LEGACY
Carly Steet Mathias
Marketing & Communications Manager and Co-Owner of Steet Ponte Auto Group
Giving Back Starts at Home
Carly Steet Mathias was born and raised in the Mohawk Valley. She moved away for school, but coming back was an easy choice. She wanted to be near her family, and when she met her husband, who is also from the area, she knew she wanted to raise their children here. “Being in a smaller town, I love seeing familiar faces at a coffee shop or restaurant, or running into someone who remembers my grandparents and hearing their stories.” Now, she gets to share some of her own childhood with her kids. “I appreciate that our kids get to attend the same schools my husband and I did, and that we get to show them our favorite places from when we were growing up!”
There are other things she hopes to pass along, too. Her parents and grandparents taught her to help where she could. Over the years, that has meant volunteering, organizing donation drives and being there when someone needs a hand. While attending graduate school at Pace University, Carly and her friends organized a clothing drive after Hurricane Sandy. They made repeated trips to churches and organizations downstate, bringing clothing and essential items to families who had lost everything.
Here in the Mohawk Valley, she and her brother started a Thanksgiving Food Drive that grew into the Steet Ponte Season of Giving. The collections include backpacks and school supplies in September, Coats for Kids in October, food in November and holiday gifts in December. One year, they arrived to deliver their Thanksgiving donations and found a pantry that was nearly empty. “I distinctly remember seeing a single bag of microwavable popcorn on a shelf and a few cans of soup. By the time we finished unloading all of our vehicles, we had filled the pantry.”
Meeting the staff and volunteers at different pantries each year gives Carly a chance to see the work behind those donations. After the holiday gift drive, she shares thank-you cards from children and families with the Auto Group so everyone can see what their help meant. Those visits and messages remind her of the people receiving the donations and help keep everyone involved in the drives connected to the work they’re doing.
Children’s Miracle Network has been part of her life since childhood. Carly was born prematurely at 29 weeks, before CMN came to the area, and her parents later became involved. “As a parent now, I can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been for my parents, and I can see why they became so close to CMN.” She grew up answering phones and updating donation totals at WKTV telethons, then volunteered and interned with CMN and the former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare Foundation.
Her husband, a lieutenant and volunteer firefighter in New Hartford, shares that commitment to helping. The two met during a false alarm fire call. Now, they’re raising their children to understand that they have a part to play, too. Carly also volunteers at her kids’ schools whenever she can. “From preschool to elementary school, if there is an opportunity for me to be there, you’ll see me!” She loves the chance to see her children during the school day and help with activities they and their classmates enjoy.
For anyone unsure where to begin, she suggests looking close to home. A school, library, workplace or place of worship may need an extra set of hands. “You don’t always have to do something grand to help someone; sometimes, it’s just about recognizing a need and doing what you can to make someone’s day a little easier.”
This Thanksgiving, Carly is thankful for family, friends, health and time together, including those Friday nights when she surprises the kids with dinner in the family room and a movie. And she hopes that, as they grow, they’ll remember the example being set for them. “If they grow up recognizing a need and wanting to help, whether that’s in a big way or a small one, then I think we’ve done something right.”
