Ohio family’s mission to give back and inspire purposeful travel spreads nationally
Hocking Hills lodging and businesses help the community, while helping guests join in.
Hocking Hills Travel Businesses make donations to the local food pantry, while encouraging travelers to do the same.
Ohio family’s mission to give back and inspire purposeful travel spreads as short-term rentals fuel community service
LOGAN, OH, UNITED STATES, August 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Debbie Todd had no idea her efforts to teach her three kids kindness and community service would blossom into a crusade that’s catching on as far away as Tulsa. During COVID, Todd and husband Jeff bought a woodland cabin an hour from their Columbus home in Ohio’s spectacular Hocking Hills. They wanted to escape the pandemic’s monotony, experience nature and spend quality time together, defraying some costs by renting it to other families to enjoy.
Family discussions about drawing on their passions to support their community turned to using the Woodlands at Hocking Hills lodge, along with their new second rental, Notestone Cabin to give back while inspiring guests to join them. Todd’s 11-year-old daughter even wrote a book that offers a roadmap for kids to start early on a life of purpose.
They now donate 5% of each rental to one of three charities picked by each of their children: Special Olympics, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Humane Society. Guests get to choose which of these causes their stay will support. Todd then launched Hocking Hills Gives Back, which encourages other businesses in one of Ohio’s most popular travel destinations to join them. A host of them are earmarking 5% of sales and bookings to Southeast Ohio Food Bank. Over four years, those annual July donations add up to more than $14,000, providing 25,000 meals to the region’s most needy local families.
Hocking Hills Gives Back also provides complimentary getaways for families in need, such as those at Ronald McDonald House. Local businesses join in, offering meals, souvenirs and family experiences. A Give Back Food Drive invites guests to leave unopened, non-perishable food or toiletries behind after their stay or drop them at the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center, which are delivered to the local food bank. And an online affiliate storefront is about to launch so Hocking Hills businesses, residents and visitors can shop purposefully while supporting families in need.
THE TULSA CONNECTION
The death Tulsa resident Warren Chapin’s beloved wife in 2024, followed just four months later by his brother Alfred’s death sent Chapin spiraling unfathomable into grief. He’d inherit the family home, which after decades of defrayed maintenance and hoarding, seemed more burden than gift. But Chapin leaned into his deep faith, asking, “Lord, what should I do with this?” Having spent the last decade focused on caring for his wife and brother, both of whom struggled with heath issues, he asked, “What is my purpose now?” In addition to a quest for purpose, he wrestled with whether to empty and remodel the home for sale or use it as a long- or short-term rental. Regardless of his choice, its location in Tulsa’s tony Brookside neighborhood along the Arkansas River, would ensure popularity.
While researching short-term rentals, Chapin stumbled on a podcast featuring Debbie Todd talking about Hocking Hills Gives Back. Her massages of using a vacation rental to help the community and those in need, enhance guest experience and promote purposeful travel, resonated loudly with Chapin, who saw it as a clear answer to his prayers. He started crying, knowing he had found his purpose, feeling true happiness for the first time in nine months. The idea of increasing impact by working with others in Tulsa sparked him to work with the local AirBnb liaison to meet with other owners and get them to join the movement. Hosting with Heart.
Just one week ago, Chapin hosted his very first guests at Brookside Fun House earning him five stars and a review that mentions his give-back mission. Like Todd, he donates 5% of every booking. He supports Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank, an agency that supports foster children and Eden Village, which builds small homes for the homeless. And like Todd, he invites guests to donate non-perishables food and supports Ronald McDonald House. His “Making a Difference Wall” gives guests ways they can give back to the community that hosts them, including taking home a Blessing Bag he’s filled with snacks, socks and other items to give to someone who’s homeless in their own community. He offers coloring pages with a space for an encouraging note that he delivers to senior shut-ins. And he has Debbie’s daughter’s book available to read, with a QR code for buying and donating. The ideas, he says, came from Todd.
“I take my cues from Debbie. She’s my hero,” Chapin said. “You don’t loose your two of closest people without needing a purpose. Debbie gave me that purpose. And I know my wife and brother would be proud of how I’m honoring their memory with the home Alfred and I grew up in."
Located one hour southeast of Columbus Hocking Hills’ deep gorges, stunning waterfalls, craggy caves and lush forests invite visitors to experience the joy of discovery and the thrill of adventure as they’re immersed in the awesomeness of the universe and the stillness of a natural destination that’s welcomed travelers to its wonder for eons. Incredibly diverse and affordable lodging lets travelers stay in deluxe woodland cabins and lodges, tiny houses, country inns, treehouses and more. Thousands of acres of hiking trails, parks and forests, the dark skies of John Glenn Astronomy Park, Hocking Hills Canopy Tours, rappelling, guided hikes, kayaking, pontoon and paddle boat rentals, horseback riding, golf and more help visitors experience the region’s extraordinary natural beauty and its warm, friendly people. Unique museums, gift and antique shops, woodland saunas, spas and more add to Hocking Hills allure as the perfect place to unplug. Complete traveler information is available at ExploreHockingHills.com or 1-800-Hocking (800-462-5464).
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Contact Amy Weirick, amy@WeirickCommunications.com or (614) 296-8513.
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