Our Story
Born from personal experience. Built for our community.
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Courage Cottages was created so families traveling for childhood cancer care have a safe, steady place to stay.
From One Diagnosis to a Bigger Calling
In 2023, our daughter Abby was diagnosed with Leukemia. In the weeks that followed, our family entered a world that most people only glimpse from the outside — a world of treatment schedules and waiting rooms, of trying to be fully present for your child while keeping the rest of life from falling apart.​ We were lucky to live in Lubbock close to the hospital, surrounded by our support system and to be able to sleep in our own beds.
Sitting in the oncology clinic, we saw the reality for families traveling from afar. We met parents who drove in the night before just to arrive by 7 am, and others living out of suitcases in hotel rooms without a kitchen or a moment of quiet. We witnessed the strain of families split between two cities, trying to hold onto jobs while fighting for their child's life. We realized that while courage is showing up despite the fear, these families deserved a soft place to land.
Lubbock is home to two world-class pediatric oncology centers and an incredibly generous community, yet it lacked a dedicated, private space for these families to stay. We couldn't find a reason why, so we decided to change that. Courage Cottages was born from the belief that no one should navigate the hardest thing imaginable without the comforts of home.
Our mission is fueled by the kindness of neighbors and volunteers who show up for people they have never met. Even as we lay the groundwork and build this vision from the soil up, we carry the hope that soon these walls will provide a warm embrace. Each step we take together brings us closer to ensuring that no family has to walk this road alone.
The bell rang. And then we got to work.
Abby and Madison · 2023
Kayla and Abby · looking back before moving forward
Board & Founders
Our board combines lived experience, professional expertise, and deep love for West Texas. Every person serving here has a personal thread to pediatric cancer — as a survivor, a caregiver, a clinician, or a friend who showed up when it mattered most.​ That is not a coincidence. It is the foundation.​ Every decision this board makes is guided by one question:What best serves the families who stay at Courage Cottages?
MaCenzie and Abby · Sunshine Kids Foundation event · 2024
Elizabeth Martin —Co-Founder & President
​Elizabeth and her husband Timothy founded Courage Cottages after their daughter Abby's leukemia diagnosis in 2023. Sitting in the oncology clinic day after day, watching other families navigate treatment from hours away with nowhere to truly rest, she couldn't find a good reason why Lubbock didn't have a dedicated home for them — so she decided to build one.
Amber Doney – Secretary
Amber's daughter Madison and Abby have been best friends since fifth grade — the same year Abby was diagnosed. She watched that friendship deepen through something no child should have to face, and she joined the Courage Cottages board because seeing Abby's family turn their hardest year into something beautiful for other families is, in her words, an honor she didn't want to miss.
MaCenzie Poehls – Director
MaCenzie is the social worker for the pediatric oncology clinic at Covenant Children's Hospital. She serves on the Courage Cottages board because she is the person families call when they don't know where to turn — and she wants to be able to hand them an answer.
Timothy Martin – Co‑founder & Vice President
Timothy co-founded Courage Cottages alongside Elizabeth after Abby's diagnosis brought their family into the world of pediatric oncology. Growing up, he walked alongside his childhood friend Kayla through her own cancer journey — and that experience shaped a lifelong conviction that no one should face this road without community beside them.
Teri Jo Gilmore – Director
​Teri Jo knows this journey from the inside. Her son Preston was diagnosed with leukemia in 2017, and while their family was fortunate to live in Lubbock, she never forgot what it felt like to carry the weight of treatment schedules, uncertainty, and financial strain. She serves on this board because she believes every family deserves the chance to focus on their child — not on where they're going to sleep.
Kayla is a pediatric cancer survivor who grew up alongside Timothy Martin, and who walked into Abby's life during her treatment with the quiet authority of someone who already knew the road. She serves on this board because she knows firsthand that survival is not just medical — it is the people who show up. ​ Wes works at Covenant Children's Hospital, where he previously oversaw the pharmacy that prepared chemotherapy for pediatric oncology patients, including Abby. Together, they bring both the lived experience of a patient and the clinical perspective of a caregiver to the Courage Cottages board.
Wes & Kayla Wells — Directors
Amber is a Nurse Practitioner who provided direct care to Abby throughout her treatment at Covenant Children's Hospital — and continues to care for pediatric oncology patients there today. She serves on this board because she sees every day what these families carry, and she believes the right housing can change the entire emotional landscape of a treatment journey.
Amber Hays – Treasurer
Bryan Hays – Director
Bryan has worked alongside Timothy for years, and he and Amber have been lifelong friends of the Martin family. He joined the board to put his energy behind a mission he has watched take shape up close — and to make sure the people he loves most have the support they need to build something lasting.