Meet our 2021 AmplifiHER Honorees

Janet Polaneczky

Community Impact
Nashua, NH

Janet is a Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter (NSKS) Board Member and also a volunteer in our Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry. With the onset of COVID, since March of 2020, Janet comes in three times a week to help with breakfast. We serve a hot breakfast To Go and Janet assembles approximately 150 bags each morning, with condiments, plasticware, napkins and the hot entre. After she finishes that task, she helps shelve donations in our Food Pantry. She always has a kind and uplifting message for both staff and clients. Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter and the Nashua community at large are so very lucky to have Janet as part of our team! Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter sees a new day for the men, women, and children experiencing homelessness in our community, in part because of the leadership and commitment of our Board Member and Building Committee Chairwoman Janet Polaneczky. Janet’s dedication to our tremendous new project of sheltering the homeless, as well as feeding the hungry, will positively impact the Greater Nashua community at large, all beginning with her desire to give back to the community and assist those in need.

Janet has lived in Nashua for 30 years and considers it her home. Janet retired as an Air Force Reserve Colonel after 26 years of service and assignments, including command and control systems. Janet has a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Master of Science in Logistics Management degrees. She had previous extensive commitments with her four children’s schools as both a board member and volunteer. She is currently serving on the St. Patrick Parish Council and has been for 10 years, assisting with parish planning, aiding with several successful Capital Campaigns, coordinating many parish events throughout the year and is part of a 4-person team that created a monthly speaker event. Janet has taught graduate and undergraduate level management courses. She is a 2-term Ward 2 Moderator.

Currently, she enjoys spending time with her grown children and new grandbaby, going on dates with her husband, gardening, and volunteering. Her wish is to give back to the community and assist those in need. Janet’s application as a Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter (NSKS) Board Member came at a pivotal time, when NSKS and St. Patrick Parish were entering into an agreement for NSKS to lease the former Sacred Heart School, located next to St. Patrick Parish, to convert it into the new NSKS Emergency Shelter. NSKS secured a 40-year lease with the Diocese of Manchester and is now in the middle of an $8.5M Capital Campaign to renovate the historic school building into our new, expanded shelter. The structure holds four floors and approximately 20,000 sq ft of usable space-more than triple our current capacity. As a Board Member, Janet leads our Building Committee – a HUGE job!! These tasks include: Attend multiple meetings each week Concisely and accurately summarize progress and issues for board of directors Help calculate funding needs and communicate with select funders about their requirements Coordinate with construction manager and design team Act as the liaison with St. Patrick’s Parish Bunk bed builder extraordinaire along with her family With Janet excelling as our Board Member in this capacity, the successful completion of this extraordinary project will have a substantial impact on the homeless men, women and families in our Greater Nashua community. In addition to this tremendous responsibility, Janet is also part of our Fall Auction Committee Fundraiser as both a team player and donor.