Elissa Montanti – founder of Global Medical Relief Fund

Changing the World – From a Walk-In Closet

By Caroline Cox

It all started with the photograph of a little boy named Kenan. Elissa Montanti, 57, was meeting with the Bosnian ambassador to find out how to get more school supplies to children in need when she discovered that there were more pressing matters at hand.

The boy in the picture had stepped on a Bosnian landmine and lost both of his arms and a leg. Once the ambassador put Kenan’s photo and letter in her hand, Montanti’s life changed forever. She knew she had to help.

That day back in 1996 led Montanti to start what is now the Global Medical Relief Fund. The nonprofit helps international children who have been seriously burned or injured from war or natural disasters by bringing them to the U.S. and providing them with free medical care and reconstructive surgery. To date, she’s helped more than 100 children in more than 11 countries, all from her Staten Island home office that’s actually a walk-in closet. Kenan now helps Montanti run the charity and lives in her basement with his girlfriend.

Here, Montanti talks to PINK about what led her to create the charity, goals she still wants to achieve and how music makes her world go round.

PINK: What’s the secret to your success?

Elissa Montanti: Absolute persistence. When things got really dark and funds were low, I’d lie in bed at night and think, “How am I going to help the next child?” These children come back for follow-ups until they’re 21. I’d think, “How am I going bring them back now that they’ve outgrown their arm, leg or eye prosthetic and they need surgery?” That’s what haunted me more than anything, and that made me not give up.

PINK: What adversity did you face?

EM: A lot of doors were closed in my face because we help children from outside the country. A lot of people didn’t like that. I persisted by speaking anytime someone wanted me to speak or do anything to promote the charity. I didn’t give up in my head – I kept moving forward.

PINK: What’s the biggest issue you face as head of a nonprofit?

EM: For a lot of people, it’s the economy. In my case, it’s not just the economy. With the exception of one of the foundations on [Staten Island], others have closed the doors to me, saying I wasn’t part of the community because I help foreign children. Incidentally, I have helped children here. But children here have the Shriners Children’s Hospital, which provides [what I provide to international children] to children in this country for free.

PINK: How did you become involved with the Shriners?

EM: When I helped Kenan, the Shriners saw me on New York One. They said, “We can help you,” and that’s what started everything with the charity. I went to Bosnia and met with orphanages and hospitals and compiled lists of children who needed help after the Bosnian Civil War. The Shriners then became my partner by providing all the prosthetics, surgery and rehabilitation for free until the foreign children were 21. I’ve helped 15 children locally, but those children didn’t know about the Shriners, so that’s where I brought them.

PINK: How big is your team?

EM: It’s myself, Kenan and about eight volunteers. I’m blessed with the team I have. They all share my beliefs, and their enthusiasm helps me. They’ve said, “Elissa, these kids need you, don’t give up.” They motivate me, and I motivate them by charging ahead. These volunteers are my dear friends, friends I’ve grown up with, plus my sister, Rita, who’s an RN. We also have a board meeting four to six times a year.

PINK: What’s your leadership style?

EM: I’m very comfortable speaking to and approaching anyone. I don’t feel intimidated, so I don’t set limitations on how far I can reach and what I can achieve. That’s what has gotten me as far as I have – I start at the top. I don’t think about how I should approach a medical or financial institution, I just go for it. Doors being closed in my face actually energize and inspire me.

PINK: How has your background resulted in your success?

EM: My loving parents. There were no boundaries to love and to loving everyone. Growing up, there was no distinction between color or ethnic background whatsoever. Also, I’m a very sensitive person. I feel other people’s pain, and I just have a lot of empathy.

PINK: How do you acquire capital to run your charity?

EM: There’s no medical cost, and that’s what makes it so unique. All of the cost is in-kind – my in-kind is a few million dollars a year. That’s all donated from the Shriners, Long Island Plastic Surgical and North Shore University in Long Island, among others. The money I raise – about $50,000 dollars a year – is to bring the children here, house, feed and clothe them, and the logistics of getting around. That’s it.

PINK: When did you know this was your calling?

EM: I got involved with a fundraiser on Staten Island that started when I was working in the medical field. I always had a passion for songwriting, and a friend of mine approached me about writing lyrics for this song for a fundraiser to help get school supplies for children in Bosnia. I knew little about Bosnia – I read in the papers that there was a war and felt guilty for not knowing more. I did research, wrote some lyrics, and the fundraiser got me motivated. I made an appointment with the ambassador and I asked how I could help raise more money for toys and school supplies. He said, “Thank you so much for your interest, but we have much stronger needs.” He opened his drawer, and that’s when he handed me a letter from this 11-year-old boy who was torn up. It was in that second that I knew I would go through all lengths to help him.

PINK: How did the charity begin?

EM: At that time, I didn’t see the charity –I just saw him and knew I needed to help. After I brought him here, Kenan lived with me for four months while we recruited hospitals, airlines, prosthetics and doctors. After he left, I felt this tremendous void in my life. I knew I needed to do more. That’s when it all came together. I filed the 501(c)(3) and the charity found me.

PINK: Do you have plans to expand?

EM: I operate out of my former walk-in closet. I’d love to have office space, and I’m hoping I can. But I speak to different time zones, and the charity isn’t 9-to-5 or Monday through Friday. It’s my life. It’s 24/7 and that’s OK because I love what I do. As far as having a main headquarters, I think I need that, but I won’t give up working out of my home office.

PINK: How did you convince others to support your cause?

EM: I showed them a picture of a particular child and any media I was in whatsoever, whether it was local, the Daily News or the New York Times. I’d show them the picture and explain I was a nonprofit trying to help one child at a time. Early on, I went to Home Depot and Ikea with an article that ran in Parade Magazine, and I got them to donate $30,000 worth of refurbishing for this space that used to be an orphanage. They refurbished the whole space for me [so the children could stay there while recuperating or waiting for surgery].

PINK: What do you do to relax and rejuvenate?

EM: I spend time with my beautiful Newfoundland dog, Shilo, whom I love to tears. I also listen to and make music. I like rock and roll, but I also like opera – Pink Floyd all the way to La Boheme. Music that I write and sing is basically contemporary, though. And I love walking and spending time at the ocean – that’s my therapy.

PINK: What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

EM: The fact that I worked with [the late musician] Tiny Tim. I met him around ‘93 or ’94. He was an incredible human being. As eccentric as he was, he was one beautiful, sincere and very talented person. He recorded some songs I wrote.

PINK: What’s one goal you still want to achieve?

EM: Sharing my story of how it all began. I lost my mother, and I was struggling with severe panic attacks and I didn’t know why. Meeting Kenan and hearing his story turned me around. It’s an inspiring story about never giving up, and I didn’t give up. While I was helping heal this kid’s broken body, he was giving me my shattered self back. Kenan came into my life and gave me strength.

PINK: Do you have a favorite quote?

EM: I do – it’s silly but true. It’s, “Being logical is not always logical.” A lot of people early on said to me, “What are you doing living paycheck to paycheck? How can you help these kids?” If I thought logically, I wouldn’t be where I am. I went with my gut and my faith. And I always remember to keep a sense of humor. I have a good sense of humor.

PINK: What does success mean to you?

EM: To keep the faith, the love and the persistence. All of that gets you where you need to go. I need faith when things get dark. I need love because, when I see these kids’ faces in front of my eyes at night, that love keeps me going. Lastly, I need persistence to reach the goals I need to reach.

Proceeds from the sale of Elissa Montanti’s new song, “Back Together Again,” will benefit the Global Medical Relief Fund.