Crain’s | 20 In Their Twenties
Maria Paparella , 23
Executive director, Chair-ity Inc.
For most high school students, it’s enough to have to worry about juggling schoolwork, classes and extracurriculars.
But Maria Paparella in high school started an initiative that’s now a full-fledged nonprofit and her life’s work. She runs Chair-ity Inc., which provides furniture and household goods to youth who age out of foster care. Chair-ity provides services in six counties to young people who often have little to no support system other than social services. The nonprofit’s goal is to ease the transition and create a place called home.
Paparella’s vision for Chair-ity was born during her childhood. She grew up in Akron as an only child but surrounded by a large, loving extended family. She longed for a sibling, so her family began thinking of adoption. They began following an agency’s website that highlighted kids who needed homes. There, Paparella found who she thought would be a “perfect sister.” In the end, though, her family decided to remain a unit of three. Still, Paparella never forgot the girl, often checking the website for her status.
As years passed, Paparella started to think about the bigger picture: What would happen when the girl reached 18? Not satisfied with the answers her parents provided, Paparella, then a teen attending Western Reserve Academy, reached out to Summit County Children Services. From them, she learned that social services help aged-out foster kids find jobs and apartments, but youth often need support with furniture and setting up a place to live. Without the help of groups like Chair-ity, youth often live in empty apartments until they can afford to buy furniture.
“At the end of that meeting, I decided I need to do something about this,” Paparella said.
Still in high school, she got to work. With help from Chez-Del, a furniture store in Akron that provided storage and trucks, she started to get things off the ground.
“We just started collecting things. Once I had enough where I thought that this could get off its feet, I got back in contact with Summit County Children Services … and we started a referral process,” she said.
After graduating Kenyon College, Paparella decided to jump into the endeavor full time. Chair-ity so far has outfitted more than 140 clients and hopes to bring its work to every county in Ohio. Chair-ity also has expanded to offer job training by hiring aged-out youth.
The Paparella file
First concert: Zac Brown Band at Blossom.
Quote: “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Hobbies: Cycling, running or hiking on any of the Metropark trails and trying restaurants around Cleveland with friends.
Vacation spot: “I have some family in Italy, who live in a small town called Minturno.”
LinkedIn profile: tinyurl.com/MariaPaparella
Those who know Paparella, who maintained Chair-ity through her schooling, applaud her dedication.
“Her passion is palpable. You can see it in her face and in her eyes,” said Cheyenne Boyd, Chair-ity board member.
And Paparella’s “perfect sister?” Paparella was able to help her when she aged out of foster care, though the girl never knew she inspired Chair-ity’s path.
“We were able to serve her. And that was such a special experience,” Paparella said.