giving back to the community

Community Giving Mission

Tracy and Scott relocated to Santa Cruz in 2007, the same year their twins graduated from high school and headed off to college.   They showed up in Santa Cruz the summer of that year with their other two children and quickly settled into the community.  Their oldest child, Nick, has Down Syndrome and lives at home with them full time.   They were thrilled to find an environment here in Santa Cruz for Nick that was inclusive and stimulating and allowed Nick to live an active, happy, and productive life.   Their youngest child, Connor, was 13 when they relocated, and he seamlessly integrated into Santa Cruz life.  He attended PCS for 5 years and graduated from Kirby in 2012.

It was within the first few months of living in Santa Cruz when both Tracy and Scott knew that this is where they planned to stay.  During the first 10 years they became active in the community through Special Olympics, Team in Training, volunteerism at Connor’s school, and through the Queer Youth Task Force.  

In November 2013, the unimaginable happened.  Connor was diagnosed during his sophomore year of college with metastatic melanoma.  He passed away from the disease just 2 months and 9 days after his diagnosis.  

When Connor became ill, Tracy left her corporate job and never returned.  After his passing she joined the Board of Directors of IMPACT Melanoma – a national organization focused on awareness, education, and prevention of the disease.  And she established her own Santa Cruz based non-profit, The Melanoma Coalition, that raised funds for research.  She’s raised significant funds for both organizations.   In January 2018 The Melanoma Coalition merged with IMPACT.   Tracy remains on the board today, and Scott was named Chairman of the Board for IMPACT in January 2018.  

Giving back has always been important to Tracy and Scott.  When they took ownership of Who’s Your Walkie, they did so with community giving in mind.  It’s with this mindset that they have established a mission to support local charities.  Every quarter, WYW will select a cause (or causes) to support here in our area.   And we want to support causes that are important to you!  Please email us at info@whosyourwalkie.com and let us know what’s close to your heart.   We will let you know through our website and our quarterly newsletter those organizations that we are supporting.