{"id":6310,"date":"2015-12-03T15:59:31","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T20:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/?post_type=impact_story&#038;p=6310"},"modified":"2026-01-16T14:11:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:11:47","slug":"eric-hespenheide-and-judy-hicks-giving-to-greater-detroit","status":"publish","type":"impact_story","link":"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/es\/impact-stories\/eric-hespenheide-and-judy-hicks-giving-to-greater-detroit\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Hespenheide y Judy Hicks: Donaciones a la zona metropolitana de Detroit"},"template":"","class_list":["post-6310","impact_story","type-impact_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-planned-giving"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":6312,"quote":"I just have a strong belief in Detroit and the Metro area.","citation":"Eric Hespenheide, United Way donor","topic":[286],"program_theme":false,"button_text":"Read More"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_impact_story_hero","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_impact_story_hero":{"kicker_text":"","heading":"","summary":"Many families recognize the importance of financially saving for the future. United Way is saving for the community's future with the help of donors like Eric Hespenheide and his wife, Judy Hicks.","image":"","cta":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<iframe title=\"Reproductor de videos de YouTube\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oL5tkyGz66I?si=DC0vL_sOx2t-BzxM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe>\r\n\r\nEric Hespenheide est\u00e1 acostumbrado a dar. Desde muy joven, su familia le inculc\u00f3 el valor del servicio comunitario. D\u00e9cadas m\u00e1s tarde, sus primeros recuerdos del voluntariado siguen vivos. Sentado en su casa de Bingham Farms, Eric comparti\u00f3 c\u00f3mo estas experiencias pasadas inspiraron su filosof\u00eda de dar y su decisi\u00f3n de apoyar a United Way.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6311\" src=\"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hespenheide_med.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"170\" \/>\r\n<h2>DESDE EL PRINCIPIO<\/h2>\r\n\"I grew up in a household where we volunteered for anything and everything in our local communities,\" explained Eric.\r\n\r\nOne of his most memorable community service projects took place during high school. As part of a church youth group, Eric and his friends were looking forward to repainting the interior of a state-run mental health facility near Calabasas in California.\r\n\r\nUpon their arrival, they were hit with the stark reality of the patients\u0092 lives.\r\n\r\n\"Seeing the kids in the institution \u2014 reflecting on what they had and what we had,\" Eric said. \"It was a stark reminder of how fortunate we are.\"\r\n\r\nIt was just one of many volunteer experiences that reinforced Eric's commitment to his community.\r\n\r\nEric's early life took him to many cities across the United States, but he eventually settled into Detroit, earning his degree at the University of Detroit Mercy.\r\n\r\nEric and his wife Judy have been supporters of United Way for about 35 years.\r\n\r\nAs a CPA and 25-year partner at Deloitte, he and his wife, Judy Hicks, have been supporters of United Way for Southeastern Michigan for about 35 years, as well as longtime members of the Tocqueville Society, which is composed of volunteer champions who donate more than $10,000 annually. The couple was drawn to United Way because of its work to solve complex problems around Education, Basic Needs, and Financial Stability through partnerships with the community, private sectors, and donors.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6312\" src=\"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hespenheide_custom.png-300x182.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"182\" \/>\r\n<h2>Dejar un legado<\/h2>\r\nAs Eric approached retirement, he was looking for a way his contributions could make greater impact. Around this time, Eric received a letter asking him to join United Way's newly created Legacy Society Committee. The letter explained that the Legacy Society Committee was seeking individuals like Eric who are concerned about the future of Greater Detroit. Through endowment gifts, which the committee promotes, United Way will be able to build funds for a sustainable future and adapt to the community's fluctuating needs.\r\n\r\nEric was immediately on board. Although neither he nor his wife grew up in Greater Detroit, they raised their children here and have long called Southeastern Michigan home.\r\n\r\n\"I think we hear almost every day of another success story in terms of a business opening or expanding in Detroit. We just need 10 times that and 100 times that and 1,000 times that to get the city back to where it should be based on its geographic location, its history and its cultural aspects,\" he said. \"I just have a strong belief in Detroit and the Metro area.\"\r\n\r\nHe continued, \"So this was actually kind of a no- brainer for us.\"\r\n\r\nEric had always made sure to financially save for his family's future, and he realized he could help United Way do the same for his community.\r\n\r\nUsing United Way Life to make his legacy gift, he and his wife have taken out a $250,000 joint life insurance policy, which will be gifted to United Way upon their passing. Just five annual premium payments make this larger gift a possibility.\r\n\r\nEric and Judy chose United Way Life to leave their legacy gift.\r\n\"This was a way of putting what I preach into practice and actually making the commitment ourselves to some long-term legacy funding so that the organization has the opportunity to carry on when we're not here,\" he explained.\r\n\r\nEric said United Way has made it easy for anyone to donate a gift toward the organization's future \u2014 it can be as simple as making a bequest to United Way in one's will. Donors can also leave a legacy gift through individual retirement accounts, 401k's, insurance policies, charitable gift annuities or truss. In many cases, making smaller payments now allows for larger gifts in the future.\r\n\r\nEric knows he won't be around forever. But with his legacy gift and the planned gifts of others, he knows United Way can continue working on the community's most pressing issues for generations to come.\r\n\r\nAnd with his gift, Eric hopes to leave an even greater legacy: belief in the strength of the Detroit community.\r\n\r\n\"It is about the people, and it is about the future.\"\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"tm-button button version-1\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/es\/ways-to-give\/planned-giving\/\" target=\"false\"><span class=\"tm-button-inner\"><span class=\"text\">Volver a la p\u00e1gina de inicio de Donaciones planificadas<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>","":null,"settings":""}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eric Hespenheide and Judy Hicks: Giving to Greater Detroit - United Way for Southeastern Michigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"United Way is saving for the community\u2019s future with the help of donors like Eric Hespenheide and his wife, Judy Hicks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/unitedwaysem.org\/es\/impact-stories\/eric-hespenheide-and-judy-hicks-giving-to-greater-detroit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eric Hespenheide and Judy Hicks: Giving to Greater Detroit - 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