First of all, I just want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who participated in Hope Blooms from Home.  Because of your sponsorships, donations, gifts of prizes, raffle ticket purchases and matching grants, this was the most successful HHH fundraiser to date!  Over $50,000 was raised for our general expenses, ensuring HHH remains free for our guests.  AMAZING!
Please be sure to keep up with the HHH website and Facebook page, where we'll be announcing the date and details of our next Hope Blooms event.  Meanwhile, I'd like to share the pictures of some of the happy folks who won some of the prizes!
Congrats!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I honestly don’t know how a non-profit can survive without being in a community filled with supportive, generous Woman’s Life Insurance Society chapters.
Hunter Hospitality House is blessed to be one of the many charities in Port Huron, MI who are continually WOWED by all of the fundraising, volunteering and service projects done by Woman’s Life members and chapters.  From before our very first location open its doors in 2011, ‘til this very day, they’ve been the secret sauce to HHH’s success.
And that’s not even an exaggeration.  Read on and try to tell me I’m wrong.  It’s impossible.

What is Woman’s Life Insurance Society?
According to their website, www.womanslife.org, “Woman’s Life Insurance Society® provides financial products and educational resources to help women and their families build a strong financial future. Woman’s Life creates opportunities and provides financial support for community outreach.  They also encourage good health through information and fraternal benefits.”
But what’s really cool, and what this blog post is all about, is how Woman’s Life stresses connection. 
You see, (again, quoting from their website), “Woman’s Life brings women together through local chapters and other channels, to have fun, build friendships, and engage in community outreach.”
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And what, exactly, is a Woman’s Life chapter?
Simply put, Woman’s Life chapters are made up of friends who like to socialize with one another and make a difference in their community.  Together, they do small and large fundraisers and volunteer projects of all sizes and are sponsored in their endeavors by Woman’s Life Insurance Society through special matching or service grants.
I’m afraid that sounds a lot more boring than it is, so why don’t I show you some pictures of Woman’s Life chapters in action at, and for, Hunter Hospitality House?

How does one become a member?
Crystal Mosher, the Member Engagement and Benefit Specialist at Woman’s Life Insurance Society, told me, “To join, go to www.womanslife.org and hit the purple box that says JOIN NOW.”  Or you can even call Crystal at 810-488-2679 and she'll hook you up!
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What are Woman’s Life chapters up to right now for HHH?
We are thrilled that THREE different chapters are providing fundraisers with $500 matching grants for Hunter Hospitality House through Hope Blooms from Home!  www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/hope-blooms.html

Woman’s Life Chapter 800 will be giving $1000 in cash away to a lucky raffle winner, and tickets are only $2.00.  Two dollars!  You can’t even get a sandwich for that kind of change these days, and they’re offering you a chance to win $1000!! 

​Woman’s Life Chapter 807 is selling raffle tickets for $5 for 20 different prizes.  Want something for your daughter? Check out the Elsa and Anna capes and dolls!  Need a romantic getaway?  The Frankenmuth gift package is definitely for you.  Are you the active type?  How about a two-person kayak?
I could go on and on (I mean, there’s 20 prizes, so really, I could).  You’ll just have to see them all for yourself.  

​Not really into games of chance, but just want to support the mission of free hospital lodging in Port Huron?  Woman’s Life Chapter 808 has you covered.  Just donate through the Hope Blooms site or make your check out to Woman's Life Chapter #808 and send it to us. Woman's Life Insurance Society will match the 1st $500.00 donated in the name of Woman's Life Chapter #808.

I mean, c’mon.  Generosity in spades, right?!  

​Full confession:
I’m coming from a rather biased place in my high opinion of Woman’s Life.  You see, not only have they donated countless volunteer hours and a whopping $$117,220.75 in matching funds to HHH (not to mention donations of food, cleaning supplies, etc.), but they’re also some of my very best friends and family. 
Oh, and I’m a chapter member, too!
Respectfully Yours,
Tracy Willard, Founding Member and Secretary, Woman’s Life Chapter 807

1. Spread the word.  
Many people don’t know about Hunter Hospitality House, and as I always say, the more people who know, the more people we can help!  As an at-home volunteer, you can spread the word by sharing Facebook messages and this website with your friends and family.  Inviting your Facebook friends to like our page is great word-of-mouth advertising.
​www.facebook.com/hunterhospitalityhouse
Also, we’d be happy to mail our brochures to you.  Consider sending them out, with a handwritten note from you recommending our organization, to people you know in the medical field—like doctors, nurses, and office managers.  

