Personal Donor Stories

Viola M. Ferris

Viola M. Ferris spent more than 20 years working for John Morrell. She had a number of jobs, none of them glamorous, but she enjoyed going to work. Co-workers said she frequently expressed gratitude for family, friends, health and community. She often spoke of Sioux Falls as a generous town, a place that cared.

When Viola died in 2003, she demonstrated in a most graphic manner that she was at the heart of that caring community. Through careful savings and regular investments, Viola left an estate of nearly $150,000. Almost all of it was given to charity. Her focus was toward organizations that helped the poor and powerless. She left funds to feed the hungry, care for abandoned pets and to protect children. Volunteers of America Dakotas was the largest single recipient of Viola's thoughtfulness. Her gift was invested in the endowment, where it will produce income to serve the community indefinitely. Viola Ferris was not wealthy, and probably never attended a formal "charity event" in her life. But she left a legacy that will continue through many lifetimes.

Most of us would like to emulate Viola. We feel the tug of responsibility, the need to have the things we care about live beyond us, and the desire to be fondly remembered by those who carry on. That's why we plan for generations we will personally never know and plant trees so others can sit in the shade.

That's also the reason the Volunteers of America Dakotas launched a formal planned giving program and added a staff member to assist in helping to plan the charitable giving portion of supporters'estates. Marty Gallanter, the former Director of Development for the Washington Pavilion, joined the Volunteers a few months ago. Marty has spent 27 years as a nonprofit manager. He developed the planned giving program for Dakota State University in Madison and, before that, for The Legal Aid Society of New York. He was also on the faculty of the Stern School of Business at New York University. Marty will work with the newly established Volunteers of America Dakotas Foundation, chaired by long-time supporter Joe Floyd.

"Volunteers of America is so results-oriented," Joe said in a recent interview. "They give people a second chance every day. The Volunteers touch young people at so many points in their lives, often just when they need that little bit of help that gets them back on track."

Because you, like Viola and Joe, care about those young people, a will should figure prominently in your future plans. Your will allows you to make a thoughtful distribution of assets that took a lifetime to accumulate and empowers you to minimize "estate shrinkage" from inheritance taxes and probate costs. Your will gives you the opportunity to improve the quality of life for your family and your community for generations. Your estate plan can even leave the world a better place, through charitable bequests to the programs of Volunteers of America Dakotas.

Office of Planned Giving
1660 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3427
1-800-899-0089, ext. 5073 | Fax: 703-341-7070
E-mail: rimbach@voa.org

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