Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Gouldie
Hi Amy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It’s wonderful to be part of the Voyage Magazine again and having the community’s continued support. We are so grateful for your help in spreading the word about Gavin’s Gift of Grace.
Gavin’s Gift of Grace is a 501 c3 non profit that was started after our son, Gavin Grant Gouldie, passed away unexpectedly on May 17, 2018. The pain from losing a child is unfathomable and the immense grief is unbearable. We would have been completely lost without the support of our family and friends who surrounded us and helped us in every way possible. We decided we wanted to make sure other families grieving the loss of their child had this support as well. Our goal was to give some light to these families in their darkest times and to take away some of their daily challenges so they could focus on their grieving and healing.
Gavin’s Gift of Grace provides care packages, peer to peer support, and financial aid for whatever a family may need whether that be funeral arrangements, medical bills, therapy, rent, groceries, etc.
We are going into our seventh year of assisting grieving families and things have changed significantly. We have been able to expand our impact by reaching more families through teaming up with other organizations in the community including Dell Children’s Medical, Texas Children’s Hospital, Austin Police Department Victim Services, Williamson County Sheriff Department Victim Services, and numerous funeral homes. We’ve also noticed our focus has pivoted more towards financial aid and peer to peer support which has allowed us to increase monetary donations given to families. For the past two years, we’ve donated over $110,000.00 annually in financial aid and care packages to grieving families.
It is heartbreaking to think of the amount of children who have lost their lives so young and the devastating effects it has on these families. This is the reason why we don’t have a set monetary donation goal going into 2025. Our hope would be that no child passes and zero families need our support. Our main goal is to continue to be able to help every family possible who needs us.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a non profit does have its challenges. One of our main challenges is fundraising. With COVID striking and the economy having some strains over the past several years, we’ve had to push hard for fundraising and think outside the box. Some options like grants aren’t very feasible for our organization as we can’t foresee how many families will need our help or what exactly they will need help with.
We are extremely grateful for the continued success of our two annual fundraising events, the Gearing for Gavin Car Show and the Gavin’s Gift of Grace Golf Tournament. We’ve also been blessed to have the continued support of multiple businesses and loyal donors. Our events and consistent donors have kept our mission going strong.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something surprising about Gavin’s Gift of Grace is that it’s purely volunteered based. Our whole organization is made possible through the help of family, friends, and caring people in our community. No one is payed at Gavin’s Gift of Grace. Therefore, all donations go straight to the organization and the families in need. Everyone who helps cares deeply for our cause and they instantly become part of our family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gavinsgiftofgrace.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gavinsgiftofgrace/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Gavins-Gift-of-Grace-100079493916258/
