Philanthropy: Finding a Purpose in Giving

Renée & Walter Eppard & the Tidewell Foundation

By Barbara Mackay | Photo by Nancy Guth

Renée and Walt Eppard must be among the most fortunate people in Sarasota. They have been married for 42 years and have a large family, including seven great-grandchildren. They have had careers that fulfilled and nourished them. And although they have each succeeded financially, they continue to find joy in helping others less lucky than they are.

“We both have worked really hard all our years,” says Renée. “We’ve done extremely well and we’re comfortable with our life. We made the decision that we wanted to start giving back. And the rewards of that are tremendous. We just love it.” 

“I think I enjoy helping people as much as the people we help enjoy it,” adds Walt. 

For Renée and Walt, one important part of “giving back” means being major donors to the Tidewell Foundation, whose mission is to provide perpetual support for Tidewell Hospice, the largest not-for-profit hospice and home health system in the United States. For 41 years, Tidewell Hospice has offered palliative and hospice care for everyone, including those who have no insurance, are too young for Medicare or earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The hospice services brighten the lives of patients and families within four counties: Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto. 

“I first learned about Tidewell Hospice when I lost a good friend,” says Renée. “Another friend of mine was working there. She started me on this wonderful path of being interested in Tidewell. I got involved with a hospice house that was being built in Lakewood Ranch. Then Tidewell asked me to be on the Board. I began to see how it was possible to make end-of-life issues rewarding emotional experiences.” 

Renée, who is now Chairman of the Board of the Tidewell Foundation and Secretary of Tidewell Hospice, soon understood what an impact the hospice could have. “I realized how you can bring help into the home instead of having a spouse do everything,” she says. “A large part of telling Tidewell’s story is letting people know what care and help they can access ahead of time, instead of in the last 48 hours of a loved-one’s life. One of the most amazing things is that, through its extensive fundraising, the Foundation covers expenses for world-class service for everyone.” 

Tidewell is a network of care and support programs wherever patients need them: at home, in the hospital, in hospice homes, or in nursing homes. “In addition to medical help, we have so many auxiliary services,” Renée continues. “We offer veterans’ services, pet therapy, music therapy, Reiki, therapeutic massage, a Humanitarian Fund, and a Wishes Fund, to name just a few. That last is one of my favorites. It helps people do whatever they want most. Recently, we arranged to take a man and his family to a baseball game, for instance.

“Also, it’s very hard to find nurses in Florida, because there are so many organizations that need them. So Tidewell has created workforce development programs to ensure that hospice and palliative care services are always available. Those programs supported by the Foundation pay stipends and costs to people learning how to become home health aides and certified nursing assistants. Our biggest program is a free 9- month program where R.N. graduates are paid a salary while learning how to be hospice registered nurses.”

At the moment, the Eppards are particularly excited about their latest endeavor: expanding  Tidewell’s grief counseling program for adults and children. Renée and Walt are proud to be the lead donors for the new Ellenton Family Grief Center, which will repurpose the former Ellenton Hospice House and campus. Scheduled to open in August, this first Tidewell Family Grief Center will house all its grief services and feature many activities, from basketball to meditation. The center is surrounded by extensive grounds, including a pond, pergolas, and butterfly gardens—a perfect indoor and outdoor environment for physical, spiritual, and social healing.     

Tidewell’s Blue Butterfly program, launched in 2018, provides evidenced-based therapy for children from 5 to 18 years old, offering grief counseling if they have lost someone close to them, not necessarily a mother or father. This new facility will provide a dedicated location to serve northern Sarasota and Manatee County youth. In addition to resources for adults, it will host four groups in the Blue Butterfly program: Littles, Middles, Tweens, and Teens. Here, grieving children and teens will find support with peer groups and activities, helping them battle feelings of loss, anger, and confusion. 

“The program is such a success and it’s needed everywhere,” says Renée. “It’s a stand-alone program that can go anywhere. It brings families together. It offers counseling to adults dealing with kids who have lost loved ones. Children get to deal with other kids who have suffered losses just like theirs. And the people who work with the children and teens are real experts. They are the professionals who are called in whenever there is a crisis and younger people need emotional support.”

The Eppards’ involvement in this program came about after a group of children from the Blue Butterfly program did a presentation to the Tidewell Board. “After that meeting, I took Walt to the opening of the first Blue Butterfly facility in Lakewood Ranch,” explains Renée. “He just loved those kids, and wanted them to have a place where they didn’t have to rent or move all the time. It’s important to Walt that those children have a space of their own.”   

 “I have a particular interest in this Blue Butterfly program,” adds Walt. “Renée introduced me to it and that’s where my personal interest is. The more help those kids can get, the better.” A former resident of Virginia, Walt came to Florida many years ago. “Florida has been good to me,” he says. “We’ve done well and I’m glad we could help fund part of the grief center. It’s rewarding to me to see the children getting help.” In fact, the Tidewell Foundation envisions building more of these grief counseling centers in the future. 

An engineer by training, Walt also has devoted a lot of time and money to help young people get training in the trades. “There are a lot of people who are just not interested in going to college,” Walt says. “They want to be involved in trades, like air conditioning, electrical, or plumbing. There are many areas where they can advance.” Through his ingenuity and generosity, Walt has helped countless young people find employment.   

This past year with the pandemic was especially hard on Tidewell. “Initially with COVID, we couldn’t do anything—even have meetings,” says Renée. “But eventually we were one of the few places that took in people who couldn’t go back to their nursing homes or retirement centers once they left them.” 

“After this year, we’re really looking forward to August, when the Family Grief Center opens,” adds Walt. 

“The work Tidewell Hospice does is very impressive,” says Debbie Mason, President of the Tidewell Foundation. “All the counties it serves are expanding. Right now we serve 10,000 patients a year. Another 8,000 people per year benefit from free grief counseling. And the new Family Grief Center is tremendously important. We couldn’t do it without the Eppards’ help. They are visionary donors.” 

FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Tidewell Foundation, please visit www.tidewellfoundation.org or call 941.552.7546.