“You don’t have to have a life-altering moment to decide it’s time to give to cancer research,” said Fred Hutch Cancer Center legacy donor and volunteer Renee Hawkes.
But for Hawkes, the moment was personal. “My best friend's daughter, Vivian, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2018 at just 4 years old. It was inoperable with no known cure,” she said.
When Vivian was first diagnosed, Hawkes began looking for a way to take action.
“Watching from the sidelines leaves a hole,” said Hawkes. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to make a bigger difference.”
The research happening at Fred Hutch “was the kind of energy, passion and drive that I was looking for,” she said. In addition to making a personal donation, Hawkes, who is a financial advisor with The Matthews Group at UBS, reached out to the leaders of Fred Hutch’s Professional Advisory Council. The council unites professionals interested in helping Fred Hutch expand charitable giving and assist advisors whose clients may choose to include groundbreaking research in their legacy.
The council was full at the time, but Hawkes didn’t take no for an answer. “I had 45 minutes to pitch why they needed to create one more seat for me,” she said. The pitch was successful, and Hawkes got to work. Now the chair of the council, she continues to encourage her community and clients to support Fred Hutch, whether by giving, volunteering or joining an event.
“Just make that first move, and see how it feels,” she said. “Once you take that step, you start seeing Fred Hutch’s impact everywhere.”
Hawkes also chose to make Fred Hutch a beneficiary of her individual retirement account, or IRA. The choice offered her a way to balance her priorities. “I'm still raising my kids, with one in college,” she said. “So I thought, ‘I can make a bigger impact by sharing what I can leave in the future.” With an IRA, “you can create a beneficiary designation and say, ‘this part goes to my daughters, this part goes to Fred Hutch.’ It creates a legacy for my family and for research.”
When she advises her clients, Hawkes said, they “are thinking about the values reflected in their lives, and those are the values they want to include in their estate plans.” Often, establishing a gift through a will, trust or other planned giving mechanism fulfills that mission.
No matter how people give, Hawkes added that they make a difference. Vivian died two years after her diagnosis, but Hawkes’ support to Fred Hutch remains steadfast.
“Vivian is my ‘why,’” she said. “But since then, I’ve lost others: friends, colleagues and a fellow council member. This is a way we can help. You never know which gift, which dollar, is the one that will uncover the key to cancer. Every single donation and dollar is important.”
Supporters who contribute to Fred Hutch through a legacy gift become part of our Thomas Legacy Society. To learn more about how you can give through your estate, a donor advised fund (DAF), an IRA, or in another way, contact us at 206.667.3396 or at plannedgiving@fredhutch.org.
About our Heart of the Hutch series
Much of Fred Hutch’s lifesaving research is possible because of the generosity of its supporters, who continually use their creativity and resourcefulness to raise money for research to prevent and treat cancer and other diseases.
This series highlights just a few of the thousands of Fred Hutch supporters who are the Heart of the Hutch.
Laura Anderson is a philanthropy writer for Fred Hutch Cancer Center. She draws on her background in philanthropy, publishing and global health communication to share the power of research and the stories of those who support it. In addition to positions at the Seattle-based global health nonprofit PATH, the University of Washington Department of Global Health, and Holt, Rinehart & Winston in New York, she has worked as a travel planner, an animal mascot and as a laborer on the Appalachian Trail. Reach her at: laander4@fredhutch.org.
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