Can an Immediate Impact Last Forever?

MARY SHEA AND EVE ENDICOTT have never met, but they have much in common. Both spent most of their careers helping others, Mary as a nurse and Eve at conservation nonprofits. They both have a connection to Boston Children’s that stretches back decades. And both have a plan to ensure the hospital can continue providing lifesaving care long into the future.

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES  In 1976, Mary graduated from Children’s Hospital Boston School of Nursing (1889-1978) and later worked here for several years, first as a registered nurse and then a pediatric nurse practitioner. Even after her nursing career led her elsewhere, the hospital’s ongoing commitment to educating nurses throughout their careers—a clear signal of how highly it values the profession—left a lasting impression on her. With multiple advanced degrees herself, Mary remains convinced that prioritizing a learning culture among nurses today is vital for tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs.

Eve also was moved by an experience more than 20 years ago, when her young son was rushed to Boston Children’s by ambulance with a life-threatening condition. Eve still remembers the surgeon who treated her sick child and the relief she felt seeing her wheel him into surgery, knowing her son was in exceptional hands. Today, that little boy works in conservation himself and climbs the world’s highest mountains in his free time.

Both women knew they wanted to make an enduring impact on Boston Children’s because of the difference it made in their own lives. They sought to honor their past experiences through meaningful gifts that could meet their philanthropic and financial goals and benefit the hospital for years to come.

Mary dedicated a current-use fund to the Nursing Career Lattice Program, which helps hospital employees from diverse backgrounds obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She also named the hospital as a beneficiary in her estate plan, creating an endowed fund to support nursing education in perpetuity.

“I never thought I’d be able to have this kind of impact while I’m still alive,” says Mary. “I’m getting to see the effects of my giving now and creating something that will last forever.”

Eve also found a way to achieve her present and future goals, by establishing three charitable gift annuities supporting the Every Child Fund, global health initiatives and free care. The annuities give her a reliable, fixed retirement income while furthering the hospital’s long-term mission to ensure all families, even those without insurance, can receive high-quality care.

“I will never forget the doctor who saved my son’s life,” says Eve. “She told me she would take care of him, and I knew she would. Now, I’m giving back so that other parents can have the same peace of mind.”