Caleb's Legacy of Love is a registered IRS 501(c)(3) non-profit created in memory of our son, Caleb Rickenbacher, to help those in need.

What We Do

Because our goal is to carry on Caleb's legacy of giving and helping all those in need, we have established the Caleb Rickenbacher Memorial Scholarship to the School of Christian Thought at Houston Christian University. We are pleased to announce Tresten McArthur as the first recipient of this scholarship. We are excited to see what God has in store for Tresten and future scholarship recipients going forward. In addition, we have given bags of toys and gift cards to families who needed a little extra at Christmas. It was always Caleb's heart that no child should be without presents on Christmas morning. We have also provided food and necessities for the homeless, especially those with pets because Caleb thought it was sad that the homeless would have to leave their pets behind if they wanted help at homeless shelters. At the start of this school year, we have helped families with their back-to-school clothing and supply needs.Going forward, we have a long term goal to create a homeless shelter for those with pets. We want to establish a place where the homeless can stay with their pets while getting the help they need. Our goal is to help the homeless and those in need to make positive life changes.There is more to come; so stay tuned!!

Why a Butterfly as our Logo?

Caleb had a butterfly tattoo on his chest because he had pectus excavatum (an indentation in his chest), and he wanted people to notice the butterfly instead of the pectus excavatum. He chose a butterfly because he said that a butterfly starts out as a caterpillar that doesn’t do much but eat and devour plants. However, through a metamorphosis and a struggle to get out of its cocoon, it transfers into a beautiful butterfly. Likewise, we hope through Caleb’s Legacy of Love, we can help to transform the most tragic and horrific event that no parent should ever have to experience into a beautiful legacy of replacing pain with hope and encouragement as Caleb did.

Events

We are currently participating in the Texas Children's Houston Open Birdies for Charity Campaign. The Astros Golf Foundation invited us to participate and they are covering all the administrative expenses, so 100% of your designated donation goes to Caleb's Legacy of Love, including credit card fees! For a minimum donation of $20 you can enter the Guess the Birdies Contest with the chance to win a suite at a future Astros game. If you would like to donate more, you can join the Legends Club with different benefits depending upon your level of participation, including tickets to the Texas Children's Houston Open.If you would like to donate, please go to our Contact Us/Donate page for more information or click on the link below to go to the Caleb's Legacy of Love page on the Birdies for Charity website.

Past Events

We would like to convey a sincere heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in our first annual Caleb’s Legacy of Love Golf Scramble Tournament! You, our wonderful Sponsors, Golfers, Auction Donors, Bidders, and Volunteers were all a part of making this event such a success.As a result of your generosity, we will award two new scholarship recipients of the Caleb Rickenbacher Memorial Scholarship to the School of Christian Thought at Houston Christian University. These two students will join Tresten McArthur, who was announce earlier this year as the first recipient of this scholarship. We are excited to see what God has in store for these three students in the coming years.Your generosity will also support Operation Caleb’s Christmas, which consists of four parts: (1) supporting Houston’s First Baptist Church’s The Christmas Store; (2) working with a local store to identify needy families in the Houston area and paying off their Christmas layaways; (3) providing Christmas gifts to children in CPS custody; and (4) cooking for and feeding the homeless and their pets on Christmas Day. All of which were important to Caleb.We want to thank each of you for getting to know our son a bit more through this event and keeping Caleb’s Legacy alive. He was an extraordinary son and he would be thrilled that so many people came out to support the causes that were always so dear to him. Knowing that Caleb now lives on in each of you through getting to know him and his heart is priceless to us! We love and miss our Sonshine more than words can ever convey!

About Caleb

Caleb went to be with the Lord on November 19, 2022, at the age of 20, a life cut too short. Caleb was murdered by a man who ran from a police stop because he stole a vehicle, among other things. He was driving at a high rate of speed on the wrong side of a divided road. When Caleb saw him coming at him and knew he couldn't avoid a crash, he swerved his car saving his girlfriend's life. Caleb died a hero, but the devastation we have felt since is indescribable.Caleb was born on March 1, 2002 in Houston, TX. He moved with his parents to Bartlesville, OK and then to Doha, Qatar, where he lived his childhood years, before returning to Houston when he was eleven. Caleb loved to travel and visited several countries and several States during his 20 years. He and his mom made it a goal to visit all the Disney Worlds, which they accomplished as a family, and Caleb and his dad made a Father-Son ski trip every year. Throughout his life Caleb was active in church and volunteered for many mission trips. He and his dad were remodeling a condo at the time of his death and he was pursuing a business / criminal justice dual degree, with plans for a career in criminal justice. He enjoyed cooking, was an excellent chef, and loved passing out food to the homeless and those in need. He also volunteered with the suicide prevention hotline. Caleb’s favorite saying, which he had tattooed on his arm, was, “It’s Only a Bad Day, Not a Bad Life.”Finally, we take comfort in knowing Caleb is in Heaven. Caleb accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and sought forgiveness of his sins, which God freely gives when asked. This gives us the assurance that he is with Jesus today in Heaven. If you would like to know more about how you can have this assurance when you die, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Contact Us

Melissa and Gary Rickenbacher proudly honor Caleb as the caretakers of Caleb's Legacy of Love. You can reach us at the email address shown below or clicking on the email icon. You can also follow us on Facebook by clicking on the Facebook icon below.

Donate

If you are interested in donating to Caleb's Legacy of Love, our preferred method right now is through the Texas Children's Houston Open Birdies for Charity Campaign. By donating in this way, 100% of all designated donations will go directly to us including credit cards fees, as the Astros Golf Foundation is covering all administrative expenses. Please see below for more information on the Guess the Birdies Contest and the Legend Club Levels.To donate, please click on the link below to go to the Caleb's Legacy of Love page on the Birdies for Charity website. You can also make out a check to Astros Golf Foundation with Caleb's Legacy of Love on the memo line and send to Caleb's Legacy of Love at 15802 Rosethorn Ct, Cypress, TX 77429 or directly to the Astros Golf Foundation at the address shown on their website.All donations are tax deductible as Caleb's Legacy of Love is an approved IRS 501(c)(3) organization and 100% of your donation goes to the causes that were important to Caleb, as we do not use any of the funds for any salaries or administration expenses.

[email protected]IRS EIN 93-3965665