Heather has the heart of a giver. “I’ve been in social services for 30 years,” she shares. “And I’ve worked with so any different vulnerable populations.”
At home, empathy thrives as Heather and her husband, Andre, teach their four children to give back. “We always try to make the holidays about others, not ourselves. Giving is part of our holiday tradition, but it’s also a year-round tradition,” she shares.
Heather infuses her life with kindness, generosity and service because she knows firsthand that everyone is just one paycheck away from needing extra support — including her own family. “My husband and I are college educated. We’ve worked for many years,” she shares. “We’ve always helped people but now to need help ourselves, it’s not what was supposed to happen.”
Seven years ago, lingering chronic health challenges made Heather unable to work and Andre, a combat Veteran, lost his small business. “We went from not thinking about food, and being able to buy whatever we needed, to becoming food insecure,” she shares.
Heather used her social service skills to connect with her local food shelf. She received holiday food during her visit and shares, “We could take a breather and just be together at Christmas.”
While they still face a challenging time, her optimism and hope abound. “We try to remember that things could be worse and put our efforts into helping others with more challenges than us.”
Holiday meals for neighbors like Heather and her family wouldn’t be possible without partners like you. Here’s a sample of others who generously support our hunger relief work:
- Compeer Financial
- Halvor Lines, Inc.
- Kwik Trip
- Sam’s Club
- Upper Lakes Foods