Bethany Graman

By ALLISON SELK

Shaw Media correspondent

In 2014, Bethany Graman endured the unexpected death of her father, Mike. She didn’t, however, let that tragic event overshadow what she had learned from her parents: to serve others.

“He had a compassionate heart; he would always do random things like give homeless food. I remember thinking that I wanted to be like that when I grew up,” Graman said.

The Morris resident has taken the lead her father started by adopting service to her community as a way of life. To honor her father, each year on his birthday, she drops money off at a local business to help pay a stranger’s tab.

“She has a huge heart, she always wanted to help people, it makes her feel better,” her mother, Linda Graman, said. “She watched her dad go out and snow plow driveways, volunteer with the kids’ sports and church, always doing something.”

During the pandemic, she wanted to find a positive outlet for her family’s time. At Christmas she focused on the elderly, low-income people and people with disabilities. She contacted nursing homes, low-income housing and the Narvick House to see what items were needed, then posted those needs on Facebook. Donations flooded in. She bought totes and filled them with supplies, her grandmother wrote out Christmas cards and Graman delivered them.

During the battery fire incident in Morris this past June, Graman raised funds to help pay for hotel rooms for those displaced. She also donated meals, donuts and gift cards.

“Wherever there is something, she’s always helping,” Linda Graman said of her daughter.

To show gratitude to police and fire departments, she launched a fundraiser to offer personalized thermal totes to local first responders. When others got wind, she received requests from other communities and professions.

“I asked for funds from the community, $20 would sponsor a tote. It kind of blew up from there — we gave out over 3,000 thermals,” Graman said.

Wendy Briley, president of the nonprofit Grundy County Heroes and Helpers, said she has known Graman for several years and “fell into friendship” due to all of the community work she has done.

Briley described her friend as driven and caring. “She has gratitude for first responders and makes them feel special for the thankless job they do.”

This past year, Graman joined the board of Grundy County Heroes and Helpers. The organization raises funds year-round to host a Christmas event where local first responders and youth in need have lunch with Santa, then pair up to shop for necessities and new toys.

“She was asked to be a board member because of the work she has done. It takes a special kind of person to put her heart into an organization,” Briley said. “She fit the role.”

This seat on the board allows her to go out into the community and teach people about Grundy County Heroes and Helpers and fundraise for the events the group hosts.

Graman said she’s grateful her parents showed her how to give to others. Linda said when the children were still at home, they did not always have the money to donate, but one thing they donated was time. Bethany has followed suit. =

“Her generosity benefits the whole community — not only our organization, but any organization she helps,” Briley said.