2.  Facilitate a Speaking Engagement
Co-Founders Jeff and Tracy Willard are happy to speak to clubs and churches about Hunter Hospitality House.  If you are a member where you know they’d appreciate a short presentation about HHH, or if you’re close to someone who might be interested, we’d be grateful for the opportunity.

3.  Watch for Opportunities
If you’re surfing the internet and notice an online contest to nominate a nonprofit for a grant, please think of Hunter Hospitality House.  Also, if you learn of a grant that we can apply for, please send us the link via email.  We have a very small staff and sometimes miss the many opportunities available online.
While online, you’re probably going to see all kinds of people chatting about subjects where you could pipe in and suggest Hunter Hospitality House as a solution.  Whether you recommend a guest, a volunteer, a college intern, or a scout troop looking for a special project, we’re always grateful for the referral!

However you choose to help, just know that you're making a world of difference in many lives.  Being able to stay within steps of a hospitalized loved one is so important.  Cancer patients who don't have to drive back and forth from home to their treatment center are also grateful for what you're making possible for them at HHH, too.  Not having to worry about how much the lodging will cost? Priceless.
Thank you!

When we founded HHH back in 2011, there were a lot of things I couldn’t have imagined.  For example, I wouldn’t guessed that we’d have three locations ten years later, or that our annual fundraiser would grow from 250 guests to nearly 700 (before Covid-19, of course).  But I think the thing that’s surprised me the most is how incredibly supportive the community has been, and the heroism of monthly donors.
If you’d have asked me 10 years ago what a donor who gives ten dollars a month could do for HHH, I probably would have said something like, “No donation is too small.”  That’s true, no doubt.  But now I understand that monthly donors are SUPERHEROES in the nonprofit world.  The reliability of their donations make it possible for us to budget; the relationship they have to our organization extends way beyond their checkbooks; and our data continues to show they become one of our greatest sources of referrals.

Reliability
Annemarie Kautz and her husband Jim are long time HHH supporters.  I recently asked her what motivates them to give each month.
 “We feel that monthly donations make it easier for HHH to keep doing what they do best without having to have too many fundraisers. Monthly donations are a regular part of the budget that can be counted on,” she said…and she couldn’t be more correct.
Every few weeks, HHH gets the same bills that come to your house…times three.  Knowing we can count on several donors’ monthly contributions to help cover those costs, January through December, makes it easier for us to focus on our mission of providing a complimentary home away from home for those in need of restoration while either comforting a sick loved or receiving treatment.  Ensuring our guests have a premium hospital lodging experience is a much more worthwhile use of staff and volunteer’s time than constant fundraising.

Relationships
When people start monthly donations to HHH, a beautiful thing begins to happen.  They’re far more likely to pay attention to Facebook posts, advertisements, and press releases regarding our organization.  When we need volunteers, they’re likely to spread the word.  What began as simple philanthropy turns into a relationship as deep as friends, and in some cases, family. 
Mary Ecker wrote, “I heard about the Hunter Hospitality House project after the first house had opened. I went to see the movie about HHH that was shown at a local church. I learned so much about the things that HHH does that I wrote a check to support the cause. I noticed other HHH activities. I started giving a minimal amount monthly and I would support other fundraisers for HHH throughout the year. I raised the monthly amount because I thought it was money well spent and the larger monthly donation had more value to the cause than my small ones with one or two large ones sprinkled in. Consistent donations help budgeting. The biggest difference happened when I responded to requests for help with a mailing. When I got there, I realized what a major task mailing can be. Because of some connections, I could change the part of that task that would have taken many hours into a one-hour project. I then helped to stuff envelopes until the project was ready for mailing. I was glad to help with the project because the mailing was important to HHH. Volunteering to do that was an eye-opener for me. I can't always volunteer, but I will when I can.”

Referrals
Did you know that “word of mouth” is second only to hospital referrals when our guests tell us how they found out about HHH?  Interestingly, we often hear the source of that “word of mouth” advertising is a monthly donor.
It’s not very surprising, if you think about it.  Monthly donors have a great understanding of what we provide at HHH, and because they hear from us regularly with receipts and impact reports (a perk just for them—more on that later!), Hunter Hospitality House is top of mind.  When they hear about someone who could benefit by staying at HHH, they’re likely to share the opportunity with them.
Monthly donor Karen Jezewski is quick to tell everyone about HHH.  “Hunter Hospitality House is a vital asset for our community. It functions as a "Port in the Storm" for guests that have found themselves on unexpected, often tragic circumstances. My monthly donation demonstrates my support for this community treasure.”
Reliability, relationships, and referrals—three reasons I consider our monthly donors HHH superheroes.  To express our gratitude, we provide them with regular impact reports, telling how many guests stayed and what sort of circumstances were eased by their donations.  Below, you’ll see a monthly impact report from 2021.
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If you’d like to become a monthly donor, please let us know.  We can walk you through the process of setting payments up through PayPal, your credit union or bank, or you can simply send a check each month.  Annemarie Kautz said, “We like donating monthly because it is automatic, and we don’t have to think about it.”  The amount is up to you, because honestly…every little bit really does help.

