As we kick off 2026 with a focus on building our community of monthly donors, we sat down with longtime donor and volunteer Mary Lou to learn more about why monthly giving is so important to her. She chatted with Donor Relations Coordinator Janie Lonergan about family, serving others, and how signing a little pledge card 25 years ago evolved into a legacy of generosity.
Janie: So, Mary Lou, tell me a little bit about yourself.
Mary Lou: Well, my name is Mary Lou Rueck, and I am a Pacific Northwest girl born in Seattle. I lived there for the first 11 years of my life, and then my dad was transferred back to Portland with his job where he and my mom were originally from. I spent middle school, high school, and my college years all in the Portland area.
I went to Oregon State and graduated with a degree in elementary education. I got married following that graduation, taught school, had a couple of great kids, and stayed home with them for 11 years. Then, when my youngest daughter went into first grade, I went back to full-time teaching for 20 more years and retired from that.
I’ve been blessed with 6 grandchildren who we follow all over the place, and we’re a real sports family. My husband was a coach forever. My son is a coach. My son-in-law too, and our kids all played sports. I’ve been at every sporting event you can imagine. And now we follow the grandkids to all of their sporting events too!
And we love to travel. So that’s me.
Janie: Where’s the most recent place you traveled to?
Mary Lou: The most recent was to St. Thomas, where we were following our son’s Oregon State women’s basketball team for a tournament there over Thanksgiving, and then we also went to Hawaii with them.
Janie: Yeah, go Beavers! So, when did you first become acquainted with Medical Teams, and when did you start giving monthly?
Mary Lou: 25 years ago this May! A friend of mine worked here and asked if I would—well, I asked her if I could help, because she was in charge of special events. So I said, if you ever need a helper, let me know. So that’s when I first joined Medical Teams. I came the next week, not as a special events helper, just in the office. They needed help, and I’ve been here ever since. The first time I donated to Medical Teams was the fall of that year, when there was a fundraising banquet, and my husband and I then committed to giving monthly.
Janie: Oh, that’s amazing.
Mary Lou: Yes, we signed the little pledge card, and we’ve been doing it ever since — 25 years.
Janie: Why is it important for you to be a monthly donor to Medical Teams?
Mary Lou: Well, it’s important to me to be a monthly donor because I know that non-profits, such as Medical Teams, rely on all of us donors to keep the mission going.
And when a nonprofit knows that they have a certain amount of money coming in monthly, I would think it would give them financial stability — they can count on people who are giving monthly as faithful donors. I just think it’s really important to support the organizations that you love.
Janie: What is compelling about Medical Teams’ work?
Mary Lou: Well, the thing that is most compelling about Medical Teams to me is just seeing the boots on the ground, doing amazing things. And over all these 25 years, I’ve been a witness to that. In the early years, it was earthquakes and tsunamis, and all these things where people’s lives were in crisis. And now I know that the shift has gone more toward refugees, which is huge right now. When you see people giving their time to provide medical care and to train people in the communities where we work to help others, how can it not be compelling?
Janie: In addition to being a committed monthly donor, you have also been a volunteer for 20 years. As someone who knows Medical Teams from both perspectives, what is it about Medical Teams that inspires you to give both your time and financial support month after month?
Mary Lou: Well, what inspires me to give as a volunteer and to give financially number one, I would say, are the people.
I came into this organization and just met the most wonderful people — loving, caring people — who, like the mission statement, dare to love like Christ. That’s what this whole place is about.
And over those 25 years, of course the people have changed. You say goodbye to somebody and you’re sad about it, but then somebody equally wonderful comes and takes their place. And you make all those connections — not just the staff, but the volunteers.
The other part of it, besides people, is the mission itself. Such an amazing organization that is reaching out to people that are in great need and in crisis. How can you not want to be a part of something like that?
So, my little bit that I do — working in the office and donating financially — is just a little part that I can do to help an organization like Medical Teams.
Janie: So, Mary Lou, what message would you want to share with other people who are considering joining The Pulse?
Mary Lou: If you find an organization like this that you align with — that you want to support because of the work that they do — wouldn’t you want to help them in the best possible way? By being a monthly donor, you are helping the organization have financial stability.
The more monthly donors Medical Teams can have, the more they can count on us.
So, I would encourage anyone who is thinking about donating — you think, “Oh, I don’t have $1,200. I can’t do that.” Well, how about $100 a month? It’s easier. It chops it up a little bit for you, so it’s not so much all at once. You’re a donor — you can increase it, and if it needed, decrease it too.
But I just encourage people to be monthly donors. It’s so simple — and it makes me feel good to know that I’m a part of it.
We want to give a big THANK YOU to Mary Lou and all our monthly donors that power our work here at Medical Teams.
If you want to join Mary Lou in providing sustainable, life-saving healthcare for those living in crisis, we invite you to JOIN THE PULSE!
When you join The Pulse, all new and increased monthly gifts will be matched for the first month up to $10,000 through February 16.
Mary Lou said it best– “It’s so simple — and it makes me feel good to know that I’m a part of [Medical Teams]. You can join her today, and your first gift will be DOUBLED, giving your generosity even more impact.