Spring 2008 - Memorial Hospital of South Bend

CHANGING LIVES,
ONE STORY AT
Celebrating 15 Years of Tithing at Memorial
PULSE › Memorial Health System › 574-647-6800
THE MAKING OF A MISSION
“Somebody had a mission,” says Beverly Milon,
sickle cell coordinator at Memorial’s Office of
Minority Health.
Milon has firsthand knowledge of Memorial’s
comprehensive approach to health, as there was a
time in her life when she had to rely on some of the
community programs Memorial actively participates
in through tithing.
“I went through a lot in my life, but we got through
it,” says Milon. “We were always blessed with the
resources we needed. This community has been really
good to me.”
Milon now works with families living with sickle cell
disease, helping them find social services and financial
resources when the illness keeps parents from work.
Being able to work in that capacity is a dream for Milon.
BUILDING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY
It was 15 years ago when Memorial’s board of trustees
made the unique decision to be one of the first
hospitals in the country to tithe 10 percent of net
revenues each year for the development of community
health programs. By building and investing in health,
Memorial was inspired to establish a bold vision: to
create the healthiest community in the nation.
Memorial Health System President and Chief Executive
Officer Philip A. Newbold calls tithing an accelerator
to a healthier community. For one thing, it inspires
other potential donors. “If you have the resources and
you don’t contribute, who else will want to”
DOING IS LEARNING
From the beginning, Memorial’s board decided it
wouldn’t just go forth and do good, but that it would
collaborate and harvest the learnings of these new
programs, and that this learning would be at least as
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