All monthly donors receive an email each month with a report like this, telling them what an incredible impact their gift gave our guests!

Let's watch the old year die
With a fond goodbye
And our hopes as high
As a kite!
Let's Start the New Year Right lyrics © Berlin Irving Music Corp., Irving Berlin Music Corp

Confetti flew at our 10th Anniversary Celebration on December 7th, overwhelming us all with gratitude and gratefulness.  Looking back at the past 10 years of guests, volunteers, donors and community involvement is incredible, but on this New Years Eve, we're reflecting on just the past year...and what a wonderful year it has been!  We lifted these few pics from our Facebook page as examples of the wonderful blessings, but could have included so many more. 
Happy New Year, friends!  

According to www.daysoftheyear.com, "Giving Tuesday was created when two organizations, the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, came together in 2012, about a month before that year's Thanksgiving.  Their intention was to set aside a day that was all about celebrating the generosity of giving, a great American tradition. 

Since then, Giving Tuesday has been added to the popular shopping series of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.  It's an amazing alternative to acquisition, and an excellent way to support the community, too.

Through our ten years of providing free hospital lodging, we've kept a pretty low profile on Giving Tuesday.  It falls just after we've sent our annual appeal by mail, and right before the organization's anniversary (December 7 marks 10 years!). Thankfully, in spite of not really participating in the day's hullabaloo, our regular donors never seem to fail us. 

This year, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and asking you to consider Hunter Hospitality House in your Giving Tuesday donations.  Why?  Simply put, HHH now has three locations, with three sets of utility bills and various other expenses that come with the blessing of having more options when it comes to hospital lodging in Port Huron.  As the director, I'm tasked with raising funds to cover those expenses so our guests will never need to pay a fee during the stressful medical situations they're enduring.  

​A recent guest wrote:

A free stay at HHH is more than a luxury.  It's a weight off their shoulders, when medical bills and ambulance expenses loom large.  And quite frankly, it's the only way many of our guests could afford to stay near the hospital.
So this Giving Tuesday, I'm humbly asking you to help in our mission of providing free lodging and consider a monetary gift to Hunter Hospitality House.  
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/donate.html

We have four great options to consider when giving to HHH this season:
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1.  Pay It Forward Christmas Tree Ornaments
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Former guests who give $50 or more can have your name or message painted on an ornament and hung on a Christmas tree each year at HHH, encouraging current guests during an otherwise difficult circumstance.  You'll also receive a handcrafted HHH ornament for your own tree.  

No one we know loves Christmas decorating more than HHH volunteer Tricia Course-Cislo, so she was a natural choice to help us with our Pay-It-Forward Christmas tree project! Former guests can sponsor the cost of a day at HHH for a future guest, and Tricia, who is extremely gifted and artistic, paints their message of choice on an ornament to hang on a tree in one of our homes at Christmas. The donor receives an HHH ornament made by the incredible local artist Deborah Bassett-Maxwell at Red Mudd Studio. Such a beautiful way to take the experience of staying at HHH and pay-it-forward!
When donating online, be sure to mark this preference in the notes section. 
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/donate.html 

2.  Family House Sponsorship

For a gift of $250 or more, you can have your name (or business name) inscribed on a "brick" inside this beautiful sponsor plaque which hangs at the Hunter Hospitality Family House. It was created by Golden Choice. 
https://www.goldenchoiceadv.com/
Be sure to write Family House Sponsorship in the notes section when giving online.
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/donate.html

3.  HHH Informational Video Sponsorship

Donors of $300 or more may choose to have their name (or business name) listed at the end of our new Hunter Hospitality House promotional video, which is shared on our website, in churches/civic groups, and even in hospital employee training groups.  It will be filmed this spring by Eighth Day Media, Inc.  
https://www.eighthdaymedia.com/
You can view our current video at the link below.  You'll notice it was made before we had our third location, the Hunter Hospitality Family House, which is why we need a new one.  It's sure to have the same excellent quality and would be a great sponsorship opportunity for anyone.
https://vimeo.com/125474228?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=3430389

4.  Christmas Card Honorariums

For a gift of any size in honor of a loved one, we'll send them a beautiful Christmas card telling them of your thoughtful donation.
Be sure to write "Christmas Card" in the notes section, and include the name and address of your honoree.
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/donate.html

But WAIT, there's MORE!

