Ashley Herkommer: Artist, Marketer and Inspiring Human

?? Featured Friend Friday ??

Who: Ashley Herkommer

Artist, Marketer, Project Manager, Fundraiser, Inspiring Human Being and Pure Energy Boost!

Ashley and I recently met through our American Business Associates networking group. She impressed me with her energy and a wise-beyond-her-years outlook on life and business, so I reached out to learn more about Ashley.

Currently the Community Outreach Specialist at Rise Life Services , Ashley has a passion for problem solving, helping people and brings a go-to attitude; if you need something done, she’s your girl.

After graduating from Long Island University Post in 2020, Ashley revisited work with a nonprofit where she’d interned, helping adults with disabilities.?Building curriculums and making sure classes fit the needs of all the different abilities.?

She partnered with RISE Life Services and eventually moved over to their nonprofit, which was established in 1980 as Aid To The Developmentally Disabled (ADD) by family members who were concerned about the physical and emotional decline of patients compelled to live in crowded institutions.

These family members believed that appropriate treatment and training in a warm, sheltered, homelike environment would enhance their physical and emotional growth.

With the support, funding and licensing of New York State’s Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and the Office of Mental Health (OMH), ADD came to life.

RISE Life Services offers residency, as well as day programs, with an inspiring pledge to ensure the people in their programs get the correct care they deserve, safely, thoughtfully, fully, with family involvement.

How does a 20-something become this passionate about helping adults with disabilities??

It started with a phone call when Ashley was the manager of a birthday venue and a mom called to ask if her son with different abilities would be welcome there with 10 friends.?A teenager at the time, Ashley was unsure if they were properly equipped, but simply asked what accommodations they could make to ensure it would be a fun, safe experience. The thankful mom explained it would include lowering the music, allowing more time for the kids to play, and no strobe lights.?That’s it.?

Ashley realized how easy and fulfilling it is to make small adjustments that don’t cost anything to change someone’s life.?The mom was so apologetic – we can only imagine how many times people in her position are told "no."

But Ashley took the time to care and learned that something as simple as a open-minded 5-minute conversation can alleviate the stress and fear that some people feel just being out in public.

Ashley’s an artist herself and when RISE Life Services became the donation recipient of a multi-generational art collection, she jumped at the opportunity to figure out how to use it to help the nonprofit.?She’d been successful combining art and fundraising before, as Director of Events for The Spirit of Huntington Art Festival in Huntington NY in 2023 – a celebration of creativity and philanthropy that delighted the community.

So, this go-to girl hatched a plan to surprise and delight RISE donors.?Just like the surprise gumball machines we all loved as kids, the Shop Blind to Save Lives fundraising initiative allows donors to support the nonprofit and in return, blindly receive one of the pieces of original art donated by the Gách family, creating new philanthropists and supporting art programs for RISE Life Services participants.?Every donor knows exactly what their donation funds – from covering the cost of an art class, to feeding a family for a month, to helping furnish residency homes.

Ashley has an instinct to help and is always thinking how she can market something for the greater good.

This girl is my kind of people (and another Ashley H, who also doesn’t drink coffee, at that!)

She has a great track record of success but is humble and acknowledges when it’s time to adjust if something’s not working.?All she needs is a green light and she’s going. She may not always know where she’s going right away, but her instincts and her deep care for people, art and community keeps her going, and inspires and drives her to succeed.

Ashley’s accomplished so much but I look forward to staying connected and watching her make things happen in the nonprofit world in Long Island and beyond.

Check out Ashley’s fundraising initiative:?Shop Blind to Save Lives , and take part in this wonderful project that will remind you and the community that we can all do good if we learn and care about each other.