ST. LOUIS, MO., Dec. 2, 2014… St. Andrew’s board member and honoree from the first class of Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans, Marvin Wool and his wife Harlene, once again worked to give the St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation a fundraising boost by sponsoring a $50,000 matching gift challenge during the 2014 Ageless-Remarkable St. Louisans Gala, which was held Nov. 9 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. As in years past, the Wool’s challenge grant was enthusiastically embraced by Ageless guests who not only met, but exceeded the challenge, raising $65,000, and helping the St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System generate an additional $115,000 to benefit the more than 8,000 area seniors the organization serves each year.
“We are so grateful to Marvin and Harlene Wool for presenting our Ageless guests with yet another opportunity to raise much needed funds for underprivileged seniors in our area,” said Mary Alice Ryan, President and CEO of the St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System. “Our gala attendees stepped up to the challenge in a big way by not only meeting, but exceeding the $50,000 goal by $15,000. Special thanks go out to the Wools for presenting the challenge again this year, and to our incredibly generous gala guests who raised an additional $65,000 to help less fortunate seniors in the St. Louis area.”
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 $115,000 generated from the challenge match, combined with a Presenting sponsorship from World Wide Technology Foundation and the Steward Family Foundation and Platinum sponsorships from Wells Fargo Advisors and the Cape Albeon retirement community, helped St. Andrew’s raise nearly $400,000. The funds generated will help St. Andrew’s meet its 2014 fundraising goal of $1.6 million.
Over the past 12 years, the Ageless gala alone has raised over $1.8 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 12 years, the event has also recognized 270 older adults for their incredible contributions well past the traditional age of retirement. This year, the event honored another amazing class of 19 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 12 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. 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 50th 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 8,700 people and provides more than $1.1 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 or Ashley Turigliatto
The Hauser Group, Inc. St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System
(314) 436-9090 (314) 726-0111