This article originally appeared in Modern Day Utah Pioneers, a publication sponsored by Clarke Capital.
In the spring of 1999, just six months after his wedding, Derek Maxfield received a life-altering diagnosis: leukemia. His healing journey led him from Idaho to the University of Utah Hospital for a grueling four-month stay. His young bride, Shelaine, continued working in Idaho, showcasing unwavering support during this difficult time so they could keep their health insurance.
At the hospital, Derek met a fellow patient, Greg, with the same type of cancer. They formed a bond quickly, but as Derek showed signs of recovery, Greg’s health rapidly declined. The last time the two met, Derek asked Greg to keep fighting. Greg said, “It’s OK, Derek. I’m not going to make it, but you are. Live for us both and do something great with your life.” Greg passed away soon after.
At that time, the thought of doing something great with his life seemed overwhelming for Derek. However, a few years later, he suffered an injury and was rushed to the same hospital where he’d received cancer treatment.
“For a reason only known to God, they put me in room 522, which was Greg’s room,” Derek recalls. “As I was coming out of the anesthesia, I wasn’t conscious enough to know why I was there, but I knew I was back in the same room. A clear message came to me: ‘Exactly, Derek. You are right back in the same place, and you are using the same excuses.’ That moment changed my life forever. I was driven to no longer use excuses and no longer think that I needed to do something great so far in the future. The time was now!”
In 2004, Derek started a business that he later sold in 2010. After a successful exit, Derek started thinking about what he wanted to do with his life. Right around that time, Shelaine shared with him the story of someone they knew who was sexually abused as a child.
“It always troubled me that a woman would take guilt on herself for what someone else had done,” Derek says. “I told Shelaine, ‘Someone should do something about it.’ I was immediately given the impression that that someone was me, and that something was to start another company that could be successful enough to fund a cause to help survivors of child sexual abuse find hope and healing.”
A detailed image came into Derek’s mind — a retreat nestled in the mountains and a place for women to begin their healing journey. “That clarity could only come from God because it came in an instant,” he says. He immediately got to work on the plans.
“I don’t think that we could have ever imagined what needed to be done — we just focused on what we could do,” Shelaine says of the retreat. “It has become more than we ever imagined. We are trying to reach all survivors through a message of hope, a message that this is not your fault, so they can have a chance to reclaim the hope that was lost and perhaps taken from them. … We’ve hosted approximately 6,000 women at our retreat. I see faces every time I hear that number because it’s not just a number for me — it’s people!”
Derek believes that when you give people hope, they can then become the stewards of their own healing.
“That’s the goal of the retreat; we simply open the door to help them see that there is hope,” he continues. “I feel that the things that have happened with Saprea throughout the last 10 years have been the fulfillment of my promise to Greg. I could die now and see him and feel that I kept that promise.”
The Maxfields continue to change the world well beyond their deep commitment to Saprea. Shelaine explains that, because they have been blessed so abundantly. it “just makes sense” to give to others to help them rise out of their circumstances.
“We feel called to do it, and we see it as an honor and a sacred stewardship to support the lives of many others and be a conduit for the goodness of God to his children,” she continues. “He wants to bless his kids. It’s such a privilege to be the means by which he does that sometimes.”
The Maxfield family understands the importance of addressing the underlying causes behind challenges and needs in the world. They recognize that money can fix certain problems but isn’t always the solution. Shelaine’s compassionate upbringing, influenced by her parents’ models of kindness, taught her the importance of helping others.
“I had great examples in my parents of being loving, accepting and giving,” she says. “My dad would meet people in the grocery store and bring them home when he found out they needed a place to sleep for a night as they traveled through my hometown. He taught, through his quiet and steady example, how to give from what you have and that giving doesn’t have to be big or grand. I came to understand that true generosity comes from the heart, not the wallet.”
Initially, through The Derek and Shelaine Maxfield Family Foundation, they would give broadly — but soon recognized they needed to focus their generosity on specific areas to make a bigger impact. After the family made it a matter of prayer, the Maxfields decided on four places where they could make the most difference: Africa, Brazil, India and Malaysia.
“The stewardship process is really important to us, and involving our young kids is one of our biggest priorities because of the responsibility they have to be good stewards themselves,” Shelaine says.
Each quarter, the family holds a meeting where they invite organizations to give a 10-minute presentation about their mission and impact. Afterward, the kids receive a budget and decide how much money will go to each organization. After several months, the children ask for a stewardship report to see how the organization used the money. They then decide if they want to give that organization more money or focus on a different area.
The Maxfields’ commitment to other areas of the world hasn’t diminished their desire to help locally. In addition to their continued support of Saprea, Derek and Shelaine fund scholarship programs for single moms, feed and clothe the homeless, and help individuals transition out of incarceration. Each of these endeavors exemplifies their mission to make a positive impact in Utah.
“I really believe that everyone has something to give,” Shelaine says, reflecting on the seriousness they feel in their stewardship. “It’s going to look different for each of us, and that’s OK. We get this lifetime to create something, and Derek and I want our ‘something’ to be beautiful and meaningful. If we are going to be remembered for anything at all, I want it to be for the positive impact we had on as many people around the world as possible.”
From the first time I met them, I have known this about the Maxfields: They are genuine, responsible and deeply committed to their family and community. From humble beginnings to leaders in the business world, they have shown that hard work and determination can bring everyone to a place of peace and fulfillment while lifting others in the process. As Shelaine always says, “Money doesn’t change people; it reveals them. It gives them the opportunity to show who they really are.” A simple truth to live by!