Senator Hassan Recognizes Lilie Murray of Rye as October’s Granite Stater of the Month

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan today recognized Lilie Murray of Rye as October’s Granite Stater of the Month for mobilizing members of her community to help those in need, including organizing a clothing drive, raising money to buy washers and dryers for families after the neighborhood laundromat shut down, and building a reading nook for children at a community recreation center.

Lilie was first inspired to take up the cause to help less fortunate members of her community after learning about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, which includes the goals of no poverty and a quality education. In an effort to make progress on these goals in her community, Lilie started Portsmouth Community Closet, which donates new or gently used clothing to people in need on the Seacoast. The group distributed its first donations at Gosling Meadows, a public housing neighborhood in Portsmouth.

During the distribution event at Gosling Meadows, Lilie learned that residents at the facility were struggling to clean their clothes after the neighborhood laundromat shut down. In response, Lilie organized a successful fundraiser that provided washers and dryers to eight families at Gosling Meadows. Following her work with Gosling Meadows, Lilie started a summer program at Greenleaf Recreation Center in Portsmouth, where she and her classmates brought the children in the program on trips that they normally would not be able to afford. Her work with these kids inspired her to jump into yet another project to help her community, where she and her classmates built a colorful reading nook in the Greenleaf Recreation Center to allow the children a quiet place to read and learn.

Senator Hassan launched the “Granite Stater of the Month” initiative in 2017 to recognize outstanding New Hampshire citizens who go above and beyond to help their neighbors and make their communities stronger. To nominate a New Hampshire citizen to be a “Granite Stater of the Month,” constituents can complete the nomination form here.

To read Senator Hassan’s statement in the Congressional Record recognizing Lilie Murray as October’s Granite Stater of the Month, click here.

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