Leadership & Early History
George McDonald, founder of The Doe Fund, was working as a garment industry executive when he became conscious of New York’s growing homeless population. He was motivated to do something about it by the teachings of his Catholic school education stressing the importance of community service and supporting those who are less fortunate.
He started by handing out sandwiches at Grand Central Terminal while running for United States Congress. Though his three runs were unsuccessful, the visibility he gained from campaigning provided him a platform from which to advocate for the homeless.
In 1985, a homeless woman known only as "Mama"—whom George McDonald had fed and befriended—died of exposure, the result of spending the night on a concrete sidewalk after being ejected from Grand Central Terminal on Christmas Eve by Metro-North police, despite her pneumonia and the freezing temperatures outside. The incident drove George McDonald to redirect his executive career to focus on providing the homeless with a way off the streets. He created the organization he called The Doe Fund in honor of “Mama Doe.”
Three years later, he lost another homeless friend from the terminal. According to news accounts at that time, April Savino was a spirited and smart but crack-addicted teenager, who, having lost all hope for a better life, shot herself in the head with a stolen gun on the steps of Saint Agnes Church on East 43rd St.
At her funeral, George McDonald gave the eulogy and afterwards was approached by Harriet Karr-McDonald (then Harriet Karr), a screenwriter and actress from Beverly Hills.
Karr-McDonald, who grew up in Greenwich Village, became close to April while in New York researching a screenplay about homeless people living in Grand Central Terminal. Karr-McDonald had arranged for her to enter a rehabilitation center. Once April completed treatment, Karr-McDonald intended to adopt her and bring her home - but April hid from her on the day they were scheduled to leave New York. Karr-McDonald has said her inability to save April influenced her decision to devote her life to the homeless and move to New York to work with George McDonald. Within six months, the two were married and subsequently established further Doe Fund initiatives together.
As The Doe Fund’s Executive Vice President, Karr-McDonald presides over development of the organization’s programs and its fund-raising efforts.
Read more about this topic: The Doe Fund
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