The Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation has set a fund-raising goal of $175,000 for 2010 — the largest annual goal set by the organization since its inception.
“With a $175,000 fund-raising goal, we will have our work cut out for us in 2010,” said Jay Gentry, Healthcare Foundation director.
The foundation raised $120,000 in 2009 in cash and in-kind gifts. The largest single fund-raiser for the organization was the Third Annual Chili Cook Off, which raised $55,000 to benefit TCMH Hospice of Care.
“In the last four years we have grown the foundation by raising over $340,000,” Gentry said. “In reaching our 2010 goal, we will eclipse a half million dollars in five years of operation.”
Gentry noted that the funds raised by the foundation are “utilized locally to directly impact the quality of life for area residents.”
In January of this year, TCMH received a $10,000 donation from the Bess Spiva Timmons Foundation to set up an endowed scholarship through the foundation.
“We have not worked out all of the details for the endowed scholarship, but after we do, it will be awarded on an annual basis,” Gentry said, noting that the Timmons Foundation intends to grow the fund with additional gifts in upcoming years.
The foundation’s two annual fund-raisers are a golf tournament in the summer and the chili cook off in the fall. Planning for both events in 2010 is already underway.
The employees of TCMH are also big supporters of the foundation, making donations from their paychecks ranging from $2 to $38.50 per pay period. Helping Hands Partners donations average $16,000 annually.
Foundation officers in 2010 are Jim Bukowsky, president; Jared Pyatt, vice president; and Joleen Senter Durham, secretary/treasurer. Other members of the board are Colleen Bradford, Conway Hawn, Gina Hillhouse, Stacey Rasmussen, Maggie Ogden, Kay Jordan and Anne-Marie Mueller.
The TCMH Healthcare Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to ensure the quality of healthcare services for children, women and men at TCMH. Funding comes in many different forms from grateful patients and their families, community members, businesses and organizations that value healthcare in Texas County and the surrounding area.
In addition to a general account, a Hospice of Care fund is also in place for donations specifically designated for the hospital’s hospice program.
For additional information about the TCMH Healthcare Foundation, contact Gentry at 417-967-1377 or 866-967-3311, ext. 377.
Â
Â
Â