The Haynes Fund was conceived and came into being eleven years ago in the summer of 1992. The Haynes family was returning from a family vacation in Idaho when they were involved in a traffic accident that took the lives of Katie, age 15, Thomas, age 13 and their mother, Laurie. Mike, their dad and the two youngest Haynes children, Holly and Randi survived.
The community and particularly the family and close friends of the Haynes' struggled to comprehend the tragedy; our faith truly tested as we came to grips with the reality of the loss. In the midst of the swirl of emotion and loss, Mike stepped forward and articulated his vision about how he wanted to memorialize his family and The Katie and Thomas Haynes Memorial Educational Fund was born. The initial vision as articulated at that time has never changed...
The Haynes Fund is to serve and provide opportunities to children and young people that enrich and nurture their lives in order to release the potential that exists in each person. We would use the lives and passions of Katie, Thomas and Laurie to guide us as we determined how best to implement the vision. Katie, a talented scholar athlete, loved swimming, was active in the Model United Nations program at Edison High School and had just attended her first high school Prom. Thomas, a natural athlete, excelling in basketball and baseball, a mischievous young man, true to himself, with a strong sense of self and belief in God. Laurie, a passionate woman, who loved her family and her faith in God above all else and who always fought for the underdog. There was no better inspiration.
Since June of 1992, literally thousands of children and young people have been beneficiaries of The Haynes Fund's vision.
Support of individual and team athletic programs
Tuition assistance to families finding themselves in unexpected and often devastating financial crisis
Providing backpacks to children at a local soup kitchen to help prepare for the new school year
Building a playground for children at a halfway house
Funding college scholarships for economically disadvantaged young people
Grants to the poorest inner-city parochial school
Grant to an inner city multi-service community center providing youth athletic and anti-gang programs
Support for after-school mentoring programs in Santa Ana and Los Angeles, providing computers and other support
Some of the ways in which lives have been touched can be found on our "Our Projects" page.