Community Cornerstone Annual Campaign

Make your online donation here
or
Designate your Community Cornerstone Annual Campaign donation with this printable form (.pdf)
or
Call now to make a donation:
(505) 724-6580

Caring. Compassion. Community.

Making life less difficult and caring for others gives our lives meaning and makes us feel more alive. Whether we give to make a positive impact on a life, to give back to the community for the advantages we have received, to set an example for our children, or to find a bit of immortality, giving fulfills the need to know that our lives had importance and while we were here, we made a difference.  This community-wide event raises funds for programs, education and equipment at Presbyterian for the benefit of all. As a community-based, not-for-profit healthcare organizaton, Presbyterian provides medically necessary health care regardless of the individual's ability to pay. Your generosity last year allowed the Foundation to allocate funds to meet many critical needs. Allocated dollars will buy equipment and provide educational materials for Home Healthcare and Hospice, support advance degrees for Nursing, purchase essential equipment and physician and nurse specialty education in the Children's Program, and meet a variety of needs in our regional hospitals, to name just a few areas that benefit from your assistance. In addition, thanks entirely to your generosity, the Program for Spirituality and Health opened at Presbyterian Hospital. This program offers readily available chaplains, a healing garden, and healing sounds to soothe the spirit and restore the soul. People Whose Lives Were Touched By You...

Christopher's Corner

It's a colorful nook of a room located in the Child Life Unit of the Children's Medical Center at Presbyterian. It's painted in a rainbow of colors and filled with educational materials on children's health issues and treatments. There are books, artwork, a computer and printer, journals and plenty of toys. purchased exclusively by donor dollars.

It's Christopher's Corner and it's much more than just a brightly decorated hospital room. It's a haven where families can find the answers to questions about their child's illness and treatment. And it's a place where they learn to cope with the stress and day-to-day trials of hospitalization.

The idea for Christopher's Corner came from Child Life Director, Rebecca Armstrong. Christopher, a triplet, had spent the first 22 months of his life in the hospital and was in and out for another year. During that time, Christopher's mom and dad and four other siblings were constantly with him in his room. Out of this stressful situation an idea emerged - to create a room that would help families deal with their child's illness in a non-medical environment.

Christopher's dad, Gerard, made furniture for the room, including the wooden sign on the door. Christopher's mom, Audrey, painted things that reminded her of her son. Gerard's employer, General Mills, already very supportive of the family, donated the paint and helped make Christopher's Corner a reality.

"We all had so many questions about his illness and treatment and needed a quiet place to sit, read, absorb, and try to make sense of what was happening," said Audrey.

And Christopher's Corner became that place, thanks to so many people like you who care about others.

"Music is Everything"

The dominant theme in Paul Zickfoose's life has been a musical one. At age 10 he performed in Hiawatha. As a teen he was the leader of a Harmonica band. In fact, Paul was singing the morning he had a stroke in 2001. Now in his fifth year of living in his daughter Linda's home in the Heights, Paul has been on Hospice since the end of September 2005. When asked about the care and personnel of Hospice, Paul sang out his praise with a booming, "Yeah!"

Linda was equally as enthusiastic. When Paul took a downturn Hospice came to the house at midnight with oxygen tanks, a special bed, and nebulizers and didn't leave until 2 am. "They were the greatest," Linda said. "Hospice has helped me keep my Dad at home with us," she added, "and also allowed me to keep my job at Presbyterian. We've had so much time together and gotten to know each other really well.

Wherever we pick up Paul's life we find a musical note. Paul's meeting with his first wife, Gertie, began as a practical joke with a musical twist. He convinced her he couldn't carry a tune and she begged him not to try out for the college Victory Quartet. The astonished Gertie listened in disbelief as Paul emitted a magnificent bass tone that earned him a place in the prestigious group after the first tryout.

When Paul met his second wife, Mary Keith, he serenaded her with Frank Sinatra's "Second Time Around" during their wedding ceremony.

The stroke and age has not cooled his passion for music. One a recent morning, this octogenarian was still capable of singing a rousing rendition of "This Old House."

And "this old house" is where Hospice nurses, volunteers and chaplains will find Paul.

Your dollars form the Cornerstone on which Presbyterian Healthcare Services continuously raises the bar in healthcare quality and services it delivers.

Make your online donation here
or
Designate your Community Cornerstone Annual Campaign donation with this printable form (.pdf)
or
Call now to make a donation:
(505) 724-6580

The integration of your philanthropy and the hospital's steadfast march to improve the quality of healthcare and services delivered results in our surpassing the expectations of our community. We look forward to another moving and significant year thanks to the generosity of people like you.