Why I Give: Evan Speece

In January 2011, I joined the Planned Giving committee at Liberty Lutheran. I have had family connections to Liberty for even longer, as my grandmother-in-law lived at Artman for a long time, and my Aunt has served on several board committees.

Having grown up in the Wissahickon School District, I was aware of the impact that Artman and Liberty’s other work had on the community. The respect and honor with which the community held Liberty always impressed me. My desire to be involved with an organization that impacts the community while progressively addressing its needs, like helping to responsibly manage the aging of the U.S. population, is what led me to Liberty.

What I found here is that Liberty is a family. I can see that by the devotion of Liberty’s employees, residents, management, volunteers, and board members. The people I have met during my time here are second to none – good, ethical, community-minded folks who, with a touch of humility, are focused on asking the difficult questions, getting things done, and improving lives.

Once involved with Liberty, it’s difficult to leave, because the issues are too important and the mission too pressing. From a board perspective, I love that Liberty constantly strives to be world-class. The management at Liberty is extremely impressive. Many for-profit companies aren’t run nearly as well as Liberty Lutheran.

Becoming a donor to Liberty was an easy decision. I believe in giving to organizations where I understand how the money is being spent, and that it’s being spent in productive ways. I do not know of any other organization to which my wife Stephanie and I have contributed where I can see a more direct impact of our gift. Liberty has also made a concerted effort to encourage donations of stock, which benefits both the donor and the organization. I was happy to use this form of planning as a vehicle for our donations – the Liberty team made it exceedingly easy to do so.

Last year, I had the opportunity to give in a different way by working in Eastwick in disaster response. That experience made a huge impression. I help to fight natural disasters for my day job in the renewable energy industry, so it is troubling, especially in the face of climate change, that there are increasingly so many on a year-to-year basis. Shortly after one happens, the news media and people in general forget about its impact on the lives of those affected. These disasters take YEARS to clean up. Without the help of volunteers, the situation would be worse. I was happy to contribute in a small way to help expedite a family’s recovery from Hurricane Isaias.