(L-R) Jim Schroeder, Kathy Schroeder (representing the LeAnn Schroeder Hardiek Endowment) and Casey Walk (representing Boutique Blvd)
Casey Walk, owner of Boutique Blvd, donated $5,000 from September’s Boutique Blvd Fall Show to the LeAnn Schroeder Hardiek Friendship Endowment. Boutique Blvd is a shopping event that brings several small-town boutiques together in one place and hosts several shows each year. Casey donates a portion of each event’s proceeds to a local nonprofit organization. She explained that Boutique Blvd accepts and reviews applications before each event. “It seems like each time God puts one specific organization in our path that He wants us to support.” The decision to support LeAnn’s fund was no different, as Casey recalled. “I was given a flyer about LeAnn’s fund. To be honest it set on my desk for a couple of weeks. It was one of those things that just kept making its way to the top of my stack of papers. I read the flyer one day and then decided to look it up online. I remember just sitting there and big tears came to my eyes. After reading their story, I knew God was wanting us to donate to their cause. It was very clear.”
When asked why it was important to donate a portion of the proceeds from each show, Casey answered, “I truly believe that we were put on this earth to serve God and give to others. There is something about giving financially or even of yourself that makes you appreciate what you have been blessed with even more. I never really look back after a show and think ‘I did that.’ I think, ‘God needs this money to be used for something much bigger and better than I can possibly use it for’.”
The LeAnn Schroeder Hardiek Friendship Endowment provides cancer patients with gift cards for their young children (age 18 and under). These children are often scared of hospitals and worried about their sick parents. Many times, birthday and holiday gifts, dining out and entertainment becomes a luxury that parents cannot afford due to the expense of cancer treatments. These gift cards are meant to help alleviate the child’s fear and relieve some of the financial burden felt by parents. The gift cards can be used for toys, meals and other forms of entertainment that can provide a distraction for the child whose parent is battling cancer.
Donations can be mailed to the LeAnn Schroeder Hardiek Endowment at Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, PO Box 1211, Effingham, IL 62401 (make checks payable to LeAnn Schroeder Hardiek Friendship Endowment) or online at https://donate.enrichingourcommunity.org/LeAnn. The Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.
