Karen and Bob Merrill - Charitable Remainder Trust

Bob and I moved to Santa Barbara from Portland Oregon in preparation for our retirement. I soon began looking for volunteer opportunities that were consistent with my values and background as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Early on in my career as a therapist, I found it especially rewarding to work with abused and neglected children in community mental health settings, as well counseling women who had experienced domestic violence. I was grateful to learn about CALM from a friend and accept her invitation to join the Women's Auxiliary.

As a new CALM volunteer, I was amazed at the level of investment of a highly active and engaged group of professional and philanthropic women. CALM clearly had an excellent reputation as trauma experts and their leadership and presence in the community impressed both Bob and I. Very soon, we felt ready to make a commitment to CALM as a beneficiary of our Charitable Remainder Trust. We are very glad we did! While we continue to have the satisfaction of actively supporting CALM by giving what we can now, we enjoy having peace of mind knowing that future generations of vulnerable children will be positively impacted through our membership in the Children's Legacy Society.

To learn more about Charitable Remainder Trusts, click here.