Wilma Hartung 
( 3/1/1921 - 5/19/2009 )

A Volunteer Who Offered Time and Gifts

A patient's visit begins at the Registration desk, and that's where Wilma Hartung volunteered each Friday afternoon as she had until her death in 2009. She greeted patients, began their checking-in process and answered numerous questions. In addition, she was part of the Palliative Care on-call team, "Caring Presence Volunteers", who sit with patients who are in the last stages of life.  Wilma moved to Charlottesville from New York in 1986, almost sight unseen. "I made a good choice," she said. Living alone in a new city, "I thought the way to meet people was to volunteer for things," she said. She had volunteered with the Red Cross, the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) and the Alliance of Interfaith Ministries. She joined Martha Jefferson after having surgery here in 1992 for breast cancer.

In 2003 and 2004, she decided to make several  gift annuities  to the hospital. "The closest relatives I have are cousins. I don’t have a lot of money, but I was wondering, what will I do with it?" she said. "I had three mutual funds that were not doing particularly well in the market. Then I read something from Martha Jefferson Hospital about a gift annuity plan that had better rates than I was getting on the market. So I transferred my three mutual plans to Martha Jefferson Hospital. It's a win-win."

Wilma's support through her gift annuities, which paid her an income throughout her lifetime, now will benefit the program she loved at Martha Jefferson - our fabulous Volunteer Services.

To learn more about Charitable Gift Annuities at Martha Jefferson Hospital, contact Ray Mishler or Cathy Link, or call the Foundation office at (434) 982-8258.

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