Donor Spotlight: Jim and Mary Foutz
In honor of our 30th anniversary, we’d like to introduce you to Jim and Mary Foutz, who have been supporters of Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries from the very beginning.
CEO and founder, Larry McDaniel, said of Jim and Mary, “I met Jim at UPS, about 10 years before Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries was founded. When Jim and Mary taught an Evangelism Explosion class that Cathy and I were in, we became good friends. Mary served as one of our founding board members, and several years later, Jim served on the board. Jim stood up with me as my best man when I married Denise. I highly value friends and supporters like the Foutz’s, who have stuck with us for all 30 years.”
“Gospel living was covered in that evangelism class,” Mary said. “We believed the way Larry & Cathy chose to put it into action was by carrying out the vision the Lord laid on their hearts for Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries. At the time, we may have felt Larry was crazy for giving up a good job with benefits, but it didn’t take long for us to know that this was a God thing. That’s why we started our support of Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries and have continued to this day. We’ve seen not only children’s lives changed, but also the lives of staff, volunteers, and donors.”
In August of 2012, Foutz Field, designed for both soccer and baseball, was added as an exciting part of the Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries property in Harrisburg. This field was made possible with funds from the Foutz family and a grant from Mizzou Greek Week. They wanted the field named in memory of Jim’s mother – also named Mary.
Jim explained why his mother would have been very happy about the new field. “Three things about my mom prove that she would be proud to be a part of this.“ Jim stated. “First – she loved kids. Second – even when her memory was gone, she could still tell me Mark McQuire’s total number of home runs. Third, she would love to know that children are finding Jesus at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries.”
“In our last conversation with Cathy before the Lord took her home, she assured us this ministry was not about her or Larry, it was the Lord’s and that with or without her, the ministry would go on. We have stood in awe as we’ve watched this statement come true. We are very thankful and blessed that we have been able to join God in His work at Coyote Hill Foster Care Ministries,” Mary said.
Thank you Foutz family for all of your support throughout the years! We hope everyone will come celebrate 30 years with us at this year’s Open House Event on September 11th.
