I’m writing this on a (very!) warm day in August—a month where everything seems to slow down to a blissfully relaxed pace. This is the season of pool parties, dining al fresco, and guilty-pleasure beach reads. It’s also the perfect time to start making plans for your year-end charitable giving.
A new Providence consumer campaign urges our patients “to come exactly as you are; bring your whole self—mind, body, spirit—and we will always walk alongside you. Because “We see the life in you.” My husband, Mike Kelley, was a cancer patient for nearly two years at Providence Portland Medical Center.
I was driving down the road one day, and the song “For the First Time” by Darius Rucker came on the radio. I’ve always liked that song, but this particular day, I actually gave the question some serious thought: When was the last time I did something for the first time? I really couldn’t think of anything—which made me start thinking…
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen women taking their rightful place in leadership roles and becoming a force for change in their communities. It’s gratifying to see, and I’m committed to helping empower women, especially working moms like myself, any way that I can.
Many people choose to support their favorite organization by making a charitable bequest after their death. That’s a wonderful way to leave a legacy—however, I think there’s also something so powerful about seeing the impact of your gift while you’re alive. After all, if the goal of giving is to make the world a better place, why not enjoy that better world you helped create?
Many of these conversations tend to start with a question: “Laurie, how can I help?” I always answer that question with a few questions of my own: What are you passionate about? Why are you interested in helping us? What are you hoping to accomplish with your philanthropy? The answers always vary—but they never fail to inspire me.
People often ask me, “Why do you need philanthropic support for hospitals and health care?” It’s true, health care is big business. According to the American Hospital Association, in 2020, health care accounted for 19.7% of the US gross domestic product (GDP). But what many people do not realize is that 76% of health care providers in the United States are nonprofits. As such, they must provide a great deal of free care to the poor and vulnerable.