September 16, 2008

Turlock - While the sluggish economy and high gas prices are on a lot of people’s minds, they aren’t dampening the charitable spirit here. Volunteers raising money for Emanuel Medical Center’s $4 million cancer endowment say donors are still giving generously.

 

“The people I’ve approached have been very receptive,” said John Ferrari, a Turlock farmer who is also on the hospital’s board. “They’re actually anxious and enthusiastic to support the hospital in its desire to provide comprehensive services to the community.”

 

The numbers back it up. Pledges in week two of the six-week fundraising effort were more than $121,000, for a two-week total of $384,000. That’s $12,000 more than the volunteers like Ferrari raised last year, hospital officials said.

 

Ferrari is one of hundreds of community and employee volunteers active in Emanuel’s Legacy Circle fundraising campaign. This year’s goal for the six-week campaign is to raise $1.3 million toward the $4 million endowment. Last year the campaign raised just over $1 million.

 

When it’s fully funded, the Endowment will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars every year that will be used to support Emanuel’s cancer treatment services, paying for things like community education and cancer prevention programs, early detection and screening efforts, community support groups, clinical trials and research.

 

Ferrari said the people he’s approached for donations run the gamut from his hairdresser to the owners of large manufacturing companies, and they all are enthusiastic about the effort.

 

“These are people who believe a strong, progressive community hospital is important for everyone,” he said. “They support the changes Emanuel has made in the past several years, led by its administrative group, to offer comprehensive services to the community.”

 

Legacy Circle has been an important part of that expansion. It helped fund the hospital’s Mary Stuart Rogers Birthing Center, and the new state-of-the-art emergency department. The Emanuel Cancer Endowment is the first time Legacy Circle has raised money to fund a permanent endowment.

           

For the week, hospital employees raised $37,834, bringing their total to $118,370. Community volunteers raised $83,422 in week two, giving them a total of $265,872.

 

The Legacy Circle Fund Drive ends October 2.

 

For more information, please call the Emanuel Medical Center Office of Development at 209-664-5180.