Central Pennsylvania food bank proves perfect fit for history Alum

After completing her master’s degree in public history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015, she took on a part-time fundraising job at Paxton Ministries while looking for a job in the field of public history. While there, she says she fell in love with fundraising, succeeding “because of, not in spite of, [her] background in public history.”

In her current role at the food bank, Zimmerman researches statistics about hunger and poverty across Pennsylvania, writes grants, coordinates with different departments and reports to donors about the bank’s accomplishments.

“I want to connect our funders to our mission, showing them that by investing in the food bank, they are investing in Pennsylvania’s future,” she said.

In 2015, the food bank announced its Bold Goal to End Hunger, which states that by 2025 its network will provide access to enough nutritious food for everyone struggling with hunger in the region. “I’m proud to be part of the team working to make that goal a reality,” she said.

Working there has provided Zimmerman a way to make tangible progress on challenges facing her region.

So many issues related to poverty come back to access to food. Imagine trying to focus on school or work with an empty stomach. Imagine trying to decide between paying for food or rent. Imagine trying to be healthy when you cannot afford fresh produce or milk,” she said. “These are real scenarios that our neighbors face every day.

Through fundraising, Zimmerman has met many community-minded people who want to help their neighbors live better lives.

“They are both strategic on a big picture level and empathetic on a person-to-person level,” she said. “I can’t single-handedly solve gender inequality or hunger, but I can do the best I can to move the needle on these issues in partnership with others.”

Zimmerman says majoring in history has equipped her with many transferable skills she uses on the job. 

“I learned to research thoroughly and argue well. I learned to put myself in the mindset of someone else and understand their world view. I learned to think critically. I learned to see how little details fit into the big picture and how large structures shape small decisions,” she said. “I cannot imagine a better training for fundraising and nonprofit leadership than history.”

— Leanne Tan ’21