Over the past 26 years, I've devoted my life to helping hundreds of families buy and sell Real Estate in Silicon Valley, in one way or another. I climbed the corporate ladder, was a VP of a multi-million dollar Silicon Valley Title Company and was on life's fast track.

In 2014, things started to change. I felt as if something were missing in my life. My inner voice began urging me to make a change and leave all that I knew behind. As time went on, the voice grew louder... and then louder. Finally I knew I had to listen. The voice was telling me to find my passion and new life.

After some soul searching, I sold my Real Estate (in the Bay Area) and left the corporate world in search of my "WHY".

I decided to spend some time in Lake Tahoe, CA, where I'd gone every year since I'd been born. It's a very special place to me and my family and I thought it would be the perfect location to start my journey.

Within months of making that HUGE life change, I was diagnosed with a "rare" eye melanoma cancer, called Choroidal Melanoma. The potentially "fatal" diagnosis quickly put my life into perspective.

Read my book Holy Moley. It's my step by step journey, through a "rare" (potentially fatal) eye cancer diagnosis and what I did to SAVE MY LIFE.

Because of this unexpected journey, it made me realize what I was missing in my life. I wanted to find projects that filled my heart, create love and magic through giving, raise awareness , live my passion, bring like minded people together and do my part to make a difference in the world.

This is my "WHY"... and this was the inspiration for CUGIVE.

A SIGN

After a three year battle with eye melanoma, I finally heard the news I'd desperately needed. The three-year mark was here and I'd shown no evidence of metastasis to my liver. Thank you, GOD. In what seemed like forever, I finally felt like myself again. The fire was back, my engine was burning and I had dreams of the future once again.

While sitting on the dock at the cabin, on March 29, 2019, I asked GOD to help light my way. I was ready to restart my journey to find my passion and what I was meant to do. Within hours, my prayers got answered... little did I know it at the time.

I'd received a message from my sweet friend, Jen, who had been a recent silver lining in my life. She shared a documentary on Netflix called "The Kindness Diaries." Knowing her, I quickly watched them, gobbling up every episode in the following days. I was inspired! It was EXACTLY... and I mean EXACTLY what I needed to "see and hear" at that moment.

My passion, inspiration and desire were firing on all cylinders. All I could think about was an idea I'd had "BEFORE" my eye melanoma diagnosis in 2016. I wanted to start a non-profit and call it CUGIVE, pronounced SEE YOU GIVE.

I remember thinking what a coincidence the name CUGIVE had with my eye cancer diagnosis. My vision (SEEING) had completely change for the rest of my life and so had my life's direction. I remember reflecting in that moment just how important "SEEING" was now. I felt as if the "air of fate" was pushing me towards something.

Then on March 31, the day after I'd finished the Netflix series, I met the most AMAZING family. It was one of those (what Mom and I like to call) "NANU, NANU" moments in life. It was a sign!

At the time, I was working for a private driving company and from the moment I picked up "this" family, I knew "this" car ride would be different.

As the family entered the car, I quickly noticed there was something special about them. The wife was interested in who I was and wanted to know my life story. A bit caught off guard, I asked, "Do you want the short version or the long version?" The wife quickly laughed and with her eye's wide open.. she responded, "The LONG VERSION!" I was surprised and chuckled at her level of interest.

Nevertheless, I shared... my WHOLE life story, being born and raised in the Bay Area, having horses at Garrod Farms (Saratoga, CA), my Real Estate career, selling my home, leaving for Tahoe to find my passion, my eye cancer journey and then my idea to start the CUGIVE Foundation. I remember the wife saying, "I get it, Teri." She looked at me through the rearview mirror of my car, with a big smile. It meant the world to me to have that validation from her.

After dropping them off at the airport, they thanked me for sharing my story. We all then hugged as if we'd known each other for years. It was one of those amazing "special" moments.

The husband then reached over and hugged me once again. He slipped something else into my hand. But what could it be? He'd already given me a generous tip for the drive, so I couldn't imagine what it was. When I looked down, I saw that it was a $100 bill. The husband then responded, "My wife and I want to give you $100 for your first CUGIVE project." I couldn't believe it! Tears began pouring down my face.

I was in a state of shock. This was TOTALLY unexpected. Luckily, I managed to get out the words, "Thank you, thank you, thank you... You have no idea how much this means to me, especially today. "

They had no idea about the documentary I'd just watched and what an impact their loving gift had made on me that day. We all hugged again... and then they were off on their plane. There was a special magic in the air that day and I felt it... I think we all felt it.

As I left the airport, I looked up to GOD in amazement and thanked him for this magical moment. More tears came rolling down my face. This experience meant so much to me, especially after just seeing the powerful Netflix documentary. The significance of getting that first donation was symbolic, as it was in THE KINDNESS DIARIES. It was the start... It was a sign... and I knew it. It was the beginning of CUGIVE!

Four days later, on my 50th birthday (April 4, 2019), I started the CUGIVE Foundation. Then, as if the story couldn't get any better, the CUGIVE Foundation got its special non-profit 501c.3 filing on February 14, 2020. Could it really have happened on Valentine's Day? It sure did! We were official.

HOW WE GOT STARTED

A SIGN