Longtime friend of Santa Maria, Maureen Maxfield, has graciously and generously decided to make a legacy gift to Santa Maria Community Services. A board member since 2017, and later Development Committee Chair, Maureen has supported and will continue to support Santa Maria with her leadership and generosity.
Read her story below to learn more about her gift.
“I never thought about leaving a legacy gift after I die or even giving a meaningful legacy gift during my lifetime until a few years ago when my husband and I were updating our estate plans. Being of modest means and both of us working in the nonprofit sector most of our lives, leaving a gift wasn’t on our radar at all. I thought only wealthy people did that. Yet my mother’s credo, ‘Give Back What God Has Given You’ keeps coming back to me. So… a planned gift over five years for a major project that is in process. This ‘Giving While You Live,’ comes as a qualified charitable contribution from my IRA. It is a meaningful gift given our resources. Recently, I also changed the beneficiary for one of my individual retirement annuities to Santa Maria, so there will also be a gift to Santa Maria after my lifetime.
From my heart, I see what difference Santa Maria makes in the lives of the families they serve. Their credo is and has been ‘helping families help themselves’ since their inception in 1897. They have a ‘whole family’ approach – whatever is needed for that family – partnering with over 100 organizations. I have known Santa Maria since the late 1980s when I visited their daycare center at Seton High School for a Christmas party. As a long-term program volunteer and now board member, I have become more humbled by the staff’s passion for strengthening WHOLE families, for their compassion, and for the impact on families as families work toward sustainability and self-sufficiency in areas they identify. I am honored and humbled to support Santa Maria’s mission.”
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Maureen.