You Answered Her Call When SHE Needed Help
ister Edith Martinek is an 89-year-old resident at The Village of Hampton Meadows in Bay City. For 70 of those years, she has dedicated her life to serving God and putting those in need first. needed your help. Your thoughtful donation to the PVM Foundation gave Sister Edith a new home that she could truly afford and let her continue her work of serving others in the greater Bay City community. THANK YOU! Enjoy learning about Sister Edith’s life work and her path to PVM’s Village of Hampton Meadows, a partnership with Wellspring Lutheran Services. Your spirit will be filled after reading it!
In 1952, at the age of 18, Edith Martinek took a different journey than many others her age. “I told my father I was called to serve God and wanted to become a nun. He asked me to wait a year, so I did. At 19 my mind had not changed. I was ready,” says a prideful Sister Edith.
Edith went to the Sisters of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Michigan. After 6 years of study, she received an elementary teaching certificate. She taught kindergarten and first grade for 36 years. The majority of her teaching was in the inner cities of Michigan with some experiences in Miami and Minneapolis as well. “I was called to Miami to teach English to Cuban children. These children were refugees thrown out of their country.”
After 36 years of teaching, “I tied the millionth shoelace of a student and said to myself this is the last shoelace I will tie. It’s time for my next chapter of serving others.”
Sister Edith moved to the mid-Michigan area to provide Pastoral Care. “I loved the work and being directly connected to the church. I did this for 14.5 years,” says Sister Edith with a big grin.
At 77, she came to Bay City to be a full time volunteer at McLaren Hospital providing spiritual guidance for individuals in hospice care. If that was not enough she
also answers phone calls for the local United Way and continues in both of these roles today. Service to others will always be Sister Edith’s guiding light.
“Each day I provide the spiritual care for those facing their last days, weeks or months. It is so special to spend those precious days with them. It fills my heart to serve them.”
In January of 2019, Sister Edith was dealt a big blow. “With very little notice my rent had tripled. I had one month to find housing that I could afford. The $670 per month I get in Social Security wouldn’t be nearly enough.”
Although she receives a bountiful amount of daily rewards, her life’s work of serving and caring for others did not come with a large paycheck or a retirement pension to rely on. She was facing homelessness.
Luckily a friend from church knew of The Village of Hampton Meadows, which provides affordable housing for low-income older adults.
“My prayers were answered! I met with Stephanie Cooper, the administrator, and a few weeks later I moved in. I would have been crushed having to leave my spiritual care work in the community I call home.”
With very little notice my rent had tripled. I had one month to find housing that I could afford.
“Thank you donors! Your gifts created an opportunity for me to live in Bay City and continue meeting the needs of people facing their last months.” Sister Edith said with a tear in her eye.
Sister Edith has really made the most of her Hampton Meadows home, making lots of new friends and enjoying many wonderful experiences including the weekly Bible study group she leads.
Sister Edith’s path to Hampton Meadows was a smooth one. This was very fortunate, but not common.
“Edith was lucky. Typically The Village of Hampton Meadows has a 6 month waiting list. Routinely, I get calls from older adults living day to day in hotels, checking on openings. It breaks my heart. Bay City could use more housing,” says Stephanie Cooper, Administrator.
Your donation to the PVM Foundation allows PVM to build wonderful affordable housing for people just like Edith. Older adults that live exceptional lives, and do so much good but can’t afford housing without some assistance. When it was her turn to need some support, you were there!
Your donation matters! Thank you.
— SISTER EDITH MARTINEK
“Thank you donors! Your gifts created an opportunity for me to live in Bay City and continue meeting the needs of people facing their last months.”
— SISTER EDITH MARTINEKTo make a donation, visit pvmf.org or use the reply envelope enclosed with this newsletter.
Your donation has changed the lives of each PVM resident. Because you gave, PVM residents have a direct line to speak to their doctor right from their PVM home, especially when they don’t have their own technology. This is life altering and helps bring PVM residents greater access and control of their overall health. KUDOS DONORS!
