We are so excited to unveil our first Hand Camp HEROES nominee since revamping the program! Our HEROES have been identified and nominated by their fellow campers, or other members of the Hands to Love community for the work they are doing to further the mission and vision of the organization. Hand Camp HEROES all have certain characteristics in common: Heart, Empower, Resilient, Optimistic, Embrace, and Selfless.

Our HEROES review committee reviews each submission to ensure the nominee meets the criteria. Once a month, we will feature a Hand Camp HERO on this page, as well as on our social media and in our newsletter. We are so excited to share the stories of all our HEROES!

Hero’s Name:

Nate Goodwin

Affiliation with Hands to Love:

Visionary behind Hand Camp Heroes and proud parent of a camper

Nominated By:

Ruthie Dell

How does Nate exemplify the qualities of Hand Camp HEROES?

Heart – they’re full of it.

Nate’s heart is full of love. Love of his wife and children, his extended family of Hands to Love, his God and his passion projects. We have benefited from that love by the sharing of his visions for improving the support programming for our campers and their families.

Empower – themselves or others.

The very first time the Goodwin family came to camp it was clear that Nate and his wife Christa had empowered their daughter Kendall (a Hands to Love camper) to “pay it forward” and in lieu of presents she received donations for Hands to Love for her birthday. He has been empowering me and other H2L leaders over the last six months to examine our mission, vision and core values as well as examine who the real Hands to Love “Heroes” are.

Resilient – they know how to get back up, time after time.

Nate has embodied toughness, hardiness, and strength during the last year that I have seen few people demonstrate in the best of times.

Optimistic – they always see the silver lining.

Nate’s hopefullness and positivity are infectious.

Embrace – anyone and any situation, no matter how challenging.

Nate embraced many of us with his arms and held our hands either literally or figuratively.The way that Nate shared his vision for the “Hand Camp Heroes” was nothing short of a full on bear hug! He shared from his heart a vision and a road map to raise up the future of our organization … our kids.

Selfless – always looking for ways to put others first.

Altruistic, charitable, generous, humanitarian, self-sacrificing… these are synonyms for selflessness. As Nate was fighting for his own life I observed all of these characteristics in action as he made time to thoughtfully respond to every phone call or e-mail about our projects.

An additional note from Ruthie about Nate:

I will forever be grateful to Nate for sharing his heart felt convictions and know how to make Hands to Love a more effective support network for our campers and their families.

If you know someone who exemplifies the traits of our Hand Camp Heroes, you can nominate them by clicking here!