08/11/2026
This ERIE GIVES DAY: Meet Mary Santiago 💙
When you give to Erie City Moms on Erie Gives Day, you’re not just supporting a program. You’re investing in Mothers who are becoming the community leaders Erie needs.
This year, Erie City Moms proudly launched our first-ever Peer Advisor Training Program—a leadership initiative that equips Mother Figures to use their lived experiences, compassion, and unique gifts to strengthen families and neighborhoods across Erie. Through ongoing training and opportunities in servant leadership, trauma-informed care, communication, confidentiality, conflict navigation, and community-building, our Peer Advisors help create spaces where every Mom is welcomed, known, and encouraged to thrive.
Today, on Erie Gives Day, we’re excited to introduce our third of these inspiring women.
🌟 Meet Mary Santiago, who, in conjunction with Tracy Magaldi Hokanson and volunteers from OpenedEyes, lead our “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” Mentoring Circle.
Mary’s Erie story began as a single mother of four littles, building a new life and finding her place in a new community. And man, are we glad she chose to put down roots here.
Over the years, Mary has developed a deep commitment to uplifting and empowering women, connecting families to resources, building empathy and understanding among diverse people groups, and creating opportunities for others—especially our most vulnerable. She has emerged as a respected nonprofit leader and an important voice within Erie’s Hispanic community. 🇵🇷
Since 2023, Mary has helped Erie City Moms with strategic planning and program development. Today, Mary uses her many gifts to serve other Mothers through Mother Matters Mentoring Circles and is a woman many of our Moms, young and old, look up to. She creates space for women from different backgrounds and life experiences to build genuine friendships, listen to one another, challenge assumptions, and discover what becomes possible when we choose relationship over isolation.
Her story is exactly why we believe in investing in Mothers: Mary came to Erie alone to build a future for her family. Today, she is helping build a stronger future for our entire community.
That’s the power of Mothering community.
That’s the power of Erie City Moms’ leadership development.
And that’s the kind of multi-generational impact your Erie Gives Day gift helps make possible.
⏰When you give here 👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼 https://www.eriegives.org/organization/Erie-City-Moms by midnight today, you help us train and equip more Mothers like Mary to become trusted leaders, mentors, advocates, and builders of community.
Your gift helps provide the training, support, mentoring, and opportunities that turn lived experience into leadership.
Does it happen overnight? Marie Carmen and every one of our Peer Advisors would say absolutely not. Are they grateful for your investment? That’s a resounding YES!
Thank you Mary for the many sacrifices you make to give to Erie—we are beyond blessed to have you as part of our leadership team!
