Special
People…A Special Kind of Gift
A
profile of Laurance and Janet Mulligan
When
Janet Mulligan rushed her husband Laurance to St. Mary’s General
Hospital several years ago with an apparent heart attack, she was
worried. The nurses and
physicians at St. Mary’s soon put her at ease, however.
“They were very good to us” Mrs. Mulligan recalls, “the
service and treatment were great.” Thankfully, it was not a heart attack; it was another
condition that was not life threatening but still very painful. Mr.
Mulligan soon recovered, but it was a frightening time.
The
Mulligans, who moved to this area in 1961, are strong supporters of
the Kitchener/Waterloo region.
“We have it all here,” Mr. Mulligan states, referring to
the hospitals, universities, businesses, arts and recreational
facilities and the quality of life found in the region.
As
a retired school principal, Mr. Mulligan now has more time to devote
to his favourite pastime, golf, playing often at Conestogo Golf
Club, where he is a member. Mrs.
Mulligan is also an avid golfer and plays at least once a week when
she is not working for a local financial services company.
For a few weeks each year in the winter, they travel to a
family condominium in Florida to escape the cold and to keep their
golf games sharp.
The
Mulligans have three children aged 35, 32 and 31 and two young
grandchildren, living as far away as Windsor and North Carolina.
Family is important to them and they visit with the
grandchildren as often as possible.
Giving
back to the community and to St. Mary’s is also a priority for
them. They recognize
that the new Regional Cardiac Care Centre being built at St.
Mary’s will be a significant boost to health care in the region.
“I know of many people who have had to travel out of the
community for cardiac treatment,” states Mr. Mulligan.
“We all have to get behind this,” he adds, referring to
health care re-development in the region.
“Getting
behind this” is just what the Mulligans did recently when they
donated shares of a local life insurance company which had
demutualized. “It was
a windfall for us,” Mrs. Mulligan states, adding, “it was nice
to share it. I know
that it is difficult to keep the Hospital going and I am glad we
could help.” The Mulligans’ gift was designated to the Regional Cardiac
Care Centre and given in memory of Mr. Mulligan’s late father, who
passed away from a heart attack.
A
letter that St. Mary’s had sent to donors asking them to consider
this unique type of donation piqued the Mulligans’ interest and
they contacted the Foundation to make arrangements to transfer the
shares. Transferring
the shares was a simple process and the Mulligans realized some
significant tax relief due to the special tax provisions available
for gifts of publicly traded securities.
The
Mulligan’s gift to St. Mary’s was a tremendous gesture of
thoughtfulness and leadership and is an inspiration to others who
might wish to do the same.
It
seems that for the Mulligans, though, thoughtfulness and leadership
are qualities that come naturally.
They truly are special people.
