Why Give?
Why your gift means so much to so many
To fully understand the importance of your support of Baptist Foundation, all you have to do is read about the people and the lives of those who have benefited from your selflessness and generosity. They are our neighbors, our friends, our family members, and our Baptist employees. And you can be the positive force that makes a true difference in their lives.
The Gieselmanns
After reeling from unimaginable loss, this incredible family decided to turn their experience into something that other families affected by the loss of one or more children could use to bring understanding, acceptance and comfort back into their lives. In 2017, the Miles 4 Milla’s House event was started to raise funds and awareness for the Baptist Grief Centers. Read their amazing, inspiring, and ultimately uplifting story.
Gina Hollenbeck
Although she never used tobacco products, Gina Hollenbeck fought an advanced form of lung cancer. The Courage Thru Cancer 5K was started in her honor. See what she did to remove the stigma of lung cancer as a smoker’s disease, and help others find the care, support and inspiration they need.
Bob Gordon
During his impressive 36-year career as an administrator and ultimately an executive vice president at Baptist Memorial Health Care, Bob Gordon oversaw many accomplishments and advancements to health care in the Mid-South. However, he believes his most enduring legacy is the establishment of an endowment to fund lung cancer research, a gift inspired by the amazing life of his dear wife, Audrey, and her desire to help others.
Baptist Foundation News
Baptist Cancer Centers Honor Survivors
Baptist Memorial Health Care recently honored cancer survivors and their supporters with events featuring music, fellowship, food and butterfly releases in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. National Cancer Survivors Day, observed this year on Sunday, June 1, is celebrated annually to inspire cancer survivors and supporters and serve as a call to action for further research, more resources and increased awareness. Keep reading to learn more about the special ways Baptist honored cancer survivors.
Baptist Reynolds Hospice House Hosts Summer Memorial and Butterfly Release
Family members of hospice patients who have passed away gathered at Baptist Reynolds Hospice House with community members to honor their loved ones during the Baptist Hospice Summer Memorial and butterfly release on June 12. Baptist Reynolds Hospice House and Baptist Trinity Home Care and Hospice hosted the memorial which included prayers, a harpist, sharing of loved ones’ names, a reading and butterfly release followed by fellowship and snacks. This year marked the second time butterflies were released at the annual event.
“Butterflies traditionally represent transformation and new life, so it is a powerful symbol for those who are grieving,” said Tiffany McClung, bereavement coordinator with Baptist Reynolds Hospice House. “A caterpillar goes into ‘the tomb,’ then is ‘resurrected’ as a transformed creature. Our loved ones are not gone, just transformed.”
This free event was open to anyone in the community who wanted to remember a loved one. Baptist sent invitations to the families of nearly 1,000 patients who had passed away in the prior six months, including those at Baptist Reynolds Hospice House, inpatient hospice wings at Baptist Memorial hospitals in the Memphis metro area and Baptist Trinity Home Care and Hospice.
“The summer memorial is meaningful not only for families, but for staff as well. Many nurses and certified nursing assistants attend and reconnect with families,” said McClung. “They also are grieving these losses as they have bonded with patients during a sacred time of life.”
BUCOM Dedicates the Dorothy Smith Thompson Library
At Baptist University College of Osteopathic Medicine (BUCOM), the commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and compassion is at the heart of everything we do. That mission takes a powerful step forward with the dedication of the Dorothy Smith Thompson Library, a space designed not only for study and research, but for cultivating the future of health care.
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