It’s nice to think that philanthropic karma brought Joe and Cary Hanosek together. The couple met at Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s “Single’s Night” in 2001—and became the first couple to marry and have children as a result of the volunteer experience. Even before then, both were blessed with positive role models in their parents, and each has made giving back a part of their lives.
“My father’s motto is, ‘every minute of the day should be spent improving your mind, body, or your community,’” Cary said. In 2007, the couple established the Hanosek Family Fund to support a number of organizations and institutions important to them.
“The concept of a Donor Advised Fund really makes sense to us, in terms of having a charitable tool to be able to fund future gifts, and have the money that we deposit grow with the market,” said Cary.
No stranger to the market, Cary is a financial advisor and cofounder of The Simonton-Hanosek-Mangum Wealth Management Team of Merrill Lynch, and Joe is a senior investment professional at Nationwide. During his free time, Joe, a professional magician, enjoys entertaining crowds and often gets a hand from the couple’s daughters, Meredith, 10, and Madison, 7.
While the Upper Arlington family has provided support to numerous central Ohio nonprofits over the years, today their passion lies in supporting organizations that help provide resources and research for epilepsy, a condition Madison was diagnosed with in 2010.
“Madison’s health is day-by-day. It’s a severe and rare form of epilepsy she has,” Joe said. While the family makes frequent trips to see a specialist and receive treatment at the Cleveland Clinic, the girls are also busy with church activities, dance, soccer, and Girl Scouts.
After Madison asked “why can’t I wear a shirt?” during her frequent infusions, Cary and Joe worked with a local design firm to create a kid’s shirt with zipper access for PIC (peripherally inserted catheter) lines, ports, insulin pumps, and more. The patent-pending adaptive clothing for kids is in beta testing at the Cleveland Clinic, and the couple hopes a successful rollout will create a revenue stream to fund epilepsy research.