My wife Kathleen and I put the Wesley Woods Foundation in our wills. WHY??
Gratitude
We spent 28 years of our lives as part of Wesley Woods. My late mother was an early volunteer and continued as one throughout her adult life. She lived there for four years and read humorous books to visually impaired residents until two weeks before her death from cancer. Wesley Woods served our entire family at one time or another. So, the first reason we have left the Foundation in our will is GRATITUDE! Both for providing me with a great career opportunity and for serving friends and family.
Inspiration
I have visited hundreds of senior communities like Wesley Woods in my work in Washington, DC. In every visit, I met staff, residents, board members, and volunteers that exuded commitment, compassion, and an entrepreneurial spirit that I found so inspiring every time I visited a Wesley Woods community. So, another reason for our investment is INSPIRATION. We feel called to give to causes that set standards and stand the test of time, and that does the right things for people for the right reasons.
Charity
My personal experience at Wesley Woods and my perspective gleaned from the national public policy level in DC, the need for innovative services for seniors, the need for subsidy to meet basic needs for housing, nutrition, pastoral care, and quality of life activities – especially for older women- is growing with the demographics. The need grows as government programs shrink. The difference creates a greater demand for CHARITY- in the noblest sense of that term. So, we give because we are expected to be charitable, and organizations like Wesley Woods will need all the charity it can get because it will be called upon to dispense all that it can muster.
Yes, through WILLS- yours and ours- there will always be a way.