June Volunteers of the Month

Expanding into Houston has been a major focus of Heroes for Children for the last few years. Last year, we were fortunate to hire Mimi Bates as our Houston Manager togrow and expand our fundraising efforts further into the Houston market. Mimi has done a tremendous job, but it is with the help of many volunteers and donors that she is able to succeed. Working with her in the expansion efforts are Kristi Oldham and Linda Elmer. Both Kristi and Linda have been involved with Heroes for Children for several years, working with the Heroes and Handbags committee. In the past year, Kristi and Linda have been the co-chairs of the Heart of a Hero fundraising campaign. Heart of a Hero is a donor giving group and campaign encouraging donations $500 and over. Through their work, new people learned about our organization and mission. Kristi and Linda have been invaluable to both Mimi in guidance as well as to the entire success of Heroes for Children. We are very grateful to have such tremendous women partnering with us!

Name, Occupation:

Kristi K. Oldham
Stay at home mom

Linda Folkerth Elmer
Homemaker and Compulsive Volunteer

How did you get involved with HFC?Kristi--Through dear friends sharing the love for the mission of HFC

Linda--My college friend Shelley Beckman emailed me 5 years ago about an amazing organization she was involved in, in my hometown of Dallas that was coming to Houston with a fabulous event involving handbags. She had me hooked after hearing Jenny & Larissa’s stories…

Do you have any kids and/or pets?Kristi--2 boys
Kenan- 7
Oliver- 4
Scout- German Short Hair Pointer- 8 months

Linda--I have an 8 (almost 9!) year old son, Sam and a 6 (almost 7!) year old daughter, Addie. We hope to add a dog to family sometime soon!

From looking at you, no one would guess that…..
Kristi--I would have loved to be a disco diva superstar way back in the day

Linda-- I LOVE scary movies. I host a grown-up party every year and the theme is based on a different scary movie – “Psycho,” “The Shining,’ “Carrie,” this year theme is “The Birds!”


Favorite place to eat:
Kristi--Any clean restaurant with fresh sushi (less than 24 hours old)

Linda--Azuma or any Japanese restaurant.

What’s on your book shelf?
Kristi--Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Linda-- Easy summer reads: “Get Lucky” by Katherine Center; “A Soft Place to Land” by Susan Rebecca White
And, “7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons” by Meg Meeker – I have a soon-to-be 4th grade boy - yikes!
What’s in your iPod/CD changer?Kristi--Lots of euro disco and Nora Jones

Linda--Everything from Madonna and classic 80’s to Linkin Park & Ludacris and, of, course, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber – I have kids!
Who’s your hero?
Kristi--My sweet husband, Mike

Linda-My parents, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 12th. They truly demonstrate the dedication and respect needed for a fulfilling marriage. They introduced me and my two siblings to community service as children when they were heavily involved in our school PTA and spearheaded our playground reconstruction. It showed us how fun it is to help others and be part of changing their lives forever.

May Volunteer of the Month

Sue Fair is one of the most genuine and kind people I have ever met. Each time I am around her, I am smiling. This past school calendar year, Sue has served as the President of the Dallas Women's Auxiliary, HFC Friends. She started with us as the Fall Coffee chair for HFC Friends the year previous and we fell her in love with her personality and her kindness. Throughout her time as President, Sue has been there for the families we serve. She created a new event--a night at the Museum of Nature and Science exclusively for our patients in October. She shopped with other HFC Friends volunteers at Walmart, attended both the Holiday Heroes parties in Dallas and Ft. Worth for the families to receive their gifts, and volunteered at the Valentine's Dinner. Sue never hesitate to pitch in and lend a hand wherever she is needed.







Name, Occupation:
Sue Fair, mom, community volunteer

How did you get involved with HFC?
I went to the Heros for Handbags luncheon and loved the cause then my friend Christie Cahoon got me involved in HFC Friends by asking me to chair the fall coffee and then on to President!

Do you have any kids and/or pets?
Olivia, 7 , Jack, 7 and Tori, age 2 1/2,
Dixie-our 11 year old lab

From looking at you, no one would guess that…..
When I was born I was premature and weighed only 3lb 7oz and fit into a shoebox.

Favorite place to eat:
Mi Cocina, Mi Piaci, Zizikis, Houstons, all Kent Rathbun restaurants......Just had a fabulous dinner at the newly opened Eddie V's

What’s on your book shelf?
Everything! from The Help, Fearless, A Reliable Wife, The Piano Teacher... I love historical fiction

What’s in your iPod/CD changer?
My sister Anne makes me great mixes to help me keep up with all the current music. My kids love them too!

