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Karen Pence, former second lady of the United States and first lady of Indiana, announced Wednesday morning that funds from her new charitable foundation’s inaugural luncheon will be awarded to organizations supporting veterans.
The Hummingbird Charitable Foundation is named after the codename “hummingbird” that was used for Pence in the White House. She first announced its creation in September. For the first Hummingbird Charitable Foundation fundraiser, to be held at noon March 27 at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, Pence and her board have selected three veteran-focused charities: Indy Honor Flight, INvets, and the Indy Warrior Partnership.
As wife of former congressman, Indiana Gov. and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Karen Pence has been busy supporting her husband’s political life for more than two decades. She said that writing her book, “When It’s Your Turn to Serve: Experiencing God’s Grace in His Calling for Your Life,” helped her think about her next move.
“It basically was trying to encourage the reader not to be afraid to step up and serve when you feel God’s nudging and his calling. And I started realizing the word retirement isn’t in the Bible,” she said. “Why am I not doing something?”
So Pence consulted with some local friends and, from her Carmel residence, formed the foundation. It has two employees and a five-member board of directors, include Pence herself. The other members are Carol Stephan, Beverly Bush, Marilyn Logsdon and Jane Wainwright. Two of the women served on the board for the Indiana First Lady’s Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit Pence launched in 2013. That foundation awarded more than $600,000 in grants in three years.
Pence said this new endeavor will follow a similar format involving an annual spring fundraising luncheon to benefit specific Indiana-based organizations. Tickets to the event start at $200 for an individual and range up to $10,000 for a sponsored eight-person table with VIP tickets and additional recognition.
The board considered themes ranging from topics such as pets or literacy to food insecurity prior to deciding to make the initial funding veteran-focused, Pence said. In following years, the website will include an option to nominate a specific nonprofit.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to do this for many, many years and help a lot of communities in Indiana,” she said.
Pence has two children in the military. Her son-in-law is currently deployed in the Navy, while her son is in the Marine Corps. She said that likely only played into her decision subconsciously. A more important factor was how much Hoosiers seem to want to help veterans.
“We have the largest national guard in the country,” Pence said. “We are just a state that believes in service, and country, and patriotism.”
Her work also informed the selection of specific nonprofits. For example, she worked with military spouses as an initiative while she was second lady of the United States. She said it was clear that moving from military service to civilian life was “a tricky time” for both spouses and those in service. INvets, one of the selected nonprofits for next year’s luncheon, helps veterans transition back to civilian life by finding jobs and communities where they can thrive.
She was also the ambassador to PREVENTS, which stands for President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End the National Tragedy of Suicide. The Indy Warrior Partnership has a similar mission of providing veterans with community and connection to resources.
The final nonprofit, Indy Honor Flight, transports veterans of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars to see the memorials built in their honor in Washington, D.C. at no cost. Pence described witnessing these groups land in the D.C. airport as a “very moving experience.”
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