RALEIGH, NC (August 13, 2013) -- SECU Foundation, funded solely by State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) members, recently made the announcement of a $1 million challenge grant to the Hospice House Foundation of Western North Carolina (HHF WNC) for a new inpatient hospice facility. The area’s first Hospice House will be located on a 2.74 acre site in Franklin, NC. Serving North Carolina’s far western counties of Macon, Swain, Graham, Clay, Cherokee and Jackson, the inpatient facility will offer peaceful surroundings and the comforts of home to area patients and their families in need of end-of-life or respite care services. The House will include six spacious private patient suites, residential style living areas and other amenities including a family kitchen, dining room, chapel and exterior gardens. In honor of SECU Foundation’s challenge grant to HHF’s Capital Campaign, the facility will be named SECU Hospice House of Western North Carolina.
“It’s a tremendous honor to receive such a generous gift from the members of State Employees’ Credit Union,” says Michele Alderson, President of the Hospice House Foundation of WNC. “A challenge grant of this magnitude demonstrates the need our community has for the inpatient facility and has given our Foundation a big boost in campaign efforts to raise the funds needed for renovations.”
Jim Barber, SECU Foundation Board Chair comments, “We are very proud to partner with the Hospice House Foundation of WNC to help fill the critical need for palliative and respite care services in the far corners of western North Carolina. The SECU Hospice House of WNC truly reflects our Foundation’s philanthropic purpose in two if its core areas – healthcare and human services. There is no greater way to make a positive impact than helping to provide comfort and dignity to loved ones during difficult times.”
About SECU and the SECU Foundation
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for over 75 years. With 1.8 million members, SECU provides services through 249 branch offices, 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org. The SECU Foundation, a 501c (3) charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare and human services.