By Erin C. Perkins

Heartland Publications

DOBSON — A generous gift from the N.C. State Employee Credit Union brought a local hospice organization a few hundred thousand dollars closer to winding down its two-year capital campaign for a newly built hospice residence in Surry County.

At a special ceremony held yesterday, Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care announced it received a gift of $300,000 from the SECU Foundation, which is a part of SECU, a non-profit financial cooperative owned by its members. The contribution will be applied to assist with the operations of the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson at 945 Zephyr Road.

In front of the hospice home, SECU representatives presented a large check in the amount of $300,000 to Mountain Valley Hospice officials in front of a crowd of about 40 Wednesday afternoon.

“This campaign is a huge success in today’s economy,” said Denise Watson, the executive director of Mountain Valley. She said that the donation brings the total amount of funds raised to $3.6 million — just short of $1.4 million from the organization’s goal of raising $5 million to finance the building.

“We will continue in the years (and) months ahead to continue fundraising,” she said, adding that Mountain Valley is creating a task force to continue fundraising efforts to reach its ultimate goal. “We appreciate this generosity and will make the best of this gift to serve our patients and their family.”

The hospice residence, which opened in March, is the first free-standing hospice facility in Surry County and serves 16 counties.

The efforts to raise additional money for the facility began when Watson applied for grant funding in December through the SECU Foundation, which is a charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members. The non-profit promotes local community development in North Carolina mostly through education, health and human service related projects.

“Denise approached us and the local advisory met and thought it was a worthwhile project. The SECU Foundation in Raleigh approved the request, and I am so glad (it) did,” said Lilnette Phillips, the senior vice president of SECU.

Phillips said her father is benefiting from the hospice care that Mountain Valley provides, and she’s thankful for their services.

“They’ve just gone way above and beyond,” she said. “It’s an awesome organization.”

Monies raised for the foundation to help with community projects come from SECU members. Members who hold an active checking account automatically contribute their $1 maintenance fee to the foundation unless they indicate otherwise.

Following the announcement, everyone was invited to a celebratory ice cream social hosted by Mountain Valley Hospice.

Erin C. Perkins is a reporter with The Mount Airy News. Contact her at eperkins@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.