Benevolence. According to Merriam-Webster, benevolence is a disposition to do good, an act of kindness, or a generous gift. The Benevolent Care program at Capitol Lakes – which tries to ensure that no resident needs to leave their home because of financial hardship – exemplifies each of these definitions and is made possible because of the generosity of the entire Capitol Lakes community.
With your help, we do good things for our friends and neighbors in need. Benevolent Care demonstrates a disposition to do good because it ensures continuity of community and care as we age. For those residents receiving help from our Benevolent Care program, the benefits go far beyond keeping a roof over their heads.
Because of your kindness, we increase quality of life for our friends and neighbors in need. The Benevolent Care program often has other positive, unintended consequences as well. One resident recounted to Tim Conroy, the Executive Director of Capitol Lakes, that the program freed up financial resources for the purchase of hearing aids that made it possible to hear clearly for the first time in years.
Through your generosity, we provide real peace of mind to families. We all want the best for the people we love. We want them to be safe. We want them to be happy. What we don’t want is for them to have to leave the familiarity of their homes – their friends – and their community because of an unexpected financial crisis. Benevolent Care gives families the peace of mind to know that their loved ones will be able to stay in the community they call home.
The Benevolent Care program directly enhances and protects the quality of life for our friends and neighbors, but it doesn’t come without a cost. While the expense of this program can vary from year to year, this year Capitol Lakes has budgeted $165,000 to accommodate the need.
In June 2019 an anonymous donor generously offered to match the first $10,000 in gifts we received to support this essential program. Thanks to you, we not only matched this amount, but doubled it! Overall we raised $30,000 in support of this program!
The overwhelming response allowed us to provide a grant of $50,000 toward the total expense of the program – making it the largest Benevolent Care grant the Foundation has ever awarded.