On May 2, 2022, Helen Keller Intl honored Eleanor Crook with the Spirit of Helen Keller Award for her philanthropy, advocacy, and vision of creating a world in which every mother can nourish her children.
Eleanor co-founded the Eleanor Crook Foundation with her late husband, William Crook in 1997. Moved by the severity of 1970s Ethiopia famine, witnessing images of Ethiopian mothers and children suffering from severe malnutrition, Eleanor dedicated the rest of her life to shifting the trajectory of the malnutrition crisis. She began investing in a future where every child can realize their full potential.
In 2017, the Eleanor Crook Foundation made a $100 million commitment to fight global malnutrition through advocacy and research. “We’ve had the good fortune to see dramatic progress against hunger, poverty, and disease around the world, during the period in which she’s been engaged,” shared Reverend David Beckmann, former President of Bread for the World and long-time friend, on Eleanor’s dedication to changing the world.
2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the Foundation, but as Eleanor herself has put it, we still have a lot of work to do.
We hold a world without hunger as the final goal. We don’t expect to see it quickly. We just keep plugging away.
Eleanor Crook, on the future of her foundation and the future of the world.
