"It started for both of us in Catholic school," says Kevin Rack, about why he and his wife, Michelle, have donated their time, talent and treasure to CHKD. "We were raised to give back from gifts received."
That may be an understatement. Founding partner of his estate planning law firm, Rack & Olansen, Kevin has served on the Governor's Advisory Board on Aging and is a past president of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council. In 2001, he joined the CHKD Development Advisory Board and later joined the board of Children's Health Foundation. In 2007, he completed his foundation board service and joined the board of directors of Children's Health System, on which he still serves.
"CHKD is a jewel of the community," Kevin says. "That's why I've never said no to the hospital."
Michelle Rack, a litigator with the firm, says, "I can't remember a time when I didn't know about CHKD." But it was during her five years with the Driftwood Circle of The King's Daughters that she truly began to appreciate the health system. "We're so lucky to have such a great resource for children in this region," she adds.
Although the Racks' daughters have never needed inpatient care, Peyton, 19, and Emily, 13, have been cared for since birth by the pediatricians of Tidewater Children's Associates, a practice of CHKD Health System. That connection helped motivate Kevin and Michelle, who've made annual gifts to CHKD since 1997, to begin contributing to CHKD's general endowment fund in 2005 and to include a bequest to the hospital in their estate plans.
"We wondered how we could support healthcare for our community's children when we're not here to make an annual gift," Kevin says. "We realized we needed to leave a lasting legacy to CHKD." So today, their estate plan includes a gift of life insurance that names CHKD as beneficiary.
Over their years of advising clients, Kevin and Michelle have come to learn first-hand the intangible benefits of securing their legacy.
"There's a sense of relief that comes with making an estate plan and knowing your wishes will be carried out," Michelle says. "You just never know what can happen. That's why we made sure to include CHKD, now, in our estate plans."