Residents no longer rely on others for transportation or deal with the exhaustion of traveling across town to see their doctor. Your donation provided the funding for PVM to construct private telehealth suites in many of the Villages equipped with the technology for residents to communicate directly with their doctor.
“The telehealth rooms have been thoughtfully built with a sole focus on the unique needs of older adults. The private suite has items such as large ear phones for those with hearing loss, large monitors, and easy to see screen prompts. More importantly there is technology support provided by PVM staff at each location to make the whole process run smoothly. I will continue to search for tech upgrades, so residents can clearly use the technology at hand,” says Mark Kronner PVM’s Chief Technology Officer.
Visiting the doctor is now one click of the mouse away! Your donation doing wonderful things each day. THANK YOU
“I want to do it now because I know that when we pass our daughter, Grace, is going be of an age where she might need to be in some type of senior living community. I’m doing that for her future. We donate yearly to the PVM Foundation, and that’s helping the people that are here now. By donating through our Will, we are helping the people in the future as well.”
Big news! August is national “Make a Will” month. It is never too early or too late to create your legacy.
Meet Debra and Brad Romalia. They joined the PVM Legacy Society in early 2023. Debra and Brad are a couple in their 40s with an 11-year old daughter, Grace.
What is their Connection to PVM?
Debra got involved through a friend at church. The friend had finished her term on the PVM Foundation Board and recommended that Debra join. The Board was looking to add the next generation of leadership to the PVM mission. Debra was a perfect fit. She would do anything to help an older adult. It’s where she finds passion and purpose.
Why support PVM and older adults?
For the Romalias, it all starts with their grandparents. They were and are so important to their lives. Eight years ago, Debra’s grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. Her grandparents moved back to the area to be close to family, and Debra and Brad would visit them on a weekly basis to play games, share memories, and stay connected.
Brad’s grandma lived to be almost 109. She was a big gardener, and she passed that passion on to her son, and then he to Brad. Now their daughter is a budding gardener. A legacy was created and has been passed down generation to generation.
The Romalias are only in their 40s. Why make a Will already?
They made their Will in 2012 after the birth of their daughter. Debra’s brother is a lawyer and insisted they make a Will so that if something happens their daughter is taken care of in the way that they would want. They both fully believe that everyone needs a Will no matter their life circumstances.
Why add a legacy gifts to the Will?
It was always part of their plan. For them, it’s the legacy of giving back. They believe it is so important to give back to community, and they are raising their daughter in the same vein.
Join
“Make a will immediately. Make a will so that your wishes can happen the way you want them to.”
– DEBRA AND BRAD ROMALIA
— Debra Romalia
PVM’s latest project to serve more older adults is called Campaign For the Ages. This is the largest project in the history of the organization
ONE FOR THE AGES
Housing and healthcare are too expensive for almost everyone, especially older adults on very fixed incomes. With the support of kind people like you, the Campaign for the Ages will help solve this problem.
Currently older adults are faced with 2 to 3 year waiting lists for moderate or low income housing. By the time an older adult needs senior housing it is too late for too many.
There is a sliver of hope though! With your help PVM will build 1,200 new affordable housing options by 2026. Desperate seniors will have more options and lesser wait times when they are in need.
PAUL J. MILLER, CFRE, PRESIDENT, PVM FOUNDATION
The 1,200 new housing and healthcare options will be at four existing PVM Villages. The project is called The Campaign for the Ages.
This campaign is charged with raising $19.5 million from caring donors to bring these four new housing and health care options from a thought to reality. The total project cost is around $200 million. Thank you donors, $12 million of the $19.5 million has been raised to date! We are more than half way to our goal, and you can help us get there!
Campaign for the Ages- is truly one for the AGES. Please consider donating to it. Enjoy your summer and thank you for all you do,
Paul J. Miller, CFRE President, PVM Foundation
