Why Grace Care Center is in Our Will

Nathan, Cara, Kate, Evan, and Lucy at a recent Care Center Community Fair.

By Cara Augspurger, President and CEO, Grace Care Center Foundation

Grace Care Center is part of our family.

That might sound a little dramatic. But it’s true.

Nathan and I started volunteering at Grace Care Center when our kids were young. Over the years, it became a place where we spent a lot of our time, where our kids learned what it looks like to care for others, and where some of the people who have shaped our family came into our lives.

Honestly, Grace Care Center has helped shape the trajectory of our family.

It has influenced how we spend our money. How we spend our time. How we think about our community. How we give. How we talk with our kids about generosity and caring for our neighbors.

Kate and Madelyn Putman sorting food donations when they were in elementary school, looking forward to when they could be old enough to help in the Choice Food Pantry.

So when Nathan and I recently revised our will, including Grace Care Center felt pretty natural.

We simply left a percentage of our estate to Grace Care Center.

It was really easy.

We didn’t have to know what our estate might someday be worth. We didn’t create some complicated giving plan. We simply added language to our will saying that a percentage of what we leave behind will go to Grace Care Center Foundation.

Of course, our first priority is taking care of our family.

But we also realized that if our will says something about what mattered to us during our lives, we wanted Grace Care Center to be part of that story.

Over the years, we’ve had a front-row seat to what happens at Grace Care Center. We’ve watched a bag of groceries become breathing room for a family. We’ve witnessed relationships grow week after week, and simple conversations turn into opportunities to help someone over a hurdle they’ve been facing alone.

And we’ve seen what happens when people are welcomed, known and cared for with dignity.

That’s what we love about Grace Care Center. Food may be what brings someone through the door, but it’s rarely the whole story. There is something pretty special about a place where people keep showing up for one another, where neighbors care for neighbors, and where a hard season doesn’t have to define what comes next.

We’ve watched that kind of care change lives. And, in a lot of ways, it has changed ours too.

Because food is the first step, not the last.

Today, that can mean English classes, financial coaching and zero-interest loans, vehicle services, and connections to trusted partners throughout our community. It means helping people address the barriers standing between where they are now and greater stability and independence.

Nathan and I want that work to continue long after we’re gone.

We don’t know exactly what Grace Care Center will look like decades from now. The needs of our community will change. Programs will change. Grace Care Center will grow and adapt.

We want Grace Care Center to have the resources to keep adapting, responding and caring for people long after our lifetime. Whatever challenges families are facing then, we want Grace Care Center to be strong enough to meet that moment.

Leaving a percentage of our estate to Grace Care Center is one way we can help make sure it can.

And I love knowing that our gift won’t just help in the year it is received. Grace Care Center Foundation has established an endowment specifically for the future. Legacy gifts can be invested and grow over time, creating a source of support for Grace Care Center for generations to come.

There’s something pretty incredible about that to me.

The gift Nathan and I leave someday can continue caring for families years and years after we’re gone. It can help make sure Grace Care Center is strong, responsive, and ready for whatever our community needs next.

Our generosity doesn’t have to end when our lifetime does.

We’re going to start talking about estate planning a little more through Grace Care Center Foundation, as we’ve established the Lasting Change Society to recognize and thank those who have chosen to make Grace Care Center part of their legacy, helping ensure this work continues for generations to come.

Over the years, Grace Care Center Foundation has received some wonderful surprises in the past. Every now and then, we’ll receive estate gifts from people who loved Grace Care Center and wanted to leave something behind. Those gifts have helped us care for families right when we needed them.

We're now thinking further into the future. The Board established an endowment so legacy gifts can be invested, grow over time, and provide support for generations to come.

A gift in your will is one way to do it, but it’s certainly not the only way. Some people choose to include Grace Care Center Foundation in a trust or name Grace Care Center Foundation as a beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy, or other asset. There are lots of ways to leave a legacy, and some are surprisingly simple. 

I do recommend talking to your attorney, tax professional, or financial planner before making a plan. They will be able to guide you toward the decision that’s right for you and the legacy you want to leave. 

For Nathan and me, a percentage in our will was the right choice.

Our family (plus Grandpa and Grandma) at a Community Fair several years ago. Just as the Community Fair has grown, our kids have, too!

Grace Care Center helped shape our family. We want it to keep shaping lives long after we’re gone.

Someday, a family may walk through the doors of Grace Care Center and find exactly what they need to take their next step forward.

Nathan and I may never know their names. But I love knowing that something we decided today could be there for them someday.

Want to learn more? Here’s more information about the Lasting Change Society.

Have you already added the Grace Care Center Foundation to your plans? You can complete this form or send me a note at cara@gccfoundation.us.