Meet people who make inspiring hope possible!
Our family is growing. Inheritance of Hope now has a roster of 300+ amazing volunteers! On our Orlando Legacy Retreat in April, we were thrilled to welcome the following into our ranks:
Ethan Baur, Clara Beovich, Caroline Braun, Mara Caples, Ally Dee, Anna Latimer, Emileah Most, Micah Most, Sara Theisen, Ethan Trejo, and Cheryl Yeaton.
Get to know them a little better here!
Long after all other retreat-goers are tucked in for the night, Mikki Skinner and Rachel Streelman tuck into a bag of gummy bears, a little wine, and reruns of Friends. The professional photographers have cumulatively snapped their way through 13 Inheritance of Hope Legacy RetreatsⓇ, and still eagerly open their computers each night to see what they’ve captured. On a typical day, the team might shoot up to 800 images, then back in their hotel room, with the help of late-night provisions and a little background noise from the TV, cull those into a well-edited 300 or so photos.
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| Rachel (left), and Mikki always have camera-ready smiles themselves! |
On any Inheritance of Hope Legacy RetreatⓇ, Anna Conti’s hands are full. With little hands. Our chief “hand-holder” and “sticker-sticker” is rarely without a charge of adoring little ones basking in the sunshine of her undivided attention. Anna knows that debates about princesses and villains are just as important as conversations about pets, career opportunities in the superhero field, and whether to choose the kids’ mac and cheese meal or pizza. Adept at navigating Dr. Seuss Landing or Magic Kingdom, Anna is proud to call herself a “Disney girl.” She can distract from a sugar-induced meltdown, welcome the most shy preschooler into a group, and ease any parent’s separation anxiety, because she recognizes and loves each child wholeheartedly.
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| This Disney girl knows how to rock a pair of mouse ears! |
Jenna Maier, 14, wants to “ show that no matter your age, you can make a difference.” The Willow Creek Middle School eighth grader from Rochester, Minnesota, has done just that. In November, Jenna cooked up a fundraising campaign for Inheritance of Hope. By February, she had raised $500 selling homemade cookies.
When Jen Roett saw Kendra Scott’s metastatic breast cancer necklace charm set on Instagram, “I was like, ‘done!’” she raves, “And I bought it as soon as it came out.” One-year-old daughter Kennedy loved it as much as mom, and when she reached in to get a closer look, pulled the necklace right off Jen’s neck.
Jen went to the Kendra Scott website to find out how she could get her brand-new jewelry repaired, stumbled upon the relationship between Kendra Scott and Inheritance of Hope, and she says, “I began hysterically sobbing, I was so moved.” The very next day, Jen signed up to volunteer on the February 2019 Legacy RetreatⓇ to Orlando, which was sponsored by Kendra Scott, for families affected by metastatic breast cancer.
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Those who come into the world with another person, a twin, are never alone. The lives of identical twins are so innately blended together that moving from an “us” to a “me” can seem impossible. Losing Kris meant losing my identity--my PLURAL identity--and all of a sudden, I have found myself having to “grow up” all over again as a singular “individual.” It is curious… exceptional… unnatural.
This piece was originally posted on October 12, 2017 as Inheritance of Hope celebrated Kendra Scott's "Holley Day, in remembrance of Kendra's dear friend, Holley Kitchen. Holley and her family were served on an Inheritance of Hope Legacy RetreatⓇ in May 2015, just eight short months before she passed away from metastatic breast cancer. February 13, 2019 would have been her 46th birthday. Happy Heavenly birthday, Holley!
Of all the things Holley Kitchen wanted to be—wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend—the role she is most widely known for is something no one wants to be: the face of metastatic breast cancer. Like most true heroes, Holley was an ordinary woman facing extraordinary circumstances. How she soared beyond those confines will forever define her as a champion of this disease.
Lauren Latimer vividly remembers her introduction to Inheritance of Hope, “When my mom first told me she wanted our family to go on an IoH Legacy RetreatⓇ, I was like, ‘Sorry. That doesn’t sound like fun. I don’t want to go on a cancer retreat.’” The Latimers--mom Karen, dad Rob, Lauren, and her sister Anna--attended the January 2016 retreat to Orlando over their daughters’ objections. Lauren, at the time 17, admits that her mom guilted her into going. Now a repeat IoH volunteer, she is more than happy to concede, “A depressing ‘cancer retreat’ is the exact opposite of what IoH is. By the end of the weekend, the volunteers and other families were my family, and I didn't want to leave. And, that is the consensus of everyone who comes on a retreat.”
Since the Strebe family attended an Inheritance of Hope Legacy RetreatⓇ in February 2014, Jon and Donna have only missed a handful. Between the two of them, they have volunteered at 12 retreats. That’s worth repeating--a dozen Legacy Retreats!
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| The Strebe family at their Legacy RetreatⓇ in February 2014 |
A chance click of the mouse led Bob Sauer to Inheritance of Hope (IoH), but his involvement since then has been nothing short of dedicated. While scrolling through charity partners on the Marine Corps Marathon website, Bob came across the IoH logo and double-clicked to learn more. He later received a bib through the marathon’s lottery program--meaning he could run without supporting a non-profit sponsor--but Bob was already hooked, and even decided to double his initial fundraising goal for IoH! By race time, Bob was leading Team IoH in fundraising for the Marine Corps Marathon, and funded two children on our November 2018 New York City Legacy RetreatⓇ.
