Retired physics professor knows formula for changing lives

Paul Nyhuis is a Salvation Army donor and retired physics professor who knows the formula for changing lives: being generous + showing love.

The 84-year-old from Cottage Grove first learned this important equation from his dad, who served on a Salvation Army advisory board in Wisconsin. Paul went on to work at a Salvation Army summer camp for inner-city kids when he was a teenager.

"I was overwhelmed by our impact on those kids," Paul recalled. "They were very much affected by our kindness. When they had to go home from camp, they cried."

Paul later moved to Minnesota and became a physics professor, teaching at Concordia University in St. Paul for five years and Inver Hills Community College for 30 years.

After retiring in 2000, he has devoted much of his time to prison ministry.

"Some guys in prison never get a visit or a letter from anyone," said Paul, who writes letters to inmates and visits them regularly. "A lot of guys tell me I've had a major impact on their lives."

Paul sometimes crosses paths with Salvation Army chaplains who serve in the same prisons. Other times, he helps formerly incarcerated men who live in local Salvation Army housing facilities. These experiences serve as powerful reminders that his donations to The Salvation Army are being put to good use.

"I learned at a young age how well The Salvation Army uses their funds, and all the different kinds of people they help," Paul said.

Paul has established a gift in his estate plan to include The Salvation Army. To learn more about including The Salvation Army in your will or trust or adding The Salvation Army as a beneficiary to your IRA, please call Tom Cierzan, Senior Director of Gift and Estate Planning at 651-746-3515.