Who’s your hero?
My husband, Britt and all our HFC Friends Families

April Volunteers of the Month

Spring is in bloom here in Texas! The weather is at that perfect time where for the brief moment in Texas weather it is just right. Not too hot, not too cold. And with the Spring comes handbags! Heroes and Handbags is the largest fundraiser for Heroes for Children. This unique silent auction features handbags ranging from $100 in value to sometimes over $3,000 (like the gorgeous Judith Lieber bag we had featured last week). Last week, event chair Jennifer Dix, led her team of volunteers to have a beautiful and well planned Dallas event. This Friday, Alissa Maples will do the same in Houston.

We are so very blessed with such tremendous leadership for Heroes and Handbags. Jennifer and Alissa have devoted almost a full year to the planning of Heroes and Handbags. Their dedication, hard work, commitment and heart have been major parts of the success of the event. Thank you so much, Jennifer and Alissa!!

Jennifer Dix and family

Alissa Maples and family





Name, Occupation:
Jennifer Dix, mom, community volunteer

Alissa Maples, mom, community volunteer

How did you get involved with HFC?
Jennifer--One meeting with Larissa Linton was all it took.

Alissa—Hearing Jenny Scott speak about her daughter….that’s all it took.

Do you have any kids and/or pets?
Jennifer--Nate, age 10 and Gracie, age 7
Snowball – our Maltipoo

Alissa—Anabelle my sweet daughter, 9
Holden, my angel boy, 6
Chloe, my puppy who turned one on Valentine’s Day!

From looking at you, no one would guess that…..
Jennifer--I’m actually Dr. Dix, PhD

Alissa—I am a super silly person who has a big sense of humor.

Favorite place to eat:
Jennifer--Anywhere

Alissa—Catalan! I love salmon and theirs is the best!

What’s on your book shelf?
Jennifer--Everything! from a nightly devotional, the latest Booker Award or Pulitzer Prize winner, political thrillers or suspense novels, memoirs, romantic ‘beach’ reads, and more

Alissa—Everything….The Shack by William Young, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden & The Power of Kabbalah by Yehuda Berg

What’s in your iPod/CD changer?
Jennifer--a lot of Kidz Bop! and a super eclectic mix

Alissa—All my children’s favorites—Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, & Justin Bieber. I love old love songs from the 80’s—Kevin and I are mushy romantics!

Who’s your hero?
Jennifer--My husband, Richard

Alissa—My Mother. She has handled everything with her illness with such hope and grace.

September Volunteer of the Month

Our volunteer for the month of August is Stacie Hampton! I have been blessed to call Stacie a close friend since 1989 when we were pledge sisters in college. Stacie is one of those friends that sticks with you through thick and thin and she ALWAYS has a big smile on her face. She is one of the most giving people I know, and has a heart as big as Texas! Stacie was there with my family and I throughout my daughter Taylor's, battle with leukemia. It was friends like her that picked me up and kept me going during the darkest of days.
After Taylor passed away and we decided to found a charity in her name to help assist other families in need, Stacie wanted to help. At our first fundraising event, a golf tournament called "Tee off for Taylor", Stacie stepped up as a volunteer. Since then, Stacy has volunteered her time at every one of our golf tournaments! In addition to volunteering at the golf tournaments, Stacy is the volunteer coordinator EVERY year at the Heroes for Children 5K! Stacie will move mountains to make sure we have all the volunteers we need. She oversees all of the volunteers on race day, which is no easy task, with approximately 100 volunteers! Without her leadership and volunteer recruitment, HFC would never be able to pull of our 5K successfully.
Heroes for Children is extremely blessed to have the love and support of Stacie! I am thankful and blessed to call her a friend.

Stacie Hampton, Regional Sales Manager for Allstate agents

How did you get involved with HFC?

Well, Larissa Linton and I go way back. We are pledge sisters from 1989, so I was obviously involved when her daughter, Taylor, was diagnosed and lost her battle with cancer. I have been involved with HFC from the beginning and I wouldn't dream of not being involved. This organization is definitely a part of my life for a long time to come!

Do you have any kids and or pets?

Unfortunately we do not have any kiddos or pets, but we're a really great Aunt and Uncle. My hubby and I have been married for 14 years.

From looking at you no one would guess that....I can still do the splits!

Favorite place to eat:

Mexican food is my weakness and one of our favorite spots to go is a little place in Coppell, -Ole's Tex Mex. Who can pass up chips and salsa??

What is on your book shelf?

Who has time for books? I feel good when I actually read my People magazine the first week it arrives.

What's in your iPod/CD changer?

I enjoy all types of music- especially if it has a beat and you can dance to it. A sample of my frequent play list is: Lenny Kravitz, Nellie Furtado, Tim McGraw, ABBA, Lionel Richie and Aerosmith.

Who's your hero?

My Mom. Our family has been through some difficult times, and she always deals with her emotions honestly and comes out the other side with a positive attitude. Her family and friends are always her priority and she lives life to the fullest- she just went zip-lining in North Carolina! Also, she's my date every year to go see So You Think You Can Dance when they tour in town!