Building a Legacy of Giving

As a young adult, Whitney Baggett Creel ’04 watched her parents fight courageous battles with cancer. Her father, David, died of lung cancer when she turned 16. Diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in 2014, her mother, Kimberly, endured grueling chemotherapy, a short remission, and a successful stem cell transplant in just over two years before her body simply could handle no more. After these traumatic losses, it became important to Whitney that children whose parents are diagnosed with life-altering illnesses have the emotional and financial support they need to navigate their situations.

Todd Creel, Whitney Baggett Creel ’04, Kate Strickland Jennings ’04

Whitney’s husband, Todd, has a different passion. Graduating at the top of his high school class in Newcastle, Todd was fortunate to garner financial scholarships to attend college – a dream many children cannot fulfill due to the ever-increasing cost of tuition across the country. He accepted a fullride to Texas A&M University. Todd values education and opportunity and does not want students to feel that money is a barrier to achieving their college dreams. While it is important to him that students have access to higher education, he also is focused on supporting students emotionally through one-on-one career mentorship.

Profoundly impacted by their individual experiences, Whitney and Todd have combined these different yet equally valuable missions to form Creel Family Philanthropies (CFP) in 2021. They strive to cultivate generational involvement as it supports community organizations focused on education and life-altering illnesses.

“It is essential to us to instill a sense of benevolence in our four boys, Kolt ’32, Kase ’34, Kix ’37, and Krew,” Whitney said. “By allowing families to become involved on both the financial and elbow-grease levels, we can encourage future generations in Fort Worth to give back to our community and make a difference.” To accomplish these dual goals, CFP will host an annual family-friendly event and an adults-only cocktail gala.

J Mack Slaughter ’02 and Courtney Corbeille Krauss ’06

The Creels hired Kate Strickland Jennings ’04 as Executive Director. Kate worked at Cook Children’s Medical Center in psychiatry for 11 years, is a Licensed Professional CounselorSupervisor with a private practice (@thebugandbee), and had massive success with her now-annual event @craftfortworth, when she worked with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. (She is also Whitney’s best friend since FWCD kindergarten!) “As a result of my varied experience, I am connected with many grassroots underdog agencies in our area,” Kate said. “Many of these groups fit our mission, and we can partner to share what they are doing and make a bigger impact.”

The trio hit the ground running and began planning their inaugural event, Cowtown’s Summer Soiree, on June 4, 2022, at the Fort Worth Zoo, benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Sponsorships sold out two months before the event: Originally, the event was maxing out at 500, but it was increased to 650.

As emcees, J Mack Slaughter ’02 and Courtney Corbeille Krauss ’06 brought the fun to the gala, which included cocktails, dinner, a short program and dancing with a live band – Signed, Sealed Delivered. Both impacted by cancer, Slaughter and Krauss touched on the heartstrings by sharing the stories of various honorees battling cancer. These Honored Heroes were Lucy Garza, diagnosed with Acute

Lymphoblastic Leukemia at 3; Cline McMurry, diagnosed with a rare blood disorder (Neutropenia) at 6 months old then later suffering from Acute Myeloid Lymphoma that took his life at only 13 years old; and Kristee Walker, diagnosed with aggressive Diffuse-large B Cell Lymphoma when she was eight weeks pregnant.

The inaugural family-friendly event took place in December 2022. Families participated by donating items to local nonprofit agencies as their “admission ticket,” and children created crafts to benefit the same nonprofits. At one station, children gathered to decorate flower pots to give to someone as an act of kindness. At another, they decorated frames for the grieving children clients of The WARM Place to hold photos of their lost loved ones. The children watched videos to learn what they were doing, why, and how they were assisting others. “We want to raise children with giving hearts who help others who aren’t as fortunate as they are,” Whitney said. “There are limited opportunities for children to give back, and we want to change that.”

The inaugural event blew CFP’s goals out of the water, raising $650,000 for LLS (Whitney’s goal was $500,000) and added 65 people to the DKMS Bone Marrow Registry. “It was important to me that we share the wealth,” Whitney said. “Our goal is to make a difference. Every single penny went to the LLS. No money went toward the event. This is how all our events will be.”

Ninety percent of the attendees were 45 years old and younger. “Our generation wants to give back,” Todd said. “Giving is in their hearts. It is our turn to step up and take on the challenge of making things better for others.”

The purpose of Creel Family Philanthropies is to get people involved. “You don’t have to give financially, but you do have to give with your heart,” Todd said. “Whether you give time, money, or attend an event, we hope to instill in our children how to be humble and kind, and at the same time, we want to do the same for our peers and allow them to do the same for their children.” Todd is currently working to create a scholarship fund to aid those in need who want to attend college, as well as looking into creating scholarships for private school education.

For the Creels, it all comes down to family. “Our logo, which Todd drew, represents our family and our four boys and the foundation we are forging in pursuit of making a difference in the lives of others.”