Seeds for the Future

January 2024

Lothaire and Chyleen Bluth met at BYU and soon tied the knot. After graduating, they moved to Los Angeles and then to Mesa, Arizona, where Lothaire managed a local bank branch, and the family began laying down roots. However, they did not realize that seeds were being planted for them in another state.

Lothaire received a call from someone he knew who worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They asked him to move to Provo, Utah, and be part of the Church’s Development Office, an early name for what is now Philanthropies. Lothaire accepted, and the Bluths moved their growing family to Utah.

“I cannot tell you how our lives have been blessed since that call from the Church came inviting us to come to Utah and be part of the Development Office,” says Chyleen.

Aloha Philanthropy

After several years, Lothaire was asked to help establish fundraising at BYU–Hawaii. He had never traveled to Hawaii and was unsure of how to build an entire fundraising network from the ground up. But from the moment he landed in Oahu and met the people he was to train, his fear turned to hope. Lothaire was instantly drawn to the aloha spirit, and his love for Hawaii began.

“How do you define true happiness? The feeling of family? Of being embraced by others? It’s aloha,” says Lothaire. “BYU–Hawaii has the genuine aloha spirit. You cannot be among the people there and not love them and not want to help them.”

Cultivating a Giving Spirit

Though he worked in philanthropy, Lothaire was always looking for ways to give back. An opportunity arose when his mother wished to give money to different charitable causes and asked where Lothaire and his brother thought they should donate as a family.

Lothaire remembered the people who had helped him growing up—particularly the Church members who contributed to his mission fund so that he could afford to serve. He recounts, “We all agreed that if we had the resources, we should be willing to pay it forward to those who have not had the same kind of blessings that we had so that they too could progress in life.”

Now in the position of the giver, Lothaire knew exactly where he would contribute. “I was still in love with Hawaii, and I told them how much good it would do at BYU–Hawaii,” he explains. “A handful of international students who could not afford their tuition would be able to attend school and reach their potential.” His mother and brother enthusiastically agreed.

Reaping the Fruits

In 1996, they established the E. D. and Viva S. Bluth Brown Endowed Scholarship Fund, which has since provided countless students with much-needed financial aid to attend BYU–Hawaii. Lothaire attributes the success of the fund to the giving spirit his mother instilled in him and in his brother. Even now, Lothaire and his brother feel it has been the best financial decision they have made.

“Supporting education is one of the best ways I know to help people who desire to better themselves,” says Lothaire. “If you have the resources, give to education so that others have opportunities for success.”