Spring Layout 2005.qxd - Magnolia Manor

“Loving Hands of Assistance”
The League of the Good Samaritan
by Rev. Robert Beckum
Vice President for Church Relations
“To the League of the Good Samaritan: My
mother lived at Magnolia Manor for ten years. As
her dementia progressed she was moved to different
sections so that she always received the care she
needed. Words cannot describe the comfort my family
received knowing that mother was in the hands
of such compassionate people. I will always be
thankful for the caring staff of Magnolia Manor
and for the loving hands of assistance extended to
my mother through The League of the Good
Samaritan. Please use this small donation to offer
that hand of love to someone else. I can’t think of
anything that would honor my mother more…”
Letters like the one above remind me who we
serve and how important The League of the
Good Samaritan is in that service. More than
1200 people live at our seven Magnolia Manor
campuses. We can call these people “residents,”
or “clients,” or “patients,” or “church members,”
but 85 % of those who write to thank
The League of the Good Samaritan for helping
their loved one call their loved one “mother.”
Every person we care for is somebody’s loved
one! Staff competence is certainly a benchmark
of quality care, but the heart of caring for
“loved ones” is compassion.
What struck me about this grateful daughter’s
thank you note was how she described the assistance
her mother had received from The
League of the Good Samaritan. She did not say,
“Thank you for the money given to my mother.”
Nor did she say, “Thank you for the plan of
financial assistance that allowed my mother to
remain at Magnolia Manor.” She said, “I will
always be thankful for…the loving hands of assistance
extended to my mother…” That’s how The League
is experienced on the receiving end!
Many of you experience the League on the
giving end. You receive another letter and an
envelope from me asking you to give. I hope
that this daughter’s thank you note, however,
will help you to experience the importance of
your gift to those on the receiving end. Here is
a true miracle enacted again and again. God is
able to take your gifts of money to The League
of the Good Samaritan and transform them
into “hands of love” that touch the life of
somebody’s loved one. If you’ve ever been on
the receiving end of such “loving hands,” then
you understand why Jesus said that mercy and
compassion are at the heart of what it means to
experience life everlasting and to live a life
worth lasting forever (Luke 10:29-37).
Thank you for your financial support which
allows us to extend the hands of God’s love to
the most vulnerable of older adults. MM
Nearly 100% of League
funding comes from
individuals like you -
Good Samaritans who care
about South Georgia’s
older adults.
8 Magnolia Manor