This weekend, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and the people who loved her most, our mom, Cathy Meyer, passed away after a massive stroke. Our hearts are broken, but we take comfort in knowing she was not alone for a single moment - she was held by her family right to the end.

Cathy spent her life caring for children. She spent her career working in childcare and child advocacy, including her time with HACAP, where she helped give kids in Eastern Iowa a strong start through early childhood education, and with Save the Children Action Network, fighting for the policies that protect and invest in children here at home and around the world. To Mom, this was never just a job. Looking after children was simply who she was.

Our family is now planning a celebration of life to honor her, and we're raising funds to help cover costs associated with her passing, costs we're carrying together as siblings. Any gift, large or small, lightens that load and means more to us than we can say. And if all you can offer is a memory or a kind word about how Mom touched your life, that is a gift too.

Anything raised beyond what we need will go toward the causes she devoted herself to. Our hope is to give the remainder to Save the Children Action Network, and, if we're able, to start a foundation in her name so her legacy and work for children carries on.

Thank you for holding our family in your thoughts, and for honoring a woman who spent her life making sure other people's children were seen, fed, and cared for. Her light really will shine on in all of us who knew her.