PA OH Gives Results

St. Paul's Senior Living Community recently participated in the PA OH Gives "Giving Week" from July 25-31 to raise funds for benevolent care.

This was a first-time virtual giving event by the Community Foundation of Western PA and Eastern OH and was created to help local nonprofits like St. Paul's who had to cancel fundraising events due to COVID-19.

St. Paul's biennial Caring Hearts on Fire Gala, which was scheduled for October, has been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. It is St. Paul's largest fundraising event and typically raises $120,000 for the Good Samaritan Fund for benevolent care.

"With the loss of our gala this year, we were hoping that Giving Week could help recoup some of the funds that would normally be raised for benevolent care," said Dawn Hartman, Director of Planned & Major Giving.

An extra enticement for donors to participate was the offer of $130,000 in matching funds from the Community Foundation. The matching funds were made possible by the following sponsors: FNB Community Foundation, the Zekelman Fund, the Winner Foundation, the O'Brien Children Memorial Fund and the Strimbu Memorial Fund.

During the 7 day event, St. Paul's received 166 donations for the Good Samaritan Fund for a total of more than $46,000 raised. In addition, St. Paul's earned an additional $500 for being the first organization to reach its fundraising goal.

The matching funds from the Community Foundation were pro-rated to 29 cents for every dollar donated, which brought the total raised for St. Paul's Good Samaritan Fund to more than $61,000, the highest amount ever raised in a campaign.

The Good Samaritan Fund helps offset the annual cost of benevolent care for residents who exhaust their financial resources and cannot afford to pay for the cost of their care. 62% of the residents at St. Paul’s in skilled nursing care and 12% of those living in personal care depend on benevolent care.

"We didn't really know what to expect when we participated in this first-time event, but we know we have some pretty incredible donors," said Hartman. "They sure rallied. We were just overwhelmed and inspired by the outpouring of support."

Thank you so much to the following individuals and businesses who made generous donations during Giving Week!