title":"Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY","author":"Staff","date":"March 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Keeping Families Close in Syracuse\u00a0 Story and photos submitted by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York operates the CNY Ronald McDonald House 24 hours a day, year-round, for families whose children are seriously ill and receiving treatment at Syracuse-area hospitals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Causes"","block_context":{"text":"Causes","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=104"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Steed-Family-01-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Steed-Family-01-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Steed-Family-01-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Steed-Family-01-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Steed-Family-01-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C795&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":616,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=616","url_meta":{"origin":2662,"position":1},"title":"Ronald McDonald House Charities of CNY","author":"Staff","date":"March 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Through a Mother's Eyes Photography and story provided by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York operates the CNY Ronald McDonald House 24 hours a day, year-round, for families whose children are hospitalized with serious illnesses or injuries. For just $25\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Causes"","block_context":{"text":"Causes","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=104"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Special-feature_RMH2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Special-feature_RMH2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Special-feature_RMH2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Special-feature_RMH2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_Special-feature_RMH2_ONLINE.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2645,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2645","url_meta":{"origin":2662,"position":2},"title":"LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: In November, we write about philanthropy","author":"Sarah Hall","date":"October 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Philanthropy in its most basic definition means \u201clove of humanity.\u201d I like to believe that people are basically good \u2014 that we all start out with the best of intentions, full of that love of humanity. 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