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What do families do? They laugh together. They cry together. They celebrate together. They make memories together. And, they have family reunions!

We look forward to opening registration once our vendors resume normal operations. In the meantime, mark your calendars: Sept. 5-7, 2020 (note slight date change from our previous announcement) at Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.

We invite you to make more family memories, re-connect with other families/volunteers, and form new relationships with our larger IoH family.

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Which of our veteran volunteers was once pulled over by police while conducting official IoH business?

If you guessed attorney Rusty Hedges, you are correct! He might practice law, but he’s not above it! While serving on an Orlando retreat, Rusty was driving a couple to their special date night out on the town when the blue lights started flashing.  

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At Inheritance of Hope (IoH), we talk a lot about legacy.  We know firsthand that when faced with a life-threatening illness, nothing can be controlled, except for how we want to be remembered.  On the fourth annual Kendra Scott “Holley Day,” Holley Kitchen’s sisters share that today, she is still remembered as a spunky and fun-loving “momma bear” who loved her children with deep intent and purpose.  

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October 26th marks the seventh anniversary of when Inheritance of Hope Co-Founder Kristen Milligan passed away.  In those seven years, her children have reached milestone birthdays, high school rites of passage, started driving, and two have gone off to college.  Through changes and achievements, growing pains and successes, they have never felt far from their mother’s love, all because of the notes, gifts, videos and more that Kristen prepared while living with a terminal illness.

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Aisha Thomas is choosing joy, just weeks after her husband Brad passed away. How is she doing it?  Here she shares her tips, advice, and daily routines for faith-keeping and faith-building in a time that could feel hopeless.

I know God’s love is real because I could not get out of bed on my own.  They don’t tell you this: you wake up and it takes a couple of seconds. You think you are still in your old life.  If it were just Aisha, I would be lying in bed all day, but because of what the love of Jesus gives us, I’m able to turn over the covers.  I also feel him through my kids, my mother, through friends reaching out, and my church. When I put the title of “widow” on, I just want to go to the corner, huddle and say, “this is my life.”  But God stretches me to let them love me and for me to love them back.

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Fourteen-year-old Tyler Emmerd chose to focus on Inheritance of Hope for a speech that he gave to 30 of his peers.

Tyler and his family attended the Orlando May 2017 Legacy RetreatⓇ, and he counts visiting Sea World among his favorite memories. This animal lover had always wanted to see a sea turtle in person, but spending time with his parents, Melinda and Mike, and siblings Hailey, Ryan, and Cayla was even better, “We loved spending time with each other without the stress of cancer in our lives.  I love looking back on our vacation and remembering how special it was in all of our pictures we have,” he says.  

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Favorite TV show: Fresh Prince of Bel Air (favorite actor: Will Smith!)

Favorite board game: Settlers of Catan

States I've been to, in the past 2 years: Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, New York, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio. (Bonus: Banff, Alberta, CA)

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Dillon Padgett, veteran Legacy Retreat volunteer, has recently joined the Inheritance of Hope team in a staff role.

The self-described first-time “accidental volunteer” has now logged six retreats. His introduction to serving at Legacy Retreats was in the Spring of 2015, when a visit to his sister was interrupted by the funeral of a close family friend. The siblings detoured by Orlando on their way to the service in West Palm Beach, and Dillon told IoH Co-Founder and CEO Deric Milligan, “use me if you can.” Deric did just that, immediately plugging Dillon into the team of volunteers.