One Little Life Inspires Two Generations To Make A Difference For Other Kids

Jeff and Betsy Veenhuis, and their children Emily and Jacob, with grandparents Dick and Gloria Bergman in northern Wisconsin.

Nicole Veenhuis lived the eight short days of her life at Children’s Wisconsin. Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a disease in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped, Nicole's little body was not strong enough to make it to surgery. But for every minute of her life, loving family members, including both sets of grandparents, surrounded Nicole. The care and support they all received at Children's created a lasting impression.

"Dr. Berger and Eileen, one of the nurses, came back to the hospital the night Nicole passed away. Eileen sat on the floor next to my chair and just held my hand," said Gloria Bergman, Nicole's grandma. Nicole's grandparents Dick and Gloria Bergman were with parents Jeff and Betsy much of those eight days. "The compassion of the staff and nurses there is really special … and they're leaders in their field," said Dick. "Children's is a special place and we want to be a part of it."

Jeff has two companies in the health care field. "I've been in almost every children's hospital in the nation and could go anywhere," said Jeff. "But we have the best right here." "Many of the other families were driving five hours, and we have Children’s Wisconsin in our backyard," said Betsy. Both felt that although their daughter's story had a tragic ending, they wanted to make a difference for kids in the future.

Passing on their values

Both generations have made Children's their top charity and also included Children's in their estate plans. "I see our bequest as a clear and lasting method for our kids to know that Children’s Wisconsin is an important part of our family," said Jeff. Dick and Gloria chose to give through a charitable remainder trust as a way to offset a sizable capital gain. They were pleased that giving this way would benefit both Children's and their family.