Remembering Our Values

Gordon and Glee Yoder have known each other since they were young people attending church camp together. Later they attended college together and soon married. They have been married 62 years and have been longtime supporters of the Heifer Project mission - in fact, longer than most. HPI founder Dan West was their church camp counselor, and in later years, a frequent guest in their home. "I remember many around us referring to him as a dreamer of dreams and a doer of do's. Never too busy doing to dream, and never too busy dreaming to do," said Glee Yoder.

Having known Dan West so well, and having known Heifer since its inception, Glee Yoder was asked to write the Dan West Story, a biography of the Founder of Heifer International. She took great interest in the project and was inspired by the research that led her to the stories that chronicled the richness and depth in which he had touched so many lives. The legacy that was left behind by this "man of peace" and radical thinker has given way to the Yoders thinking about their legacy.

Having been recently blessed with the birth of their first great-grandson, the Yoders wanted to find a way to pass on the values that had been a compass for their lives. "We were afraid that if something happened to us while he was an infant, that he might not remember us," says Mrs. Yoder. "We wanted to give him a gift to remember us by, and to remind him of the things that were important to us."

After reading about Heifer International Foundation's endowment gifts, the Yoders decided to establish a Birthday Endowment. Birthday Endowments provide an animal for hungry families around the world. After their lifetime, the remainder of the gift will go to help needy families help themselves. With an endowment, the recipient receives a card and a gift is made in honor of the recipient every year to feed children who cannot feed themselves.

Now that they have established a Birthday Annuity/Endowment, they know that every year of his life he will be reminded of how much they loved him and how one life can touch so many others. They are comforted in the knowledge that their love for him and their belief in passing on the gift will continue for the rest of his life.

If you would like more information about Birthday or Special Occasion Endowments, call (888) 422-1161 or e-mail foundation@heiferfoundation.org

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