Loving gifts of health

What do you give someone who has everything? Traditionally, when people speak of giving a gift, they immediately think of wrapping paper and bows. But there’s a growing trend of a different kind of giving: tribute and memorial gifts that honour a life. Increasingly, they are making an impact on the work of the QEII Foundation and the health care offered at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.

The story of Nancy Stapleton’s mother, Rosemary Heslin, is an example of “tribute gifts” that Charles O’Neil, director of gift planning at the QEII Foundation, sees in growing numbers. Before Nancy’s mother passed away, Rosemary, along with friends and family, decided to establish a fund that would grant wishes for women with terminal cancer. “Tribute gifts are really what got us started,” said Nancy. “We launched the society at my mother’s 60th birthday party and, in lieu of gifts, friends and family honoured her and her milestone with donations to For a Dream`s Sake.”

For a Dream’s Sake (www.foradreamssake.ca) was born, and the fund, which is administered by the QEII Foundation, grows with each donation, from memorial gifts and tribute donations to special events where donations are made in lieu of traditional gifts. Nancy’s sister, Kathy Buckley, even decided to forgo wedding shower gifts in exchange for donations to her mother’s fund. For a Dream’s Sake benefited from close to $800 in tribute gifts from that event, and Nancy looks forward to more. “Most of the money we receive through the For a Dream’s Sake Society is from tribute gifts. Our friends and family have really embraced the spirit of our organization and our fund with the QEII Foundation. Many are choosing to celebrate holidays such as Mother’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and more with gifts to our fund made in honour of others.”

The Gillian MacMichael Endowed Bursary Fund is another example of a charitable effort set into place in memory of a loved one. Arlene and Stephen Waymire worked with the QEII Foundation to establish an endowment fund in memory of their young niece, Gillian MacMichael. It was their desire that the fund provide health care professionals — nurses, physicians, social and pastoral care workers, therapists, dieticians and volunteers — working in the field of palliative care with the extra funds they need to delve deeper into palliative care studies. Since its inception in 2001, this annual bursary has disbursed over $34,000 to 40 deserving recipients. Gillian’s caring spirit to help others lives on through her fund, which is making a real difference in palliative care education.

While some families choose to donate as a tribute, others elect to give in lieu of gifts to one another. Each year, the QEII Foundation receives donations from families and groups who opt not to exchange presents on holidays and family occasions and instead combine their efforts into a single donation toward health care at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. “We have one family in particular,” said Charles O’Neil, “who get together each Christmas, and instead of exchanging gifts, they purchase a piece of equipment for the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre here at the QEII. It’s heartwarming to be a part of their annual tradition of giving.”