Donor Stories
Darcy Keep — IRA Beneficiary Designation
As a board member and a mental health professional in the community, I have seen firsthand the important and valuable work done by Mental Wellness Center. Using a tax-wise IRA beneficiary designation, I have made provision for Mental Wellness Center in my estate plans, knowing that my future legacy gift will support their mission of offering education, advocacy and housing for those living with mental wellness. I am proud to be a member of the Circle of HOPE and invite others to join me!
Darcy Keep
Past member of MWC Board of Directors
Circle of HOPE Charter Member
George Kaufmann — Bequest in Will/Trust
I have been associated with Mental Wellness Center for twenty years and am also a long-term NAMI member who appreciates the beneficial relationship between these two important organizations that foster positive changes in the lives of countless individuals and their families living with mental illness. To help ensure the continued success of these two great community assets, my wife and I have become members of the Circle of HOPE by including a bequest for Mental Wellness Center in our estate plans. We encourage all our Mental Wellness Center and NAMI friends to consider a legacy gift as well!
George Kaufmann
Past President of NAMI, Santa Barbara County
Circle of HOPE Charter Member
Polly Mack — Special Needs Trust
Polly Mack was a loving, concerned mother who attended parent support groups at the Mental Wellness Center while her son Phillip participated in its Fellowship Club. Phillip was in his late 50s when Polly passed away. As a result of careful planning, Polly left a Special Needs Trust to assist in supporting her son during his remaining life and named Mental Wellness Center as the ultimate beneficiary.
When Phillip himself died in 2014, 100 percent of the remaining trust assets came to the Mental Wellness Center as Polly’s legacy gift to the organization that had served both her and her son during their lifetimes. Polly’s generous estate gift was transformative for MWC in many ways, including enabling the Center to purchase a new house for 10 MWC clients in 2017. Called Polly’s House, this needed home now carries on the special legacy of Polly Mack and her beloved son Phillip in a very tangible way.
“The best use of life is to invest in something which will outlast life.”
William James