At first glance, Marnix Heersink, a cataract surgeon and ophthalmologist in Dothan, Alabama, might not seem like your typical Scouting America donor.
Yes, Heersink was enrolled in Scouting as a child growing up in Canada. He says the experience played a large part in his development from a kid who didn’t really know who he needed to be into a young adult who would gradate magna cum laude from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, intern at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada, and complete his residency in ophthalmology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.
And yes, some of his six children were involved in Scouts in Alabama in the 1980s and ’90s. Though he never officially signed up as a leader, his wife, Mary, did, and the Heersinks feel that the experience was overwhelmingly positive for their family.
But neither of those is the main reason why Heersink, 76, chooses to give to Scouting.
Heersink gives to Scouting primarily because of the here and now. He believes that today’s youth would benefit tremendously from having a community, outdoor skills and time away from digital devices — all things Scouting can provide.
“The things that Scouts can do to form somebody as a person I think is really important,” Heersink says. “We’re seeing way too many kids spending too much time in front of a screen and not enough time interacting with each other. I think some screen time is fine. But we’re seeing what happens when kids are in front of screens so much and they’re interacting with digital devices rather than personally communicating with other people.”
A Scout as a youth
Heersink immigrated with this family from the Netherlands to Canada when he was 3 years old. His parents enrolled him and a couple of his brothers in the local Scouting program.
“I did enough that it was a great experience for me,” he says. “A lot of kids growing up are trying to figure out who they are, and that included me. Scouts really let me know who I needed to be.
“It was a very important part of my life.”
After finishing his education in Canada and his eye surgery residency in Philadelphia, Heersink learned another important thing about himself.
“I did not particularly like the snow,” he says.
After considering different regions and communities in the United States, the Heersinks settled on Dothan. He opened his private practice there in 1980 and has been a vital part of the community ever since.
The Heersinks have six children, all of whom were born and raised in Dothan.
“After going through all my education, starting a medical practice and having a family,” Heersink says, “all those things allowed me to get to the stage where I thought, ‘What are my priorities? What do I want to do? How do I want to spend my time?’”
He found the answer in Scouting.
He began volunteering for the Alabama Florida Council and has only slowed down a little over the last 45 years. He’s currently a member of the council’s board.
“The council has a critical role in providing the leadership and example for the community, including the parents and the kids,” Heersink says. “I don’t think we should be a passive organization. We have to be active in getting Scouting America out there in the community.”
A Scouting donor as an adult
The Heersinks have long showed a willingness to financially support causes that they believe in.
At McMaster University in Ontario, there’s the Marnix E. Heersink School of Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship, named for the Heersinks in recognition of a gift in February 2022.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, there’s the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, named for Dr. Heersink in honor of his gift.
Within the Heersink School of Medicine is the Mary Heersink Institute for Global Health, created thanks to Mary’s dedication to food safety. Mary’s 1996 book, E. Coli 0157: The True Story of a Mother’s Battle with a Killer Microbe, is the story of her son Damion’s six and-a-half-week near-death experience with a life-threatening bacterium he ingested by eating contaminated hamburger meat.
Mary founded the organization now known as Stop Foodborne Illness and served on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Most recently, the Heersinks have made a transformative gift to the Alabama Florida Council. In recognition, the council’s signature property, Camp Alaflo, will be renamed Heersink Scout Reservation.
The gift will be used to improve facilities, expand outreach efforts and create new programs to reach underserved communities. It will also help fund scholarships to serve economically disadvantaged families across the council’s service area.
“I’m lucky,” Heersink says. “I’ve been blessed. A lot of people have the question, ‘Now what inspires you?’
“I say, you can spend time and money on things involving yourself, but I’m at a stage in my life where I want to try to make a difference for others, including our youth.”
“Kids need to be interacting in person”
The bottom line, he says, is that today’s youth need Scouting because of the way our society has changed.
Technology is a vital part of all our lives, kids included. There’s no going back on that. But with increased use of technology comes increased risks.
Myopia — when close-up objects look clear but distant objects are blurry — is on the rise, partially because of all those screens. Kids are more likely to interact with other people via technology than in face-to-face conversations, meaning they’re missing out on the people skills you only get from talking to someone in person.
Heersink sees Scouting as a cure for both. After all, what can be healthier than being outdoors with your friends?
“The funding that I’m doing is going to be committed to making sure that families and their children have the opportunity to be outdoors and interact with each other,” he says. “I know lots of families don’t have that opportunity.
“I strongly think kids need to be interacting in person with other kids so they don’t feel isolated. If we can do that, we’re going to make better citizens. After all, these are the people that are going to be running the country.”
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