When public health prof Vic Strecher was asked to emcee the Big Hearts for Seniors fundraiser in 2018, “I didn’t know all that much about it,” he admits. “So they started explaining what each of the organizations does within Big Hearts,” he says—proceeds help support six U-M affiliated senior programs, including the Housing Bureau for Seniors and Ann Arbor Meals on Wheels. “I got to go to some of the activities. And I was so moved by it.”
But he was also shocked, because “they literally couldn’t even afford to pay for soup to give to these seniors during the events they were having during the day,” Strecher recalls. And compared to charity events he’d attended around U-M athletics, Big Hearts was raising a pittance—about $50,000. “I thought, ‘This is crazy!’”
“Fundraising for Big Hearts has seen different iterations—from a walk to a silent auction to watching a film,” says Shannon Etcheverry, director of the U-M’s Turner Senior Wellness Program and assistant director of U-M’s geriatric community programs. But since they added a storytelling event in 2020, donations have taken off. Last year, they raised a record $150,000.
This year’s storytelling theme is “love.” Strecher recruited best-selling author John U. Bacon to talk about his father, who recently died, and how the family torch has passed, because Bacon has a young son. The other speakers, chosen through auditions, include three retirees (military/sales, engineering, social work) and two still working (entrepreneur and life coach). “They are really amazing people who have gone through a lot and have great stories to tell,” says Strecher, who will emcee in a tux. Etcheverry says they hope to sell out the Mendelssohn Theatre. With a boost from a $25,000 presenting sponsorship from U-M Health Advantage, this year’s goal is $200,000.
“Most of the people who come to the event will never see the inside of any of these organizations or be in need of any of these organizations,” Strecher acknowledges. But “maybe we can provide more—a bowl of soup during one of their activities. Maybe help with a larger number of social workers, or other helpers for those who are suffering from memory loss … In the end, it makes some money for these organizations, and it makes our community a better place.”
