Career Journey
Local Angels Help Families in Need During the Holiday Season
Interview with Lori Cassia-Decker, Co-founder of Angels of Light
December 2019
Interview with Lori Cassia-Decker, Co-founder of Angels of Light
December 2019
About Lori:
Lori Cassia-Decker co-founded the nonprofit organization Angels of Light with her husband, George, and is also co-owner of FORZA, a fitness center in Millbrook, NY which offers personal training and a diverse variety of group fitness classes. Lori has 40 years of experience in the fitness industry and holds several certifications in group fitness, athletic coaching and personal training.
Besides spearheading Angels of Light, Lori is dedicated to community service in a variety of other ways, including chairing events for the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Heart Association. She is also on the board of the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club.
Lori is a triathlete, marathon runner, cyclist, and mom to four daughters and two stepsons. She and her husband are expecting their ninth grandchild any day now!
About Angels of Light:
Angels of Light, which became a 501c3 organization in 2016, provides holiday giving for children and families with life-threatening illnesses in the Hudson Valley Region of New York. Founded over twelve years ago by Lori and George Decker (with the help of their family), the organization has been giving to those who need it most during the holiday season with the continued dedication and support of their local community.
Lori Cassia-Decker co-founded the nonprofit organization Angels of Light with her husband, George, and is also co-owner of FORZA, a fitness center in Millbrook, NY which offers personal training and a diverse variety of group fitness classes. Lori has 40 years of experience in the fitness industry and holds several certifications in group fitness, athletic coaching and personal training.
Besides spearheading Angels of Light, Lori is dedicated to community service in a variety of other ways, including chairing events for the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Heart Association. She is also on the board of the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club.
Lori is a triathlete, marathon runner, cyclist, and mom to four daughters and two stepsons. She and her husband are expecting their ninth grandchild any day now!
About Angels of Light:
Angels of Light, which became a 501c3 organization in 2016, provides holiday giving for children and families with life-threatening illnesses in the Hudson Valley Region of New York. Founded over twelve years ago by Lori and George Decker (with the help of their family), the organization has been giving to those who need it most during the holiday season with the continued dedication and support of their local community.
Myrna Beth Haskell, executive editor, spoke with Lori about Angels of Light and the challenges she has faced as a nonprofit leader.
What was the inspiration behind starting Angels of Light?
I realized how very blessed I was to have six healthy children. One day at a CYO basketball game, I noticed that a young girl who was participating had obviously been receiving cancer treatments. I saw her mother in the bleachers, and I just had this incredibly strong reaction and felt devastated for her. I started to ask myself questions - ‘What would I do if I was a mother dealing with this? ‘What would I need?’ It was around the holiday season, and I was thinking that I’d need someone to shop for me, wrap presents for me…all those things that are hard to find the time to do, even when you are not focused on putting all your energy into helping your sick child.
Tell me a bit about those you serve.
We serve families who live in the Hudson Valley Region of New York or those who are receiving regular medical treatment in the Hudson Valley – those with a child, mom, dad or caregiver with a terminal illness. In the beginning there was a focus on the children, but we wanted to help in other situations as well. Imagine a single mother who is sick, and she has kids at home. What will she do when the holidays come around when she is barely holding on?
We support the entire family, too. For instance, we don’t just send gifts for the terminally ill child. We also buy gifts for siblings. The focus is on the entire family because each family member is affected in these situations. You can imagine what a seven-year-old child is going through if his or her younger sibling is sick. All the attention might be focused on the sick child…spending time in the hospital, etc. The siblings need support, too, and the parents are usually worn out.
How many families do you expect to help this year?
We hope to be able to purchase and wrap gifts for 300 children this year (this includes taking care of all the children in a household).
In 2018, Angels of Light supported over 100 families and gave over 3,000 gifts during the holiday season. (Angels of Light website)
Do you have personal interaction with the families you help?
Oh yes! Before we became a nonprofit, it was through word of mouth…just hearing about the families through our local community. Since becoming a 501c3, we now go through social workers or medical personnel to learn about families in need of help. The ball starts rolling with a sick child in the hospital, and the social workers serve as a liaison - they get permission for us to call the parents directly. I talk to 99% of the families. We ask for a wish list and try to get everything we can on the list.
We wind up getting close to these families, of course, and watching their struggles is heart-wrenching. It’s all about taking the pressure off of these families – they’re exhausted and many are thinking that this holiday season might be the last with their loved one. So we want to help them make special, lasting memories.
Running a nonprofit can be challenging. Is there anything about the process that you’d like to share?
