We’re deeply rooted in traditional values because that’s what’s gotten us where we are. It’s important to honor those values as we move forward
We consistently review our goals as a foundation, and as individuals. This helps us stay focused on the ‘now’ and maintain our momentum.
Martha and Don Tuffli met as teenagers, and began dating in the 1940’s in Los Angeles. When it was time to begin college, a cross-town collegiate rivalry could not keep Don, a USC Trojan, and Martha, a UCLA Bruin, apart. They married in their early twenties and set their roots deep in the Los Angeles community and they’ve been best friends their whole life. Together the Tuffli’s raised three daughters. Today that family has grown to eleven grandchildren and twenty-three great grandchildren with more on the way!
The Tuffli’s good health and appreciation of the great outdoors spurred them to take their children on many adventures. Martha fondly recalls a trip to Lake Powell in the early 1960’s. “Five people in a 13-foot Boston Whaler made for a great adventure!” laughed Martha. She believes that trip, and the many that followed, were where their daughters learned to rely on each other – a thread that would be woven even deeper as their children grew older and started their own families.
In 2004, their granddaughter was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Her mother jumped in with both feet, in Tuffli fashion, learning all she could about the disease. She quickly concluded that “funding the research being conducted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society was the way to go”. One of the first families to support the Promise 2010’s Nervous System Repair and Repair Initiative in 2004, the Tuffli’s passion for philanthropy was born.
Martha and Don’s family is what matters most in the world to them. In fact, it’s how they define themselves. When asked, their answer was quite simple: “There is nothing more important than family.”
