2021 Eileen D. Foley Award Recipient
Elisabeth Robinson
Thank you to everyone that joined us!
We had a wonderful night celebrating Elisabeth and hope you did, too. Please enjoy viewing the photos and speeches from the event below.
Listen to one of FFI's Alumni and 2021 Foley Fellow, Aminata ('21), share her story and the impact of the FFI program.
Watch Elisabeth's friends join in on the Roast.
Listen to Steve talk about national healing and reconciliation.
The Event
Join us on October 7th at the
Wentworth by the Sea Country Club!
60 Wentworth Rd, Rye, NH 03870
Each year, FFI presents the Eileen D. Foley Award to a New Hampshire citizen(s) who takes personal responsibility in making the world a better place. Elisabeth’s family, friends, and fellow community leaders will gather to present her with this year’s award and watch as they are “roasted” by members of their family, colleagues, and long-time friends
We are excited to host this year's event at the newly renovated Pavilion at the Wentworth by the Sea Country Club. See photos of the space below. We hope you join us for a beautiful New England fall evening honoring Elisabeth.
Elisabeth Robinson
Elisabeth Robinson discovered the Seacoast through UNH where she graduated with BA in English and then at the Voc-Tech, where she earned a degree in nursing. After weaving her way through a number of specialties and degrees, including labor and delivery, she landed at Whole Life Health Care, an integrated family practice in Newington where she has spent the last 20-plus years.
Elisabeth has always been attracted to growing the seeds of an organization. She was a founding member of what is now the Seacoast Waldorf School as well as healthcareGIVES (a medical provider giving circle). She has served on the board and as a volunteer with many organizations, including The Music Hall, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, and the Seacoast Women’s Giving Circle. Currently, she serves on the boards of the Foundation for Seacoast Health and Prescott Park Arts Festival. She also serves on the board of Piscataqua Savings Bank and was a founding member of the Surf Club in Rye.
Elizabeth has three thriving adult children: Marta, Eli, and Duncan.
While she is both humbled and daunted by receiving this award, Elisabeth’s enthusiasm for FFI overrides any hesitation as the importance and essence of the organization’s work are essential to today’s global needs. As she explains, “We are in a chapter of our evolution in which talking, communicating, understanding, and having compassion for others on the ‘other side of the line’...be it political, racial, social, sexual, or religious...is not only profound but also essential for our survival. To effectively work together, we must understand one another’s perspectives. FFI, through its 35 years of programs, creates an intelligent, respectful, and warm dynamic, where the differences become appreciated and enhanced rather than adversarial. Dialogue, health, compassion, understanding, and working together will enable our global community to move together to create peace in our lifetime. This peace/love is essential for our collaborative efforts in surviving and thriving.”
About the Eileen D. Foley Award
Each year FFI selects a prominent member of the New Hampshire community to honor with the Eileen D. Foley Award at our annual roast-style fundraiser. A former Portsmouth mayor, Eileen D. Foley dedicated her career to public service and charitable causes. After being presented with the award, each year’s recipient is “roasted” by family and friends.
How the Recipient is Selected
Recipients of the Eileen D. Foley award are chosen by a committee comprised of representatives from the FFI Board of Directors and past recipients of the Award. The panel meets several times and looks at a variety of categories, including years of service in the “trenches,” scale and scope of service, impact on the community, how they personally align with the values of FFI, and if they truly represent the spirit of the award and Eileen D. Foley, its namesake.
If any community members have suggestions for the selection committee, please contact FFI Executive Director Stephen Martineau at steve@ff.international or a member of the FFI Board of Directors.
About Eileen D. Foley
In 2008, when we were brainstorming an annual award to recognize people in the community making a difference day in and day out and who we wanted to be an inspiration to our international youth as well as to the local community, the easiest part of the whole process was who we should name the award after Eileen Dondero Foley. She represents the best that the Seacoast has to offer. Her charm, wit, grace under fire, vision, understanding, and commitment to both local and global issues inspired thousands across the street and the world. Friends Forever International was honored to establish the Eileen Dondero Foley Award to commemorate her lifetime of service and to annually recognize those special individuals among us that have taken a personal responsibility to make the world a better place.
With Eileen’s passing in 2016, in partnership with the Foley Family, FFI established the Eileen Dondero Foley Fund. The proceeds from this fund will annually generate enough revenue to bring over one outstanding representative of FFI from our past participants, the Eileen D. Foley Fellow. They will embody the spirit and character of Eileen in perpetuity and share their story at the Annual Dinner and Roast in her name.
The financial goal of this Fund is to raise $25,000 to invest with the Friends Forever International account at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. We are currently at $10,000.
If you would like to join us in honoring Eileen, please send in your support to:
Friends Forever International
1 Morgan Way
Durham, NH 03824
Memo: Eileen Dondero Foley Fund
Or complete this form and select Eileen Dondero Foley Fund in the appropriate spot.
Presenting Sponsor
$10,000
10 seats (1 full table)
1 full-page ad in event program
Recognition in all press releases, event materials
Leading Sponsor
$5,000
10 seats (1 full table)
1 full-page ad in event program
Recognition on event poster
Sustaining Sponsor
$3,000
6 seats
1/2 page ad in event program
Recognition on event poster
Supporting Sponsor
$1,000
2 seats
1/3 page ad in event program
Recognition on event poster
Individual Sponsor
$500
1 seat
Listed in event program
Recognition on event poster
Program Ad Sponsor
$1,000 - $2,000
$2,000 - 1 full-page ad in event program
$1,000 - 1/2-page ad in event program
For additional information, please contact Amelia at amelia@ff.international
or give us a call at 603.397.5301.