There were people literally walking into the gym [Forza Fitness] and handing me cash because they wanted to help. I realized that we needed to get accredited. Once the process started, it took over a year to get nonprofit status. Fortunately, we had a friend who offered legal services for free. [Angels of Light became an official 501c3 in 2016].
Once we became a nonprofit organization, there were a lot of rules we had to learn to follow. We could no longer raise money for an individual. Instead, we needed to stick to our mission which is “holiday giving for children and families with life threatening illness” and divide the funds equally among all of the families we help each year in the Hudson Valley.
We also had to create bylaws and establish a board of directors (our board members are volunteers). In the past, we made decisions as a family. We now need to bring funding allocation and other important proposals to the board for a vote. It slows things down a bit; however, this also keeps us on the right path. I have a tendency to want to help everybody with everything. The board keeps this in check.
What was the inspiration behind starting Angels of Light?
I realized how very blessed I was to have six healthy children. One day at a CYO basketball game, I noticed that a young girl who was participating had obviously been receiving cancer treatments. I saw her mother in the bleachers, and I just had this incredibly strong reaction and felt devastated for her. I started to ask myself questions - ‘What would I do if I was a mother dealing with this? ‘What would I need?’ It was around the holiday season, and I was thinking that I’d need someone to shop for me, wrap presents for me…all those things that are hard to find the time to do, even when you are not focused on putting all your energy into helping your sick child.
Tell me a bit about those you serve.
We serve families who live in the Hudson Valley Region of New York or those who are receiving regular medical treatment in the Hudson Valley – those with a child, mom, dad or caregiver with a terminal illness. In the beginning there was a focus on the children, but we wanted to help in other situations as well. Imagine a single mother who is sick, and she has kids at home. What will she do when the holidays come around when she is barely holding on?
We support the entire family, too. For instance, we don’t just send gifts for the terminally ill child. We also buy gifts for siblings. The focus is on the entire family because each family member is affected in these situations. You can imagine what a seven-year-old child is going through if his or her younger sibling is sick. All the attention might be focused on the sick child…spending time in the hospital, etc. The siblings need support, too, and the parents are usually worn out.
How many families do you expect to help this year?
We hope to be able to purchase and wrap gifts for 300 children this year (this includes taking care of all the children in a household).
In 2018, Angels of Light supported over 100 families and gave over 3,000 gifts during the holiday season. (Angels of Light website)
Do you have personal interaction with the families you help?
Oh yes! Before we became a nonprofit, it was through word of mouth…just hearing about the families through our local community. Since becoming a 501c3, we now go through social workers or medical personnel to learn about families in need of help. The ball starts rolling with a sick child in the hospital, and the social workers serve as a liaison - they get permission for us to call the parents directly. I talk to 99% of the families. We ask for a wish list and try to get everything we can on the list.
We wind up getting close to these families, of course, and watching their struggles is heart-wrenching. It’s all about taking the pressure off of these families – they’re exhausted and many are thinking that this holiday season might be the last with their loved one. So we want to help them make special, lasting memories.
Running a nonprofit can be challenging. Is there anything about the process that you’d like to share?
There were people literally walking into the gym [Forza Fitness] and handing me cash because they wanted to help. I realized that we needed to get accredited. Once the process started, it took over a year to get nonprofit status. Fortunately, we had a friend who offered legal services for free. [Angels of Light became an official 501c3 in 2016].
Once we became a nonprofit organization, there were a lot of rules we had to learn to follow. We could no longer raise money for an individual. Instead, we needed to stick to our mission which is “holiday giving for children and families with life threatening illness” and divide the funds equally among all of the families we help each year in the Hudson Valley.
We also had to create bylaws and establish a board of directors (our board members are volunteers). In the past, we made decisions as a family. We now need to bring funding allocation and other important proposals to the board for a vote. It slows things down a bit; however, this also keeps us on the right path. I have a tendency to want to help everybody with everything. The board keeps this in check.
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What does your role as president entail?
I dot all the i’s and cross the t’s, and I do a lot of delegating. I follow up with everyone. I also go out into the community so that more and more people have an awareness of what we do. I hate to hear something like ‘We wish we knew about your organization…we know a family that could have used your help.’ Since the beginning, your family has been committed to this cause. How has working with family members enhanced your experience as a nonprofit leader? I co-founded Angels of Light with my husband, and my stepson is on the board of directors. It’s been something that we’ve watched grow throughout the years together. We learned to appreciate each other more as we worked for the greater good. My daughter Paige doesn’t remember a time when we weren’t’ delivering gifts to families. It was just something we did. Now she volunteers all the time. She is on the board of another foundation, and she volunteers with kids. Every Thanksgiving we work at the local soup kitchen. This Thanksgiving is the first time I won’t be able to do it in many, many years. Helping the community is just a way of life that becomes who you are. |
Lori participating in the London Marathon for Children with Cancer
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2019 Make Wishes Come True Event
Nate Redmond (right) and his dad, Gerry (left) Photo Courtesy: Angels of Light |
Tell me about some of your fundraising events and volunteer opportunities.
