West River Health Services Foundation, the nonprofit 501 (c) 3 fundraising and development arm for West River Health Services and Western Horizons Living Centers, has raised $456,802 toward their $500,000 goal for their “Healthcare Heroes Endowment Fund.” Thanks to area and nationwide donors (usually with some connection to West River Health Services or the Greater Hettinger Area), this dream of raising half a million dollars, investing it, and then utilizing the interest most every year going forward for staffing needs, is close to becoming reality. And this staggering sum of $456,802 has been raised in only 19 months!
The original goal 19 months ago was to raise $500,000 in five years or less, so we could utilize the interest for: 1) $5,000-$10,000 academic loans for college upperclassmen pursuing a healthcare degree who agree to sign that they will apply for a job with WRHS/WHLC; 2) Sign-on bonuses for critical top-priority employment at WRHS/WHLC; and 3) Bonuses for current healthcare heroes at WRHS/WHLC; or 4) reinvested into the endowment to build more interest for the future.
Since that time we have revised the timeline of our $500K goal to only three years. And now, thanks to our resilient givers/believers, it appears that we might be able to possibly reach goal in only two years! This is amazing. We are so grateful.
Our hopes are to roll out our “Academic Loan Program” this coming Fall of 2023, so we can receive applications from prospective college upperclassmen pursuing a healthcare degree. Then we hope to make our selections, meet with the recipients, obtain their commitment to employment here and then make the first part of their $10,000 loan(s). Of course, we are hoping for a better interest income year than this past year. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to afford to gift more than one $10,000 loan. And possibly even utilize part of the interest for a signing bonus for a critical position at WRHS/WHLC. Or a current “healthcare hero!” We all know, we have many heroes in our local communities. And your WRHS healthcare providers are right near the top of the list.
Thank you for supporting our “Healthcare Heroes Endowment Fund.” We are only $43,198 away from our $500,000 goal. Please consider a gift to our West River Health Services Foundation today. Gifts of $100 or more also count toward your Bronze Membership into our Partners In Health Club. Checks can be written out to “WRHSF” and mailed to WRHSF, Attn: Ted Uecker, 1000 Highway 12, Hettinger, ND 58639. Or maybe you’d rather give by credit card at our wrhs.com/giving website. We are always open to suggestions for giving – maybe it’s stocks, wheat, cattle, or cash. We honor most all. Onward!
By Ted Uecker, WRHS Foundation