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For the past three years, Loudoun United FC has selected a member of the community to receive the Trevor Brown Hometown Hero Award.

For the past three years, Loudoun United FC has selected a member of the community to receive the Trevor Brown Hometown Hero Award.

Trevor Brown was a Sterling volunteer firefighter who was killed in an explosion while responding to a gas leak in 2024.

At the Aug. 8 Hometown Hero Night at Segra Field in Leesburg, Elizabeth Ford, founder of the Purcellville-based nonprofit BetterALife, was recognized as this year’s recipient.

Ford was nominated by several members of the Loudoun community, including a representative from the Purcellville Police Department, according to Karl Sharman, president and CEO of Loudoun United FC. The nominations made it clear how highly she is regarded throughout the county and how significant an impact her work has had on local families, Sharman said.

In a statement, Sharman said the award is about recognizing someone who genuinely makes Loudoun a better place, and Ford represents “exactly that.”

“She gives an incredible amount of herself to helping others, both here in Loudoun and beyond, and the way people in this community speak about her says everything. We’re proud to recognize her with this award,” Sharman said.

Founded in 2016, BetterALife provides a food pantry, an after-school homework club, cooking lessons for kids and teen night programs.

In addition, through the programs “InspireALife” and “Growth4ALife,” Ford and other volunteers serve as mentors to help at-risk youth find a path forward through career counseling and continued education.

Ford’s connection to the work she does is personal. She grew up in Reston experiencing food insecurity, at times not knowing where her next meal would come from. Those experiences eventually inspired her to start BetterALife with the goal of making sure other children and families don’t have to go through the same thing.

In 2025, the nonprofit assisted 10,000 children in 2025, providing hundreds of backpacks and supplies for school, winter coats and new toys for Christmas.

In addition to backpacks, Ford’s nonprofit provides nearly 1,000 lunch bags to local schools each month which are distributed biweekly and picked up by the students at either the school counselor’s office or with the school family liaison.

Accepting the award on Ford’s behalf was Christina White, vice chair of BetterALife. Ford received a framed Loudoun United jersey signed by the team.

In a statement, Ford said she was "honored and humbled" to receive the award.

“Serving our community is both a blessing and a calling and I am truly grateful to have the work of BetterALife recognized in such a meaningful way, and to have the opportunity to make a difference,” she said.