Tag: donor spotlight

Caring Hearts and Hands resonates with the Tuttles

Posted on by Brandi Herrman

Meg and Larry Tuttle have been supporting Caring Hearts and Hands through monthly giving, furniture donations, special memorial pillows, and more. Let’s take a minute to get to know the Tuttles and why they give to CHHC!

What brought you to Caring Hearts and Hands?

Meg: Jackie made a presentation at our Knights of Columbus auxiliary, and just something about what she had to say and how she had to say, it piqued my interest, and so I talked to her, and we donated some furniture, and that’s kind of where it started.

What draws you to CHHC’s mission?

Larry: We are strong believers in the dignity of life, and the more we learned about the mission of Caring Hearts and the need in Columbia, the more it resonated with us and touched our hearts.

Meg: It all fit in with what our belief system is for giving and just was one more avenue that we could help people. The idea that it’s for people who don’t have family around, we can identify with that, because we’ve moved around a lot.

Larry: As a background, we moved here from San Antonio. I was on staff at a retirement community, fairly large community with about 700 residents and two campuses, and we saw the need for end of life care.

What would you tell others thinking about volunteering with or donating to CHHC?

Meg: People shouldn’t be alone in their last few days, and this fulfills that need.

Larry: Like it or not, this is that’s going to touch everybody in the community at some point. How wonderful it is to have that agency to be able to meet the needs of families in a situation that can cause stress and crisis. The community needs to recognize the value of Caring Hearts.

So tell us a bit more about yourselves outside of CHHC?

Meg: We have two sons and one daughter. Among them we have eight grandchildren. Larry and I were both born and raised in Indiana. We met and got married at Indiana University and have been married for 57 years. We spent over 20 years in the Air Force with tours all over the U.S. and one three-year tour in Germany. We enjoy traveling and spending time with family. We moved here eight years ago, and that was to be close to our grandchildren, except our grandchildren live in Dallas and Indianapolis, so close is a relative term. We’re between both. We’re between our three children, and that has gotten us involved with their lives, and being involved here in Columbia. San Antonio is a huge city, and we love the size of Columbia. We like that there’s a university here. I’m a retired teacher. I taught high school math for 24 years. The word retired is a wonderful word these days, and I have taken up quilting since I retired.

Larry: After retiring from the military, I was involved with nonprofit management for another 25 years. Knowing that startup nonprofits and nonprofits that are in the initial phases need to have a growing group of donors, I would encourage anybody who has donated to look at being a monthly donor. To have that sustaining revenue stream for the agency is so important to create a foundation of financial support for operations. So we’ve become monthly donors, as well as with Meg’s talents quilting. She smiles and glows whenever she either makes the pillow or the quilts.

Meg: I’ve made a couple of pillows. The family will bring a shirt or a dress or something, and then we make them into memorial pillows. So I’ve made two of those now, and that just brings me a lot of joy. I’m also in a group at our church, and I knit hats that somebody else takes to cancer patients. And that brings me a lot of joy also.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share about CHHC?

Meg: My mother passed away probably 11 years ago. We were in San Antonio, she was in northern Indiana, and yes, she was in a facility, you know, where there were people there, but we weren’t there. And so knowing how I felt not being there, it’s nice to know that somebody else can have you all to take care of their loved ones.

Isaacs carries on wife’s legacy by donating

Posted on by Brandi Herrman
Donor Spotlight: Steve Isaacs; picture of Steve with sunglasses in a red shirt.

Steve Isaacs lost his wife when she was 40, and they had no viable options outside of the hospital for her final days. But now, with the staff and volunteers at Caring Hearts and Hands, Isaacs does his part to give back to help others in the same situation, carrying on her legacy.

Can you tell us a bit about your life? Work? Family? 

I am from South Dakota, originally.  At least that is where I lived the longest (my father was in the Air Force). I graduated from SEMO and then from Mizzou Law School. I practiced law for about seven-and-a-half years before leaving to work with my best friend’s advertising company, where I’ve been working for the past 17 or so years.  I have a 15-year-old son named Vince.

How did you learn about Caring Hearts and Hands? 

I was previously married, and my wife Stephanie sadly passed away from breast cancer at the age of 40. We would have loved to have a place for her to spend her final days rather than a hospital, but there were no viable options.  

After her passing, I met and began dating Theresa Rardin, who coincidentally was involved with CHHC. That is what introduced me to the organization. I wanted to be able to honor Stephanie, but also help others who are in her unfortunate situation. I feel like I am carrying on her legacy when I am able to help at CHHC.

What draws you to the organization’s mission? 

Mainly the fact that I have been in the exact same situation as the families they serve today. I know how unbelievably difficult it is. To have an organization that helps take care of one of the most anxiety-producing parts of that journey—the end-of-life stage—is very important.

What is the most rewarding part about CHHC?

Knowing that they are taking some of the burden off of the families, while also often times fulfilling the patient’s desire not to die in a hospital.  

Waggoner finds many ways to give back

Posted on by Brandi Herrman
Donor Spotlight: Debbie Waggoner

The mission of Caring Hearts and Hands of Columbia rests in the hands of its donors, who fund the work of our volunteers and board members. Debbie Waggoner, who chose to a recurring monthly contribution, is just one such donor.

How did you first hear about Caring Hearts and Hands of Columbia? 

“Erin Burri mentioned her mom, Cindy Daugherty was involved in a new nonprofit.  I got together with Cindy, and she told me all about it.”

What draws you to the organization’s mission?

“I lived too far away from my parents and traveled for work all the time, so I wasn’t able to be there for them much in their last years. To know there will soon be a place for people like them – people who don’t have family or whose family cannot care for them – is so very important.”

Tell us a bit about yourself.

“I grew up in the small town of Elsberry, MO, and have lived in Columbia (for the second time) since 1997. I worked for State Farm Insurance for more than 40 years before retiring in 2016. After retirement, I decided to stay in Columbia.

“A lot of my time is spent volunteering with Be the Change Volunteers, an education-focused nonprofit that travels to developing and third world countries — building and rehabbing schools, school libraries, teacher housing and playgrounds. 

“I love to travel and do that as much as possible. In August I will finally make it to my 50th state (Alaska) and this past December made it to my seventh continent (Antarctica).”  

Tell us about your family and/or those closest in your life. 

“I have one brother who lives in Jefferson City with his wife. My nephew is married with two daughters and is a Lt. Colonel in the Army.  My niece married last August.  She and her husband are traveling around the states in a motorhome, and we’ll see where they land long term. 

“Outside of biological family, my Be the Change Volunteer family and a small group of ladies called Knittin’ Kittens are incredibly important to me and I love spending time with them. 

“The best part of getting together is the laughter.”