Psychologists know that the most traumatic,
most devastating thing that can happen to someone is the death of a child. Even when that child has become an adult, his or her loss brings the most profound grief imaginable. No other horror can compare.

Combine the trauma of losing a child with the anxiety and stress of losing a home, and it is more than most people can bear. But it's happening to families right here in West Michigan, right now, every day.

That's why there's Sammi Rae of Hope, a unique charitable organization that helps families facing the twofold trauma of caring for a terminally ill child while at the same time risking losing their home because noninsured medical bills and related expenses have taken priority over mortgage payments.

Sammi Rae of Hope was conceived by John and Marcie Tuffelmire who watched helplessly as their daughter Sammi Rae suffered from birth with a rare lung disease. On December 21, 2002, Sammi Rae passed away in her parents' arms. She was 12.

Sammi Rae's illness brought financial pressures on the Tuffelmire family but, thankfully, they managed to get through the crisis. However, John and Marcie Tuffelmire knew that other families with terminally ill children might not be so lucky. They knew that terminally ill children often must be cared for at home, and that families with sick children can quickly fall behind with mortgage payments as medical bills mount.

The Tuffelmires were surprised to learn that while
there are a number of agencies that can help families through the dying process, no agency was available to help with the severe financial burdens such families can face, particularly the loss of a home.
As a real estate broker, John Tuffelmire knew
the "ins and outs" of mortgage lending, and he knew that deals could be worked out with lenders whereby needy families could keep their houses until the financial crises had passed.

And so in memory of Sammi Rae, the Tuffelmires founded Sammie Rae of Hope, a non-profit agency designed to be an advocate with mortgage lenders and landlords on behalf
of parents of dying children.

Sammi Rae of Hope was created to help those families that are suffering with the possible loss of a family member and are forced into making financial decisions while waiting for a medical miracle or for the inevitable. Many times they are challenged with the prospect of losing their homes.

Sammi Rae of Hope will help to ensure that no family with major medical problems has to face these huge financial pressures alone. These families are not "self-induced" victims. They are the true victims of circumstance and they need our help. We know...because of the personal walk our family had to take.

John & Marcie Tuffelmire

John R. Tuffelmire
Executive Director

James L. Bush
Associate Director

Debbie Holmes
Acting Secretary/Director

Paul Lothschutz, CPA
Achterhof & Lothschutz, P.C.
Acting Treasurer/Director

Stephen Scholler
Senior V.P. Wells Fargo Investments
Director

Kelly Kluting
Garen Lucow,Miller, P.C.
Director

Debbie Stites
Director

Wes Parkinson
Account Executive
The Closing Office Title Agency
Director