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Mt. Lebanon-based Baptist Homes honors benefactors

By Harry Funk Staff Writer Hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
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Meet Jane, as in Jane Doe, as Erin Engel called her.

“Now, Jane is over a hundred years old,” said Engel, the director of development for the Baptist Homes Foundation. “She loves to talk: art, music, books, religion. You name it. She has a great outlook on life and the world.

“She’s been connected with Baptist Homes since she was a little girl. She remembers her mother taking three streetcars to Baptist Homes to deliver cookies for residents.”

That wouldn’t have been all that long after Mt. Lebanon-based Baptist Home Society’s founding in 1910 to provide a home for widows and orphans, eventually focusing on senior citizens.

“As time went on and Jane became a resident with us, she ran out of funds through no fault of her own,” Engel explained. “Jane will tell you, she doesn’t mean to brag, but she feels like her life was blessed. And one of those greatest blessings was that she came to Baptist Homes and that she’s a recipient of the Samaritan Fund for resident assistance.”

The fund, which allows for the society to continue its 107-year tradition of never asking anyone to leave because he or she could no longer afford to pay for care, is among the programs supported financially by the Baptist Homes Foundation, the organization’s fundraising arm.

Engel told Jane’s story during the foundation’s annual donor recognition luncheon, held Aug. 30 at the LeMont Restaurant on Mt. Washington to acknowledge the philanthropy of prime benefactors.

Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue that ministry of benevolence and charitable care,” Alvin Allison Jr., Baptist Homes Society president and chief executive officer, said. He noted that during the fiscal year ending June 30, “We provided over $725,000 worth of purely charitable care, and we provided over $3 million of underfunded care, primarily to residents we serve who are beneficiaries of medical assistance.”

The society operates two not-for-profit senior living facilities, Baptist Homes in Mt. Lebanon and Providence Point, which opened in 2009 at the site of the former John J. Kane Hospital in Scott Township.

Providence Point continues to grow, with a new chapel under construction and plans for an apartment tower to add 80 independent-living units. A capital campaign, which has brought in about $2 million toward a $3.5 million goal, is intended to finance the chapel while supporting spiritual care services for residents.

“The design is to create and endow in perpetuity our chaplaincy program at both campuses,” Brian Gongaware, Baptist Homes Foundation board chairman, said. “And how critical that is to the wellness of those who call one of our campuses home, to have a vibrant, energetic chaplaincy program. We see it each and every day.”

Providence Chapel will feature 123-year-old stained-glass windows that graced churches in Carnegie and Mt. Lebanon. Larry Jackley, treasurer of the Baptist Homes Society’s board of directors, and his wife, Mardi, purchased the windows and donated them to the cause.

Six new stained-glass windows will complement the three originals, which are being restored by John Kelly at his Kelly Art Glass Co. studio in Millvale.

No public funds can be used for construction of the chapel. For information about private contributions, visit www.bhf.plannedgiving.org.

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