How a 15-Year Old is Serving Up New Opportunities for Liberty House

Elliot Perry stepped through the doors and took it all in.

“This is insane,” he remembers thinking.

For the 15-year-old, walking into Liberty House’s newly renovated kitchen seemed almost like an out-of-body experience.

It was a vast difference from what he had seen just a few months earlier.

Considered the “heart of Liberty House,” the kitchen is where homecooked meals are prepared for veterans working to rebuild their lives after experiencing homelessness, post-traumatic stress, and other challenges. It’s also where veterans gather, connect and support one another as they move forward.

But when Elliot first saw the kitchen, what struck him was how much work it needed.

That’s when the Elliot Perry Foundation stepped forward with a $20,000 matching gift for Liberty House’s campaign to renovate the kitchen – helping inspire others to give and turn a much-needed renovation into reality.

For Elliot, giving back has always been part of who he is. After spending 121 days in the hospital as a child, he and his family began finding ways to give back to the community. Elliot had an idea of his own: to create a foundation that would allow him to support the causes closest to his heart. Elliot has made his dream a reality.

Today, the Elliot Perry Foundation supports organizations and communities, including veterans, through its Operation Honor Initiative.

For Elliot, supporting veterans is deeply personal.

Elliot’s passion for supporting veterans stems from his deep admiration for those who served.

“They served our nation when we needed them,” he said. “Our goal is to serve them now.”

This wasn’t the first time Elliot had helped Liberty House. Through Operation Honor, the Foundation’s veterans-focused initiative, Elliot and his team regularly deliver stockings filled with essentials to veterans in the program.

What especially drew Elliot to Liberty House was its focus on helping veterans rebuild their lives. The Catholic Charities NH program provides more than housing. It supports veterans as they work toward maintaining recovery, finding employment, and moving into stable housing.

Now, standing in the finished kitchen, Elliot could see just how far the project had come.

The space had become something entirely new: a welcoming kitchen that would serve veterans at Liberty House for years to come. And Elliot knew he had played a part in making it happen.

But he didn’t see the project as something his foundation accomplished alone. He saw what could happen when one act of generosity inspired others to join in.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Elliot Perry Foundation for their continued support of Liberty House over the years,” says Ashley Kitchell, Director of Liberty House. “Having them step forward as a matching donor for our kitchen renovation created the momentum and excitement we needed to rally our community around this project. Their generosity inspired others to give and played an important role in turning our vision for a new kitchen into a reality.”

The new kitchen will provide far more than meals. It will give veterans a place to gather, connect and rebuild a sense of community as they work toward the next chapter of their lives.

For Elliot, that’s what giving back is all about: seeing a need, doing what you can to help and inspiring others to do the same.

At 15 years old, he’s already shown how much of a difference one person can make.

And he hopes others will follow his lead.