Karen Loar's "Helping Hand" Memorial Scholarship
Karen’s family ( her husband William, and their 6 children: Melaine, Tammy, Valerie, Kimberly, Paul ,and Cherie) have established a Helping Hand Memorial Scholarship to honor her servant heart & giving spirit.
Through For the Love of Mateo, Karen's memorial will be providing various scholarships or "hand-ups" to help those in need within her community and in Guatemala.
In addition to being a mother for 48 years before her passing; Karen was a teacher to children through the educational system for 30 years. Twenty-six of those years were spent teaching elementary school for the USD #368 School District in Paola, Kansas. After 26 years of teaching and due to her declining health; Karen made a very tough decision to retire. Although very quickly after her retirement, she realized her heart missed teaching children , so she decided to dedicate another 4 years of her time teaching preschool at Little Lambs in Paola.
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While raising her six children; Karen returned to college on a full-time basis to complete her teaching degree. Throughout those years, there were many times when she received a 'helping hand' by many servant-hearted people throughout the communities where she lived. Whether it was having her groceries paid for while in the checkout line, having school clothes & supplies purchased for her 6 children as they prepared to start school, having Christmas gifts donated, having bills paid for during very tight months, or even receiving assistance with a broken down car on the side of the road with her 6 kids in tow; Karen and her family were blessed ten times over by the acts of kindness that she would never forget. Because she was the recipient of so much kindness over the years; Karen felt a strong urge to one day be able to give back to those in need of a 'hand up' themselves.
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Karen has always been known for her exceptional love & generosity, in addition to being the giver of THE WORLDS BEST HUGS. While teaching; she always made sure her students had the items they needed. Often at her own expense & without any need for acknowledgement; she would purchase shoes, clothing, hats, gloves, coats, fees, school supplies and even paid for lunches just so her students would never have to go without. Karen felt so much joy giving to others. Giving to others was definitely her love language.
In honor of Karen, and on behalf of Karen's family; FTLOM will be providing various scholarships or "hand-ups" to help those within her community as well as in Guatemala ( a country where she had a deep connection as it is the home country of her grandson Mateo .) Her family will work together to ensure that Karen's legacy will live on year after year, through the many 'hand ups' that will be given in Karen's name.
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You can donate towards Karen's memorial directly on this website or you can mail a check to:
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For the Love of Mateo
40 W Dartmouth Road
Kansas City, MO
64113
In loving memory of
Karen Loar