Hope FM, Power 883 and Meijer have teamed up for this Giving Tuesday.  For every $100 the radio stations receive, an "Amenity Care Pack" will also be provided for guests at Hunter Hospitality House!

https://907hopefm.com/

However you decide to donate on this Giving Tuesday, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart, and wish you a very peaceful holiday season.
​~Tracy

If you've got a couple of hours you could volunteer every week or so, we could really use your help.  
Did you know that a 150 pound person can burn nearly 200 calories per hour just by doing light to moderate housecleaning?  Studies have also found that those who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not, and that older volunteers tend to walk more, find it easier to cope with everyday tasks, are less likely to develop high blood pressure, and have better thinking skills. Psychologically, people have found that volunteering may reduce the onset of cognitive decline and is related to lower rates of depression and loneliness.
Those are just some of the benefits of volunteering.  When you sign up to help us with housecleaning at Hunter Hospitality House, you also get:
1.  Free t-shirts.
2.  Frequent interactions with our guests, giving you the opportunity to see the impact your hard work is making in the lives of those who stay at HHH.
3.  An excellent reference for job and/or college applications.
4.  The opportunity to involve your family in your volunteering efforts.
5.  The satisfaction that you're making it possible for HHH to provide free hospital lodging in three locations in Port Huron.
6.  So much more!
Our immediate need is for someone to clean every other Monday morning.  We are also in need of cleaning substitutes, who we could contact for other mornings when our regular volunteers are unable to work.  Housecleaning volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.
Interested?  It's easy to sign up!  Just go to:
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/volunteering.html
We look forward to working with you!

Pictured:  HHH Volunteers Angie Twichell, Renee Sheldon and Christine Dompierre are part of a large group of people who make a difference regularly in the lives of our guests by keeping the houses clean and sanitary!  

​Haydn is just seven years old, but we’ve honestly lost count of how many times she’s volunteered for Hunter Hospitality House or represented us in the community.  We call her an HHH Baby, because her parents stayed at our McLaren Port Huron location when she was born 7 weeks early.  

​Martha Koerber is in her 90s.  When she learned about our plans to open HHH in 2011, she asked for a meeting with me.  “What can I do regularly to help?” she asked and suggested making cookies.  “That’s perfect!” I exclaimed, with no idea at all that she’d still be making those cookies for us all these years, every week.  

​Recently, Haydn had a school project called a Bag Biography.  She had to take 5 items that described things about her.  One of them was a thank you card she’d received from me after representing HHH at the Fourth of July parade in Lexington.  Her mother said, “Just wanted to share that your house made an impact on her even before she could talk.”

Haydn and Martha are living proof that when you find a cause you’re passionate about, you will find a way to do what you can, when you can, to support it, no matter what your age.  We’re blessed beyond measure that they’re both so enthusiastic about HHH, and we hope their devotion and volunteerism is an inspiration.  

Interested in becoming a volunteer?  Let us know through a simple form on our website.  How easy is that?
https://www.hunterhospitalityhouse.com/volunteering.html

I can talk about HHH and what we do until I'm blue in the face, but there's really nothing like hearing from our guests themselves.  All our houses have books where guests can leave a note about their stay, which are not only a joy for us to read but are also very helpful for subsequent guests.  Knowing someone has gone through a similar medical experience is of great comfort.  We also get thank you cards, texts...all kinds of affirming words to know that HHH is an essential service in our community. Find more great guest testimonies on our Facebook page! facebook.com/hunterhospitalityhouse

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This guest came to us from Ohio!

Because HHH was founded in memory of our premature baby, Hunter, young parents are very special guests to us!

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Such a sweet post script!

I didn't just love this text sent to my husband from a guest because she said I was beautiful...but it didn't hurt! ;)

​Some people just really deserve to lay around on a hammock.  Dennis and Debbie Pluff won this wonderful prize in our Hope Blooms from Home fundraiser, and it couldn’t have happened to two better people--especially when you consider that Dennis is lucky to be alive.  

​Debbie and her son, Scott, stayed at Hunter Hospitality House while Dennis was in the hospital after spending 17 hours on Lake Huron in 2019.  Read more about that incredible story here:  

Enjoy that hammock, Dennis and Debbie!  You deserve to rest!
​And thank you for supporting HHH through Hope Blooms from Home!