Donor Spotlight: Marge Binks

The mention of Marge Binks brings a smile to the faces of many at Heartland House. A friend of the House for several years, Marge joined its Board of Directors in 2014, and she currently serves as an advisory member. But around the House, Marge is known less as a director and more as an angel to the staff and clients.

To describe Marge simply, she is a giver and a doer. On countless occasions when a need arises at the House, Marge finds a way to fill it.

When the mattresses throughout the facility needed replacement five years ago, Marge made new ones appear. The same goes true for air conditioners, patio furnishings, linens, interior furniture for an expansion project, logo shirts for the residents to wear to the annual banquet, and the list goes on an on.

Marge has personally paid for a number of donated items, but as she says, she has a lot of generous friends and she is never shy about asking them to help one of her favorite beneficiaries. When Heartland House holds its annual banquet, the silent auction is peppered with artwork, VIP passes to events, vacations and other high-draw items that Marge has received from her friends and admirers.

A number of Marge’s contacts are from her days in auto racing. Marge’s humility does not permit her to tell of her background as one of the most impactful women in that sport’s history. A fan of the auto racing since 1959, Marge quickly became involved in it and in 1994 became the first woman to be elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Sports Car Club of America, which sanctions over 2000 amateur and professional motorsports events annually. She has served multiple times as Race Chair for the Long Beach Grand Prix, a mega-event in IndyCar racing. Marge’s husband, Phil and their children have all raced or led race crews.

Today, Marge leverages her network of contacts in and outside of racing to support her favorite causes, and Heartland House is blessed to be the recipient of her boundless energy and generosity. She has provided tens of thousand of dollars in assistance to the House and continues to do so to this day.

An LA Times feature on Marge sums up Marge best: Binks Is Little Known; Her Clout Isn’t