[quote style=”2″]Foundation Has Given Out Over $1.5 Million Since Inception[/quote]
Talk to most people in the Hermiston area and they’ll tell you they know of the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation. But not everyone knows the impact it has had on the community over the past 20 years.
This week, Bob Green – the foundation’s executive director – did some outreach work to help spread the word about the foundation and its role in the community.
“Many people have heard of the foundation,” he said. “But they don’t always know what we do.”
In broad terms, the foundation’s purpose is to support health-related charitable and educational activities within its service community, and to support Good Shepherd Medical Center. It does this by providing grants and scholarships. This past fall, grant recipients included Blue Mountain Community College (exercise equipment), Domestic Violence Services (security alarm services), the hospital’s education department (health screenings), Umatilla-Morrow Head Start (child safety seats), among others. The foundation also contributed $100,000 for the construction of the new track at Kennison Field.
During 2014, the foundation awarded more than $71,000 in grants, 28 medical scholarships totaling $30,500, and almost $52,000 to other nonprofits. Since its inception in 1995, the foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million for health and educational needs in the community.
Green and the foundation also oversee a number of programs throughout the year, including its vehicle donation program in which people can donate an old car – whether it runs or not – and receive a tax deduction receipt. Its Honor Tree Program gives folks the opportunity to purchase a tree on the hospital grounds in honor of a loved one. The foundation also puts on Doctors’ Day, during which community members can make any size donation to the foundation in the name of their doctor, who receives a certificate from the foundation. This year’s Doctors’ Day is set for March 30. Grateful Patient Program is similar, whereby patients can make a donation in the name of anyone at the hospital who provided them with care.
Other fund-raising programs administered by the foundation include the Festival of Trees (in partnership with the Hermiston Kiwanis Club) and the annual Scramble for Scholarship golf tournament at Big River Golf Course. The foundation also offers a number of planned giving opportunities for community members who want to support the foundation.
The Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation has $4.5 million in equity and assets. Green isn’t shy about letting the community know of the foundation’s good financial health. He wants the public to know the foundation will be around for a long time and that their contributions will be responsibly administered.
“People won’t donate to an organization if they don’t believe it is well run and will be around for years to come,” he said. “There are few foundations that have the impact this foundation has.”
For more information about the foundation and its programs, call Green at 541-667-3419 or visit the foundation’s website.
