The JMHS Foundation is pleased to announce that it has reached its $1.4 million-dollar fundraising goal. The “Caring for Our Community” campaign was kicked off in October 2016 to ensure the new $16.5 million-dollar Care Center is built to its greatest potential.
“I am truly blown away by the generosity of our community,” said Ken Club, Major Gifts Co-Chair. “If you break it down, it equals just over $933 per person for a population of 1,500!”
The Major Gifts Committee led the fundraising efforts. Comprised mainly of community members, they are tasked with asking for large dollar donations, $10,000 or more. Ken Club and Charlie Prestholdt are committee co-chairs with seven other community members including Mike Erickson, Rick Odden, Dean Pearson, Pastor Kendall Stelter, Dean Solem, Pastor Lori Wold, and Jon Wager. Stacey Lee, JMHS CEO, and Kristyn Wicht, JMHS Development Manager, are also members of the committee.
“It is intimidating to ask friends to donate such large sums of money,” said Charlie Prestholdt, Major Gifts Co-Chair. “Even though we had training on how to make the ask, it is not easy to look someone you know in the face and ask them to donate $10,000, let alone $100,000!”
While the “Caring for Our Community” campaign hit its target goal, the committee is still fundraising. JMHS chose to finance the project through loans instead of issuing a bond. Limited by funding, there were several projects that JMHS considered too costly and initially cut from the project.
“These additional improvements to the Care Center will become the new focus as we continue to raise money to further enhance the space,” said Club. “We know that we have not reached everyone and want to provide all interested community members with the opportunity to donate to such a worthy project.”
For example, the decision has been recently made to move forward with equipping 4 of the resident rooms with built-in ceiling lifts. In addition, there are still several naming opportunities available, including 19 resident rooms, 4 resident room with ceiling lifts, 2 spas, and the courtyard area, to list a few.
The new care center features 56 private rooms with attached private handicapped accessible bathrooms that include a shower. The new space addresses infrastructure and compliance issues, as well as changing expectations to accommodate future residents. It is scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2018. Residents are eagerly anticipating moving into their brand-new home!
An open house will be scheduled later this Spring. For more information or to donate, please contact Kristyn Wicht, Development Manager at 320-312-2111 or Saundra Snobl, Development Coordinator at 320-312-2123. You can also visit the JMHS website at -www.jmhsmn.org/foundation.