Meet Food for Schools Sponsor Gary Elefante of Elefante Financial Services

Gary Elefante is an independent LPL Financial Advisor and the owner and operator of Durham’s Elefante Financial Services. 

He and his team offer comprehensive wealth planning and investment services to clients, centered around a belief that careful planning is the cornerstone of successful client relationships and is essential to the understanding of clients’ goals and the team’s ability to assist them with taking control of their financial future. 

The team includes Gary’s oldest son, Brian – LPL Financial Advisor and Certified Financial Planner ™ professional. Brian assists with all aspects of client engagement, including wealth planning, client review meeting preparation, and implementation of investment plans.

The third member of the team is assistant Linda, who has worked with Gary for more than 15 years and handles a wide range of operational issues for clients.

Elefante Financial Services has sponsored PORCH’s Food for Schools program since 2016. 

FFS provides supplemental food to students in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools who are hungry and struggling to concentrate in the classroom. Through FFS, PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro provides each school with $1,000 worth of snacks in a school year – $500 at the beginning of the school year and $500 after the holidays. The snacks – cheese crackers, granola bars, applesauce, apples, protein bars, trail mix, fruit bars, and more – are purchased in bulk, brought to a central location, and sorted. Then, school social workers pick up the healthy snacks on a designated day each semester. To learn more, check out our recent feature on this program. 

“Having raised three grown sons, I know how hungry growing kids get and how much food it takes to keep them fed and on the go,” Gary says. “I support PORCH because I love helping kids, and PORCH helps families and kids in a most fundamental way by providing the nourishing food we all need to stay healthy, active, and productive. I feel it is especially important to support PORCH’s Food for Schools program that provides healthy snacks to children who need them the most. Hungry kids can’t learn effectively, and education is vital to giving kids a shot at success – something that all kids deserve.” 

Because helping kids is a true passion of Gary’s, he also regularly supports SKJAJA, which enables kids to participate in extracurricular activities that they otherwise might not be able to afford. “I am a big believer in sports and fitness, and love supporting a cause like SKJAJA that provides those opportunities to kids. For the same reason, I also support Special Olympics of Orange County, which gives wonderful opportunities to children and adults with intellectual disabilities to develop physical fitness and to experience the fun and joy of team sports. I also enjoy volunteering with the Furniture Project at my church that helps the homeless and marginalized by providing gently used furniture.”

Gary and his wife have lived and worked in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area since 1993. “There is no better way to support our community than to invest our time and resources in local causes that directly improve our neighbors’ lives,” Gary says. “One of the most rewarding benefits of supporting local nonprofits is seeing and experiencing firsthand the immediate and direct impact our contributions have on members of our community.”  

View our full list of FFS sponsors and learn more about becoming a sponsor.