"I AGREE WITH WHAT PFAW STANDS FOR"

They say home is where the heart is. For Jeri Callahan, home is also where the water is!
Jeri has lived on a houseboat in the Seattle area since 1988 and often gives tours to visitors intrigued by the quaint floating homes.

House boat living
“I love living here on Lake Union,” Jeri explains. “I swim in the lake almost every day with a group of friends. My neighbors are very diverse, with retirees like me, families with children, and everyone in between. We live in tight quarters, so we all take of each other like an extended family.” Enlisting both her love of the water and her love of writing, Jeri wrote a book in 2004 entitled Staying Afloat: Life Aboard Houseboats, Barges, and Live-aboards, about her houseboat community. “When I graduated from the College of William and Mary, my first job was as a features writer for my hometown newspaper in Dayton, Ohio,” Jeri says. “I have always enjoyed interviewing interesting people and telling their stories. And Lake Union has no shortage of interesting people.”

Teacher and Mother
Jeri married in 1958 and raised three children in Seattle. Once her kids were in elementary school, she decided to become a preschool teacher. “I taught for almost 20 years,” Jeri says. “As a mother, the schedule of being off in the summers was wonderful for me. And working with preschoolers was so much fun.” Now single and retired, Jeri’s free time is filled with her friends, neighbors, and grandchildren. “Every day is a gift,” she says. Jeri also enjoys giving to causes that have special meaning for her, such as People For the American Way. That’s why she has remembered PFAW with a gift in her will.

Including PFAW in her will
When she was updating her estate plans, Jeri decided to designate a percentage of her estate to charitable causes, including PFAW. “Since I am retired, I don’t have a huge income, so making a significant outright gift is really not possible,” Jeri explains. “But by making bequests in my will, I can give back and support PFAW and other organizations that are in my line of what is important and of value.” “It was an easy gift to make,” Jeri continues. “My kids are all doing well and they will get some inheritance, but they don’t need it. I feel good knowing that a portion of my estate is going to be divided among organizations that I feel are worthwhile. PFAW is my kind of organization. I agree with what they stand for.”

Learn more
Like Jeri Callahan, you, too, can play a vital role in ensuring a vibrantly diverse society where freedom and opportunities for all people are promoted. To learn more about making a gift through your will or other estate plans, please call the PFAW planned giving staff at the number below or go to our website: pfaw.aboutgiving.net.