Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Stiltner and London’s Legacy Inc.
Hi Karen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
This 501-c-3 organization was founded by Karen Stiltner and her daughter Amy Stiltner Huber in 2016 after the sudden passing of Karen’s 3 month old granddaughter, London Brielle Huber who suffered for a few days in the hospital with RSV (a respiratory virus that can be deadly to infants).
As part of their grieving process, mother and daughter formed London’s Legacy to “give back”to the University of Maryland Pediatric ICU in Baltimore after their agonizing 3 day stay during the blizzard of 2016. They decided to make blankets for the children in the hospital and fill toiletry bags for families who find themselves in their position not wanting to leave their child’s side for personal hygiene needs. The first delivery was scheduled for January 25th, 2017 in honor of the day Baby London became an Angel.
Unfortunately, on January 15th, 2017, just 10 days shy of the anniversary of London, Karen’s daughter, Amy, also passed away – sudden heart attack – broken heart! Karen and her family and friends still made that blanket and toiletry bag delivery on January 25th with their own funds and efforts in honor of BOTH of their ANGELS now.
Karen and her friends and family have continued this legacy for the past nine years to honor both London and Amy. They have received many donations and support to make at least 4 deliveries/year to University of Maryland Children’s Hospital in Baltimore as well as a few other local hospitals occasionally.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has generally been a smooth ride to continue the foundation with the support of many local groups to include some banks and credit unions, as well as other community organizations such as girl scouts, high school sports teams, nursing students, etc.
Many people enjoy helping to give back and love making blankets for us. We have some regular monetary donors which help support our overhead.
Our biggest challenge has been storage sheds. We have now secured a storage facility to house our blankets and toiletries but they continue to raise costs every few months and have no sympathy to charity organizations such as ours. It is very frustrating at times.
Our other challenge has been the closure of Jo Ann Fabrics which has caused us to search for the fleece for the blankets at a reasonable cost.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am proud of my past, over 45 year career in correspondent banking at M&T Bank in Baltimore. I was a Vice President/Relationship Manager in the Mid-Atlantic Region. I was truly that “personal banker” that my clients respected and trusted allowing me to form long standing personal relationships with my clients over my long standing career. I started at the bank as a work study (they call them interns now) in my senior year of high school and worked my way up through the ranks, while attending evening college and starting a family. My position at the bank presented lots of opportunities to volunteer and support various philanthropy organizations to include- Big Brothers/Big Sisters where I was able to mentor and work with Baltimore City schools and children throughout my career. For many years I also taught Financial Literacy and Get Smart About Credit to the school age children. These opportunities always made me feel good about helping others and I tried to teach my own children how important it was to help others.
This philosophy helped us form London’s Legacy to “give back ” to others!
I am now Retired which gives me more time to spend on the Foundation ! I am always cutting out blankets, tying them, washing them, or labeling and packaging them for the next delivery to the children in the hospitals.
In addition, I am also always planning the next blanket making event to keep things going or writing Thank you notes to the many who continue to donate to us.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was spending time with my grandparents making special memories with them and family gatherings over the holidays!
Pricing:
- Donations of any amount are always welcome. These donations keep us going !
- There are many expenses such as labels, packaging supplies, as well as fleece for the blankets and items for the toiletries bags that are always needed. In addition, as I mentioned we have a steep monthly fee for the storage shed
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.londonslegacy.org
- Facebook: London’s Legacy
- LinkedIn: Karen A. Stiltner
