First year student reaches out with love

Eighteen-year-old Mallory Heinzeroth has made her first year at Luther a busy one. When not studying for her business management, communication studies and Spanish majors, she’s playing on the women’s rugby team, singing in the Aurora choir or acting as a SAC Cinema co-chair — all while balancing work study hours in the Admissions Office and Catering Services. While Heinzeroth is busy exploring her interests, she still finds time to serve others. With Love, Inc. is a non-profit organization that she co-founded when she was just 14 years old.

Her inspiration for the organization came when her middle school class took a service trip to South Africa where they worked at the Quest School for Autistic Children. Special needs schools receive little funding in South Africa, and Quest was no exception.

“We spent a week volunteering [at the school,” Heinzeroth said. “They didn’t have a roof, their jungle gym was falling apart and I had never seen such poverty. The children loved their education and felt privileged to be there, but were in such underprivileged conditions.”

Her mother, Susan Heinzeroth, recalled the experience.

“The service trip was so impactful [sic] that the kids wanted to do something after they returned to the United States,” Susan Heinzeroth said. “So, we held a brainstorming session in the kitchen of my home — and the rest is history.”

At first, With Love, Inc. had just a few specific plans.

“They wanted to raise money to re-roof the building, build a new playground and ultimately outfit an occupational therapy room at the school,” Susan Heinzeroth said. “The students made and sold bracelets to raise money. The interesting thing is that they learned how to make them in South Africa on the trip that inspired the organization.”

The bracelet sale grossed over $2,000, which was used to repair the roof at the school. Realizing the success of the organization, Susan Heinzeroth decided to apply the group for 501(c)(3) status, which would make With Love, Inc. an official, federally recognized non-profit organization. It would prove to be a difficult task.

“The federal government is very careful about granting 501(c)(3) status to organizations,” Susan Heinzeroth said. “The process requires intensive amounts of paperwork and months of responding to iterations of questions regarding the non-profit status application. Not to mention the fact that you must continue to operate your organization.”

In addition to the paperwork, there were other legal barriers to getting the organization approved.

“It was a struggle to get 501(c)(3) status at age 14 because I wasn’t even old enough to have my name on a checking account,” Mallory Heinzeroth said. “So I went and fought with the bank so that my name was actually on the account. That way, I was actually named co-founder on our 501(c)(3) papers.”

The paperwork also required legal aid, which can quickly become expensive. To counter the costs, Mallory Heinzeroth’s mother applied for a Service Learning Grant through the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“I teach at the Leeds School of Business [at CU-Boulder]. I applied for a grant to fund the accountant and attorney fees, [and started] a course on Non-profit Business Development,” Susan Heinzeroth said. “This course was offered for a year and incorporated the high-school students who were the founders of With Love, Inc.”

With the help of college students in the class, Mallory Heinzeroth’s goal of helping others began to take full shape. The class created a logo for the group, created a mission statement and arranged for numerous service projects. Today, With Love, Inc. works to fulfill its vision statement: People serving people, making a difference with love.

With Love, Inc. continues to send aid to African countries, including “adopting” Kenyan children by sending them aid and paying for their education.

Much growth has happened domestically. The organization has held toy drives for hospitals, food and clothing drives for Hurricane Katrina victims and sponsors service trips to Washington, D.C. With Love, Inc. has also partnered with several Colorado high schools to fund after-school programs for at-risk youth.

“Hopefully the high school program will flourish and move that into more schools,” Mallory Heinzeroth said. “Really, the main goal is to become an avenue for children and students to become involved in helping other people.”

Mallory Heinzeroth’s story only goes to show how people can make a difference in others’ lives. What began as a middle school student’s dream has since helped hundreds of disadvantaged people around the world and in the United States.

“I have always believed that my children are my teachers and my inspiration,” Susan Heinzeroth said. “There is nothing more heartwarming and inspiring than watching them work to serve others and to make the world a better place.”

To get involved, contact Susan Heinzeroth at 303-489-9265 or email her at susan@sageriver.com.