KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Highlighting the 2023 Hereford Season of Giving, a special $125,000 gift from Robert “Bob” D. Call’s Trust was received that will impact the Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) for years to come. Bob Call served as HYFA’s first president, and in 2002, led the charge to lay the groundwork for the foundation’s current scholarship and leadership programs. Bob and his wife, Dolores Call, Cushing, Okla., owned and operated CBY Polled Herefords and loved nothing more than supporting Hereford youth and watching them succeed.

In 2005, thanks to the generosity of the late Bob and Dolores Call, a scholarship in their name was endowed in HYFA. Since then, the CBY scholarship has been helping Hereford youth fund their college educations each fall and the Call fund has awarded close to $90,000 to well deserving National Junior Hereford Association members. 

“HYFA has many fond memories of Bob and Dolores Call and this gift means so much to the future as we work together to carry on and honor the legacies that have built us. Bob taught me a lot about accounting and fundraising, and I still find myself going back to the Bob Call files as there is so much wisdom that he shared in his famous spreadsheets and fundraising plans,” said Amy Cowan, Director of Youth Activities and Foundation for the American Hereford Association (AHA).

Bob and Dolores were both active in the AHA and Bob served many years as the manager of the Oklahoma Hereford Association. He was inducted into the AHA Hall of Merit in 2010. In addition to leading the foundation, Bob chaired the host committee in Oklahoma when the first Junior National Hereford Expo (JNHE) was held 25 years ago. 

“As we celebrate 25 years of the JNHE this summer, we will celebrate Bob and Dolores Call and all they meant to the beginning of HYFA and all that they mean to the generations to come.” Cowan added. “The foundation owes a great deal of thanks to our founding members as HYFA would not be where it is today without their foresight and passion for the next generation.”

The second ever Hereford Season of Giving was held Dec. 4-8. This week-long event allows generous donors to provide various challenge donations, and each gift, no matter the amount, goes towards unlocking these challenge values throughout the week. During this second year of the campaign, $284,000 was raised from generous donors, and the Bob D.Call Trust was the largest gift to be received during this time. 

The Season of Giving Campaign will have a lasting impact on leadership and educational programs like Faces of Leadership, the JNHE and the NJHA’s Fed Steer Shootout program.. Breed research efforts and scholarship funds will also benefit from the Season of Giving and  donations will go directly to work building all of HYFA’s pillars in the new year.

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The Hereford Youth Foundation of America (HYFA) was established in 1986 and is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated exclusively to scholarship and educational support of youth in the business of raising Hereford cattle. The mission of the Hereford Youth Foundation of America is to encourage, recognize and reward the development of life skills and values in the next generation of leaders by providing education, scholarship and leadership opportunities for Hereford Youth.