Donor Spotlight: Dena & Don Hicks
Dena & Don Hicks make giving a family effort
Social media can be a truly powerful tool. Dena and Don Hicks first learned of The Nora Project through Facebook. Once Dena read more about The Nora Project’s mission statement and vision, she “of course hit the like and share buttons!” From there, the Hicks’ support grew from social sharing to donating and finding ways to make their dollars go even further in supporting disability inclusion in schools.
“Giving to The Nora Project has become a family effort,” shares Don. “Our eldest, Oliver age 5, is starting to understand what it means to ‘show kindness.’ It is the phrase we use around the house when we are talking about charity. We have shown kindness to other organizations in the past but Oliver has had little involvement. The Nora Project has created opportunities, like Friendship February, for Oliver to get involved, help fundraise, and make it a family activity.”
A father and mother sit on the edge of a tan fireplace with a young boy standing between them and a baby sitting on mother’s lap.
Dena, an operations analyst, is fortunate to work for a company that offers matching gifts to make their support of TNP go even further. “When I first learned about the matching gift program, I couldn't believe it,” she shares. “You mean my $100 donation could be a $200 donation just by submitting my receipt? Done! A friendly PSA to anyone reading this: Check to see if your company has a matching gift program--and use it!”
Earlier this year, the Hicks family participated in Friendship February committing to 28 days of spreading kindness, empathy and inclusion. At the start of the month, team TNP shared a list of 28 Kindness Challenges curated by the student-led planning committee that families adapted to best fit their needs. “The ideas TNP provided were great for Oliver,” shares Don. “A lot of the acts he did on his own from smiling and saying good morning to drawing a thank you picture for a teacher on their anniversary. He brought kindness to school and even told his friends about kindness for his show and share!”
Young boy wearing red coat and brown long pants sitting on concrete step with a glass jar and white paper sits on the step to the right.
Friendship February brought new friends into Dena and Don’s lives, too. Reflecting on the month, Dena shares, “My favorite act of kindness was making muffins and dropping them off with a neighbor we hadn't met yet. They weren't home so we left a note. A few days later the neighbors came by with candy (aka friendship candy in our house now) and introduced themselves to us.”
For the Hicks family, this was a full circle moment. From these simple acts, their children saw how they showed kindness to other people who then returned kindness to their family. In true Dena and Don fashion, they didn’t stop there. The two shared their acts of kindness with friends and family throughout the month and invited others to participate too. “At the end of the month, we made a donation to The Nora Project for each act of kindness we completed,” shares Dena. “And of course, got it matched!”
When asked how they hope to see their gifts used, Dena and Don quickly answered “By getting The Nora Project curriculum into schools in all 50 states!”