Legacy Societies

Presbyterian Homes has been the recipient of the generosity of generations of ordinary men and women who have cared deeply about their friends and neighbors and other older adults who share in the community. Through their philanthropic investment, they have become partners in our mission to help hundreds of older adults live out their later years with comfort, contentment, and dignity. These ordinary people produced an extraordinary impact that is still in evidence today.

The original founders of Presbyterian Homes were visionary in their quest for a better way of life for older people of limited means. This led them to establish our first benevolent home in 1904. Their vision and passion caught the attention of many other compassionate people whose support helped to enlarge the vision and mission of Presbyterian Homes. This included such names as McCormick, Patten, Shedd, Field, and Buckingham. In more recent years, philanthropists such as Alvin Huss and Foster and Mary McGaw have continued this legacy. Their legacies are responsible for the growth and expansion of the services provided to generations, bringing us to where we are today; serving over 1,700 older adults.

In 2004, as Presbyterian Homes entered its second century of service, the Board of Directors create the Geneva Foundation and established two wonderful recognition societies: The New Founders Society and The Norman and Sarah Barr Society. Each was created for the purpose of formally recognizing benefactors and to encourage others to consider the same.

The New Founders Society honors donors who have arranged a gift to the Geneva Foundation of Presbyterian Homes through a bequest, life insurance, charitable gift annuity, or other deferred gift means. These gifts help fund many key areas including implementing benevolent care, employee development, and the preservation and growth of our campus communities for future generations.

The Norman and Sarah Barr Society is named after the founders of Presbyterian Homes. It is named in honor of two visionary early leaders - one delivered the impassioned plea to the Chicago Presbytery that garnered their initial resolve to create Presbyterian Homes in 1904, and the other shepherded the talent of countless devout women to build the institution. It is their dedication which launched the charitable mission to serving the life care needs of older adults and which grew the organization into what we know today, 119 years later. The Norman and Sarah Barr Society is named in their honor and recognizes individuals and organizations that make gifts in excess of $5,000 or more in a fiscal year.

As a member of these prestigious societies, you are recognized in the annual report, newsletter publications and invited to special events. By giving at the highest levels to the charitable work of the Geneva Foundation, you share in the achievement of providing the means which allow us to offer a vast array of charitable services to benevolent residents, serve the communities with vital capital resources and support a vibrant employee population. Thank you.