Making a Major Impact on Healthcare
Bob and Jan Samuelson, retired, are actively involved in the community and enjoy all the benefits of life after work-travel, grandchildren and freedom from the routine. What appears a run-of-the-mill retirement is anything but.
Jan and Bob are making a major impact on healthcare in central Iowa. Both as volunteers and as charter members of the Greeley Society. The Samuelsons are regular volunteers at Mary Greeley Medical Center on the oncology floor, at the main information desk and in the gift shop. Bob even represents the volunteers on the Medical Center's Customer Service initiative.
"I look at it as sharing the many blessings Jan and I have received over the years," Bob says. "We feel fortunate for all we have experienced and this is our way of giving back."
In sharing, the Samuelsons are following in the footsteps of Wallace Greeley the man responsible for establishing what is now Mary Greeley Medical Center, and the namesake of the new planned giving membership-the Greeley Society.
"It affords me great pleasure, more than words can express, that I can contribute something towards the welfare of not only those now in need, but also for those who will be here long after we have passed away," Wallace said on a fall day in 1916 as ground was broken on the hospital named in his wife's honor. In honor of Wallace's foresight and commitment to giving back to the community, the Greeley Society was founded.
Your Support Can Last Forever With an Endowment
Think about the satisfaction you feel when you support a cause you care about, knowing others will benefit because of your generosity.
Now think about how you would feel if you could help that cause forever. With an endowment, you can.
Give a Forever Gift
Creating an endowed gift will ensure that your good intentions are everlasting. An endowed gift is a donation that is maintained by a charitable organization indefinitely. The principal amount will always remain intact because only a portion of the fund is used each year by the charity for the purposes you specify. The other portion remains untouched to help the endowment grow and hopefully keep pace with inflation. In this way, you know that decades from now your endowment will provide benefits similar to those it provided when you created it.
Endowments may be established by a single donation or by gifts over a period of years. You may restrict the use of the funds to purposes that reflect your values. In addition, you have the privilege of naming the endowment to honor a family member, a friend or yourself. By making an endowed gift, you also may encourage others to step forward and support our mission.
In 2003, the J. Ben Buck family established the J. Ben Buck Scholarship in honor of a milestone birthday. "We believe it is important to encourage and support students who want to pursue health-related careers" states Sarah Buck, Ben's wife.
They established the J. Ben Buck Scholarship endowment while they are still able to meet the recipients and follow their academic and professional progress. A portion of their annual pledge payment helps grow the endowment, and the remainder is awarded to the recipients. When the endowment is large enough, the scholarship awards will be made from the endowed fund. The Buck family's annual gifts will be supplemented by a provision in their estate.
Sarah and Ben are grateful to family members and friends who have joined them in contributing to the J. Ben Buck Scholarship endowment.