We are always looking for volunteers, sponsors and donors. There’s also another opportunity to help. Businesses can host a ‘giving tree’ at their office – this tree displays a photo of one of our families with their names and holds ornaments listing items on their wish list. Visitors, employees and clients can choose an ornament from the tree and then bring back a wrapped gift that contains the item from the wish list. Our annual ‘Make Wishes Come True’ event is held every September. We request casual attire (cowboy boots and jeans) so that people feel comfortable. We hold live and silent auctions. There’s live entertainment - we brought in a band from Nashville this year. [Jay Taylor, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice” is lead vocals.] This September, we had 25 to 30 restaurants, distilleries and wineries donate 100% of the food and beverage. Everything is volunteer for this event, and over 350 people were in attendance. People who want to help have been creative with holding their own fundraisers. There is someone who hosts a Christmas party every year and asks guests to bring gift cards, instead of a hostess gift, to help our organization. Angels of Light received over 100 gift cards this way. |
We help families during all of the holidays – not just Christmas – Hanukkah, Kwanza, etc.
Note: See below links for volunteer opportunities and fundraiser information.
Note: See below links for volunteer opportunities and fundraiser information.
What is something that sticks with you…something you’ve learned over the years?
Never assume you know everything you need to know about another family. Years ago, we were helping a family who had a child with brain cancer. We learned he had never had a birthday cake, so we wanted to provide that for him. We later learned that the family had to go to Westchester five days a week for six weeks for treatments. So, we bought them gas gift cards to ease the financial burden. We found out later that they didn’t have a car. They were taking the bus. I asked what they did with the cards, and they said they gave them to someone else who needed them. I’ve learned to never assume anything.
Any memorable moments you’d like to share?
We were so proud to receive an honorary award from Ronald McDonald House, Greater Hudson Valley this year. Ronald McDonald House does so much for families with children with terminal illness.
A big issue with our readers is finding work-life balance. You are also co-owner of Forza, a wife, a mother of four daughters and two step-sons, and you chair events for other nonprofits. How do you find the time for self-care and balancing all of these responsibilities?
I prioritize. I start with what I feel is most important – taking care of my body, mind, heart and family. I make time for exercise at least six days a week for 20 to 60 minute sessions. I also meditate and pray every day. I cook a healthy dinner for my family every night. If I know I’ll be out at an event or two during the week, I cook ahead of time, so that there is still something nutritious to eat.
It really comes easy to me. I’ve always been someone who looks at the big picture. If you don’t get something done, it’s not a big deal. Learn to let go. When you work with families who are facing losing a child, it seems ridiculous to sweat the small stuff.
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
I find peace from within – from my most inner self. I’ve been through some tough times in my life, and I have always found strength and the will to move on from within.
Never assume you know everything you need to know about another family. Years ago, we were helping a family who had a child with brain cancer. We learned he had never had a birthday cake, so we wanted to provide that for him. We later learned that the family had to go to Westchester five days a week for six weeks for treatments. So, we bought them gas gift cards to ease the financial burden. We found out later that they didn’t have a car. They were taking the bus. I asked what they did with the cards, and they said they gave them to someone else who needed them. I’ve learned to never assume anything.
Any memorable moments you’d like to share?
We were so proud to receive an honorary award from Ronald McDonald House, Greater Hudson Valley this year. Ronald McDonald House does so much for families with children with terminal illness.
A big issue with our readers is finding work-life balance. You are also co-owner of Forza, a wife, a mother of four daughters and two step-sons, and you chair events for other nonprofits. How do you find the time for self-care and balancing all of these responsibilities?
I prioritize. I start with what I feel is most important – taking care of my body, mind, heart and family. I make time for exercise at least six days a week for 20 to 60 minute sessions. I also meditate and pray every day. I cook a healthy dinner for my family every night. If I know I’ll be out at an event or two during the week, I cook ahead of time, so that there is still something nutritious to eat.
It really comes easy to me. I’ve always been someone who looks at the big picture. If you don’t get something done, it’s not a big deal. Learn to let go. When you work with families who are facing losing a child, it seems ridiculous to sweat the small stuff.
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
I find peace from within – from my most inner self. I’ve been through some tough times in my life, and I have always found strength and the will to move on from within.
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Pints and Pros: Networking with a Purpose! December 16 - 6pm to 9pm Hosted by Coppola's Italian American Bistro Hyde Park, NY |
