Generosity heals. It’s a phrase used regularly around Parkview Health, but unless felt firsthand, most people don’t truly understand what that means. The smallest act of generosity can create a ripple effect that spreads kindness from person-to-person – even among strangers.
When you start a chain of generosity, you are not only helping others, you also feel that impact yourself. In a matter of just a few short months, Beth Goldsmith, REALTOR® and owner of Sold by the Gold at North Eastern Group Realty in Fort Wayne, created a ripple effect from her own generosity and survivorship.
“The saying ‘generosity heals’ is impactful for me. I reflect on that and all of the healing and transformative things that have happened in my life because of the people who were generous in their time and passion to me and my family,” Beth said.
Beth’s sister, Beverly, died from breast cancer in 2003 at the age of 45. Beverly had served as a nurse at Parkview for more than 20 years. A short time later, Beth’s brother-in-law also passed away from cancer – leaving behind their four children to cope with the death of two parents. Beth lost both of her grandmothers to cancer and her mother was diagnosed with cancer, but thankfully, was able to overcome the disease. And while dealing with these devastating events, Beth received her own diagnosis in 2008.
After experiencing loss after loss to cancer, Beth was avid about early detection. It was because of early detection that she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. It was also because of the dedicated medical care that Beth received, as well as her strong support team, that she has been in remission for 11 years.
As she neared two major milestones in 2018 – her company celebrated their 25th business anniversary and Beth had been in remission for 10 years – she decided to mark both occasions in a very special way. In 2018, Sold by the Gold made a lead gift and partnered with the, new at the time, Parkview Cancer Institute’s (PCI) Transformative Cancer Care Fund (TCCF).
The initial goal was to raise a total of $25,000. However, Beth explained that after making the announcement, Jeanné Wickens, Chief Financial Officer, Parkview Health, approached her and encouraged her to take on the challenge of raising $250,000 for the TCCF. Beth gladly accepted the challenge.
The Parkview Foundation established the TCCF endowment fund to help support the expenses required to bridge the gap in providing the highest quality patient-centered care through holistic and personalized approaches. Donor support, like Beth’s, will assist with supporting those patients who are uninsured by helping with critical-care support like dietary supplements to maintain health, as well as wigs, scarves, nutrition education and genetics counseling.
“So many giving people in our community helped my family heal emotionally, so raising funds to help others deal with cancer felt like another form of healing for me as well. When generosity heals, you learn to find joy in the midst of pain and you find compassion in community,” emphasized Beth.
It was May of 2018 that her fundraising efforts began and through generous gifts and pledges made to the Parkview Foundation; she reached her goal in seven months! With emails, phone calls, social media posts, and an early tour of PCI, Beth and a most generous community achieved the goal. This was the largest gift to date received by the Parkview Foundation for the TCCF.
Beth explained after witnessing those close to her travel back and forth for cancer treatment that she, “understood from a patient perspective what it means to have great cancer care within your own community.”
In addition to being a generous donor and successful business woman, Beth is also the vice chair on the Board of Directors for Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., serves on the Manchester University President’s Leadership Council, Women's Business Forum, Live Healthy Hoosiers Board, and the Upstate Alliance of Realtors Government Affairs.
With Beth’s fundraising initiatives for the TCCF, she will forever create a ripple effect within the community by touching the lives of Parkview patients’ whom she may never even meet. Beth’s partnership with Parkview is bringing hope and healing to countless cancer patients during their dire time of need. We know Beth’s generosity truly will heal. To join Beth and others in making a lasting difference, visit Parkview.com/TCCF.