ST. LOUIS, MO., Dec. 17, 2012… St. Andrew’s board member and honoree from the first class of Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans, Marvin Wool and his wife Harlene, recently worked to give the St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation a fundraising boost by sponsoring a $50,000 matching gift challenge during the 2012 Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans Gala, which was held Nov. 11 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. Presented in honor of the 10^th anniversary of the Ageless gala, the Wool’s challenge grant was met enthusiastically by Ageless guests who helped the St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System generate an additional $100,000 to benefit the more than 8,000 area seniors the organization serves each year.

“This was a very special year for the Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans gala,” said Mary Alice Ryan, President and CEO of the St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System. “We were thrilled to welcome Marvin and Harlene Wool as the honorary chairs of the event. With Marvin having been a member of our very first class of Ageless honorees in 2003, it was wonderful to have him and his wife on hand for this year’s milestone event. The couple’s generosity and on-going support of St. Andrew’s never ceases to amaze us, and we thank them for presenting our Ageless guests with yet another opportunity to raise much needed funds for underprivileged seniors in our area. This challenge grant was a perfect way to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of Ageless.”

With the highly attended Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans Gala serving as the primary fundraising event for St. Andrew’s and its Charitable Foundation, the additional $100,000 generated from the challenge match will help St. Andrew’s meet its 2012 fundraising goal of $1.1 million.

Over the past 10 years, the Ageless gala alone has raised over $1.6 million to help provide St. Louis seniors with housing and supportive services that are designed to promote their independence and quality of life. In the past decade, the event has also recognized 240 older adults for their incredible contributions well past the traditional age of retirement. This year, the event honored another amazing class of 22 active and engaged older adults who are using their “golden years” to travel, continue careers and embark on new ones, and lend their time and talents to their favorite charities.

“After 10 years, our Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans honorees continue to amaze us with their vivacity and commitment to living life to the fullest at any age,” noted Ryan. “We applaud all of our honorees, past and present, for helping to reshape the face of aging and demonstrating that growing old doesn’t have to be synonymous with slowing down.”

Since being named a 2003 Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisan, Marvin Wool and his wife continue to stay involved with St. Andrew’s through their generous financial support of the organization. Most recently, in 2011, the Wools initiated their first $50,000 challenge match during the 2011 Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans gala in honor of St. Andrew’s 50^th anniversary. Earlier that year, the Wools also presented St. Andrew’s with a $500,000 charitable gift annuity which was used to create the Harlene and Marvin Wool Legacy Circle.

In a time when continued cuts in state and federal funding for senior services are leaving more and more older adults without the care they need, charitable contributions, like those made by the Wools, continue to play an increasingly critical role in helping St. Andrew’s to fill its funding gap.

Gifts to the St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation support the provision of housing and supportive services to low-income and at-risk seniors in the St. Louis area, as well as the extension of financial aid to residents who have exhausted their resources. Each year, the organization serves over 8,000 people and provides more than $1.5 million in charitable care.

To learn more about the St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation, the Ageless-Remarkable St. Louis Gala or for information on how to make a contribution to St. Andrew’s, call 314-726-0111 or visit www.standrews1.com.

Created in 1961, as a non-profit partnership of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, St. Andrew’s is non-sectarian, faith-based and an expert at serving both older adults and their caregivers.

For more information, contact:

Shelene Treptow, The Hauser Group, Inc. (314) 436-9090

Ashley Turigliatto, St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System (314) 726-0111

Tags: Ageless

This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.