Commun ty Matters Manor of the Plains
November 2015
Sending ‘Angels’ to the Good Samaritan Program Special angels will soon be adorning Christmas trees and holiday displays at every Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica (PMMA) senior living community. The “angels” are paper ornaments that will arrive throughout the holiday season along with gifts to the annual Christmas Angel Appeal, which raises funds for the Good Samaritan Program for Benevolent Care. Donors who make gifts are asked to return paper Angel ornaments along with their gifts. The ornaments pay tribute to donors’ family members or friends and are displayed at PMMA communities designated by the donors. During the past two years, donors to the angel appeals have given more than $90,000 to the Good Samaritan Program. The program assists PMMA residents who have out-lived their financial resources through no fault of their own. Since PMMA began 66 years ago, no residents have been asked to leave because they exhausted their financial resources. If you would like to participate in the Angel Appeal, please email development@pmma.org or call 800-336-8511.
Everett Fieser recently received his pin for 50 years of service with Lions Club.
Longtime Lion earns 50-year pin The motto of Lions Clubs International is “We Serve.” Few members can say that they have fulfilled that motto for 50 years. Everett Fieser is proud to be one of the few. Everett, a Manor of the Plains resident, recently received his pin for 50 years of service with the organization. A friend in Plains, Kan., took Everett to his first Lions meeting. He has fond memories of their club’s tradition of serving a community luncheon of baked ham at Christmastime, followed by a parade down Main Street. Over the years, he said, he held pretty much every officer position in his chapter, including president. Everett also recalled taking part in one of the organization’s best-known events, the Caravan of Brooms fundraiser. The Lions’ signature mission is supporting programs for people with impaired vision. For the caravan, Lions members sold brooms made by blind adults who received job training at the Kansas Foundation for the Blind. The sales benefited the LION, continued on page 2
LION, continued from page 1
foundation, and participating clubs kept a portion of the money raised for programs in their area. His favorite thing about Lions, though, was “just being with the other fellas.” Everett lived most of his life in Plains, where he farmed crops such as wheat and milo and also raised cattle and hogs. He and his wife, Nora, raised five children and were married for nearly 64 years. This summer, his family threw him a party for his 95th birthday. Congratulations to Everett on receiving his 50-year pin!
Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.
Jerry Korbe, executive director Kurt Lampe, marketing director Lisa Montoya, activity director Jacque Soltero, health care activity director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Kurt at klampe@pmma.org. Telephone: 620-225-1928 Fax: 620-225-3982 Address: 200 Campus Dr., Dodge City, KS 67801-2760
Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. ManorofthePlains.org
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Community Matters November 2015
How to make a real difference giving to charity By Richard Eisenberg for Next Avenue
Heartbreaking tragedies like the Nepal earthquake often make us want to donate to a charity and do our part to help. We’re also often touched by TV commercials imploring us to open our wallets for needy pets and children. But since you can’t afford to help every cause, how should you decide which ones to assist? In his provocative new book, ‘The Most Good You Can Do,’ worldrenowned Australian ethicist Peter Singer offers his views about “effective altruism.” (His site, TheLifeYouCanSave.org, has a list of charities Singer thinks are highly cost-effective.) You may not agree with some of Singer’s opinions — such as his belief that you should give money to reduce global poverty before U.S. poverty or his disinclination to support the arts. But this Princeton University and the University of Melbourne professor and author of Animal Liberation may get you thinking.
I know he opened my eyes about when to open my wallet during our recently conversation about the book. Here are some highlights: Next Avenue: What Is Effective Altruism? Singer: Effective altruism is a philosophy and social movement uses evidence reasoning to consider how to do the most good you can. The head of the charity rating service, Charity Navigator, calls this “defective altruism” and says it will move us toward a more centralized form of giving where the experts decide where the money goes, rather than individual donors. You might make that same criticism of Consumer Reports. Their experts decide what washing machines or cars we should buy, but that doesn’t take away the right of the consumer to decide. Who would want to pay twice as much for a washing machine that doesn’t wash as well as a cheaper one? And why give to a charity that’s not effective? CHARITY, continued on page 4
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CHARITY, continued from page 2
million people.
Next Avenue: You have a chapter Next Avenue: Are you against called “Are Some Causes Objectively giving money to the arts? Better Than Others.” Are they? Singer: In the present world we Singer: Yes, I do think so. live in, I don’t think we should give money to the arts.Yes, it’s I’m not saying you can rank all fine to help community projects possible causes in an objective to help kids express themselves hierarchy. But if you compare the artistically; that’s a different matter. amount of good done by the recent But giving tens of millions of dollars $100 million gift to Lincoln Center to established institutions like the by entertainment billionaire David Metropolitan Museum of Art? I Geffen to giving that same amount think there are better things you can of money to restore sight in people do with that money. who are blind or will become blind, to me it’s staggering that anyone Next Avenue: In your book, you would think having a nicer concert talk about the choices people are faced with when deciding which hall could compare with what you type of charity to support. I’d like to could get by restoring sight for a
ask you about them. First: domestic or global? Singer: It’s a question of what do you get for the money. Think of it this way: Suppose you have $1,000 to give away. Would that make a dramatic difference to the life of an American family of four in poverty, making about $23,000 a year? Not really. That’s roughly what they get every two weeks. But for a family in poverty living on less than $1,000 a year, giving them your $1000 is their entire year’s income and makes a huge difference to their well-being. © Twin Cities Public Television - 2015. All rights reserved.
Everyone has a story to tell The January issue of Community Matters will focus on new beginnings. Do you have a story about a time you decided to start anew? What happened? How did that alter the course of your life? Contact Marketing Director Kurt Lampe, and your story may be selected to appear in an upcoming Community Matters. 4
Community Matters November 2015
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