The Lifespace Foundation Renames Signature Program
As part of its 2018 efforts to reinforce its role and mission, The Lifespace Foundation renamed the Benevolent Care Fund, its signature program.
The fund, which provides financial support for residents who exhaust their financial resources through no fault of their own, is now called “Benevolent Care – A Home for
Life Fund.” The new moniker is the brainchild of resident Harold Mitchell of Friendship Village of Bloomington in Bloomington, Minnesota, who submitted it for consideration as part of an enterprise-wide search.
“Although ‘Benevolent Care Fund’ was meaningful and purposeful, we felt that we needed to rename it to give people a better understanding and sense of connection to what it’s all about,” said Lifespace Foundation Director Amy Brainard. “We wanted to better portray what the fund means to the people it serves, and what better way to do that than by involving them in the process.”
All 12 Lifespace communities and the home office collectively gathered nearly 200 new name suggestions from residents and team members on behalf of The Foundation. The names were submitted to Brainard and her team for final deliberation, with “Benevolent Care – A Home for Life Fund” rising to the top.
Mitchell was ecstatic to learn that his submission was chosen. “The name actually came to me very naturally without a lot of thought,” he explained. “Everyone understands what a home is, and we certainly understand The Foundation’s focus on better living, so it covered the waterfront, so to speak. It’s very neat.”
This major contribution didn’t go unrewarded. The Foundation hosted a special celebration in Mitchell’s honor at Friendship Village of Bloomington as a show of gratitude, complete with a special cake to mark the beginning of this new chapter for the organization. “The Foundation showed that they really appreciated it. The recognition was quite the experience,” Mitchell said.
In the photo: Harold and Bess Mitchell, residents at Friendship Village of Bloomington and Amy Brainard, Foundation Director.
