STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
A former resident at the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home has left a trust that will provide funding for 50 years.
The T.J. Community Mission Foundation received the first annual distribution from the Mary Elizabeth Jones Berry Charitable Trust during a special check presentation ceremony on Tuesday, May 19, at the hospice home in Glasgow.
Mary Berry
Berry, who was a patient at the hospice home prior to her passing, chose to remember the hospice home in her estate plans by naming the mission foundation as a beneficiary of her charitable trust, according to a press release from the mission foundation. The trust will provide annual distributions in support of the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home for the next 50 years. At the conclusion of the 50-year term, the remaining balance of the trust will be liquidated and distributed evenly among named beneficiaries.
Mrs. Berry’s extraordinary generosity played a pivotal role in the foundation’s recent announcement that the fundraising campaign to retire the construction loan for the hospice home had been successfully completed. The gift represents the largest planned gift in the foundation’s history.
“Because Mrs. Berry personally experienced the compassionate care provided at Shanti Niketan Hospice Home, her decision to include the hospice home in her estate plans carries an especially meaningful legacy,” said Randy Burns, Executive Director of the T.J. Community Mission Foundation. “Through her generosity, she has helped ensure that future patients and families will continue to receive the compassionate, dignified care that has become the hallmark of the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home.”
The trust is managed by Baird Trust Company in Louisville, KY. Presenting the first annual distribution on behalf of the Baird Trust Company were Dan Foutch, Managing Director, and Barrett Metzger, Senior Vice President of The Foutch Metzger Group, Baird Private Wealth Management.
“Legacy giving through one’s estate plans is one of the most powerful ways a person can make a lasting impact on a mission they care deeply about,” Burns said. “Many individuals who may never have been in a position to make a major gift during their lifetime are still able to create transformational future impact through thoughtful estate planning. Mrs. Berry’s gift is a beautiful example of how compassion and generosity can continue touching lives for generations.”
According to national philanthropic studies, charitable bequests account for billions of dollars in charitable support annually across the United States and are often among the most significant gifts nonprofit organizations receive, the press release stated. Planned gifts may include wills, trusts, retirement assets, life insurance policies, or other estate arrangements that allow donors to support causes they believe in while maintaining financial flexibility during their lifetime.
Opened in 2021, the Shanti Niketan Hospice Home was developed through the generosity of donors across the region and serves as a residential hospice facility focused on comfort, dignity, and compassionate end-of-life care in a home-like setting.
For more information about planned giving opportunities through the T.J. Community Mission Foundation, contact the Foundation office at foundation@tjsamson.org.
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