COVER STORY 29 MARCH 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition a l t - w - g , e , w t t . d e s a d to not die by suicide and keep going,” she said, adding that every box is also bathed in prayer for its recipient. Most LifeBoxes are sent in response to individual requests made through their website, Wondherful.com, which is shared all over social media along with uplifting videos created daily by Heather. They include items such as a Bible, a journal and pen, puzzle or coloring books, What on Earth Am I Here For devotionals, a “You Matter” card, chapstick and tissue, a handwritten note, a comfort item such as a soft plushy or tea bag and other tchotchkes or fidget items designed to help distract the mind away from negative thoughts. Each one is individually curated, often by volunteers, to meet the unique situation of the recipient and every box receives priority shipping. Wondherful will send a LifeBox free to anyone, anywhere going through anything, and have tailored them to address the challenges of those experiencing suicide loss, grief, suicide attempt, PTSD/trauma, self-harm, addiction, bullying, anxiety, depression, loneliness, current military, veterans, terminal illness, miscarriage and sickness. Requests come from across the country and around the world. A stick pin map on their office wall indicates boxes have been sent to individuals in every U.S. state and many other nations. “When somebody requests a LifeBox, it is an immediate turnaround for the curation and shipping because time is of the essence. I don’t know where they are. I don’t know this person. A lot of times, this person doesn’t know who we are because it was requested by someone who was concerned. So we do not waste time. We incur a huge cost for priority shipping, but I think it’s a cost the Lord will continue to help us with.” Turning pain into purpose Julie Russell, VP of Operations for Wondherful Inc., credits Heather for intervening to save her own daughter’s life after a suicide attempt in 2018. Russell recalls that she was relaxing in the pool when police suddenly burst through their front door, asking her husband to see their daughter, Bailey, who was 16 at the time. Alone in her room, Bailey had announced on social media that she was taking her life. A friend saw it and called their youth pastor, who immediately consulted with Heather. Heather instantly called 911. Bailey had taken an entire bottle of pills moments before but had not yet reacted to them. Because Bailey had threatened suicide but not acted on it before, Julie assumed this was just another attention-getting stunt. She decided to go to her son’s football game while paramedics took her daughter to the hospital. As Julie pulled into the parking lot, she received a call from the hospital. This was no stunt. Bailey was having seizures and ended up in the ICU. Through it all, Heather stood by Julie and her daughter’s side. “She brought things for me at the hospital to keep my mind busy because there was nothing I could do, and she supported Bailey because she could really understand her.” Wondherful Inc. was started in November 2020 as a direct result of COVID-19. Julie said, “When COVID hit, Heather couldn’t go see people in the hospital. She couldn’t go to the psych ward, and she was doing more Zoom funerals for suicides and overdoses than she personally knew of COVID deaths.” Heather recalled, “We were inundated with the medical emergency of COVID, but nobody was speaking to the mental emergency, and I was hearing of it on a dayto-day basis. I have kept a list of the people that reached out to me, and the agonizing messages and emails I was getting. “I had a pastor’s wife Facebook message me in the middle of the night during COVID. She had made a noose out of her husband’s tie and sent me the picture. And I was cut off at the hands because we’re not allowed to go anywhere. It was shelter in place. It was mandated. I felt so helpless. That’s when Julie came along and said, ‘I’ll help you make stuff to send to them.’ “At least if I can send them something through the mail, I will buy them some time because they are anticipating a gift from Heather. And then, when they open it, these gifts will give life. So we started out in my dining room making LifeBoxes on my husband’s credit card. And that pastor’s wife went on to have twins with her husband two years ago.” To date, Wondherful has sent 19,500 LifeBoxes to those in crisis. Now supported through donations and a few small grants, Wondherful operated from a budget of $227,046 in 2024 with a staff of three and a team of volunteers. Each LifeBox costs about $25 plus shipping and LifeBox Minis are available for large groups for about $15 each that contain all of the same essential items in a smaller form. The name Wondherful comes from a Bible verse. Heather explained, “Thirteen years ago, after reading Psalm 139:14, I added the “h” to personalize it to me, (h)eather. ‘I am fearfully and wondherfully made and His works are wondherful.’” Shining light in the darkness Dr. Susan Hagen, Psy.D., a psychologist and the wife of Andy Hagen, pastor of Advent Church in Boca Raton, said, “It is so powerful to have someone witness to the experience of suicidal ideation, to say this burdens me as well. It breaks down the isolation because somebody in that situation says, ‘I must be crazy. I’m the only one who struggles with this.’ “And Heather says, ‘Are you kidding me?! I’ve struggled with this for over 40 years and here’s what I do…’ It has also empowered a group of people who work with her to feel like they’re doing something meaningful because some of them have lost a relative, a husband, a child — someone in their family. That just feels desperate, but when you know you’re reaching out to people who have been struggling, and you can send them something to say, ‘we’re praying for you, and we’re connected to you.’ That’s impactful.” Hagen said Heather’s work is also helping to destigmatize mental illness within the faith community. “Not only is she saying this does not need to be kept a secret like it’s some deep, dark sin, but if we bring it into the light, it helps. She’s helped whole faith communities to embrace the struggle that people have — to get people out of the darkness so they are not isolated, which is their danger spot.” For those who are struggling, Hagen advises them to see a professional psychologist or psychiatrist who can help them because suicidal ideation is a sign of an underlying depression that needs to be treated like any other illness. She said statistics on depression show that it tends to run a course from somewhere between six months and two years, so it’s not usually a forever thing even though it feels like it will never go away. Though Heather has struggled with it most of her life, she said the desire to end one’s life “can be chemical, circumstantial or both. Mine is both.” Her biggest challenge came two years ago when her brother, Chris, lost his life after years battling addiction and suicidal thoughts. Having supported each other, Heather said through teary eyes, “it’s been a lonely struggle, and for years I found solace in knowing that Chris gets it, but it’s an individual race now.” The heartbreaking experience has been painful, but Heather said, “Now I know what it’s like to lose someone to this, and I am able to have a 360-degree perspective of this environment I’m in.” Chris is now listed on a memorial wall at Wondherful.com dedicated to those “we will never forget” —people who struggled so hard to overcome their challenges, who were prayed for and who were sent a LifeBox in the hope that they would find Jesus and choose life. Sometimes the need is so great, Heather said she feels like she’s barely keeping her head above the waves. But the biggest wins come when they hear back from a LifeBox recipient. “We treasure that because they are alive to reach out and let us know they got the box, so that’s a win,” said Heather. A large bulletin board wall filled with cards and letters graces their office at Wondherful. One response reads: “I received your gift box today and I cannot thank you enough. It is something I will treasure for a long time — to remind me of the fact that someone stood up and loved and cared for me when I was in a long and dark wilderness. I am so grateful for you and, as soon as I am able, hope to pay it forward and donate to your ministry. Thank you for your sincere gesture of Christ’s love.” How can you help? • Send a LifeBox to someone you know in crisis. • Invite Heather to speak at your church, school or business. • Support Wondherful Inc. financially • Volunteer • Follow @wondherful on social media Visit their website at wondherful.com for more information and additional resources. The above map is displayed on the office wall at Wondherful. Each red stick pin indicates a location where a LifeBox has been sent.
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