These words seem to sum up Jill Lewis’ life of joyously helping others. And, our community has benefitted from her many years of energetic and dedicated service. Jill currently serves on ten boards and spends countless hours to improve the lives of people she may never know.

With such a broad exposure to the needs of our community, Jill shares that you need to pick your causes. McLeod Health Foundation has always been at the forefront of Jill’s gifts of time and treasure.

Jill moved to Florence in the early 1970s as a young mother and her first exposure to McLeod was as a volunteer. Later as she began a 25 year career in Human Resources with both ABB and ESAB, Jill continued her deep appreciation for the importance of good healthcare for the many employees she helped guide.

Jill currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement & Development at Florence Darlington Technical College. Her involvement with McLeod Health has continued as she has been both a McLeod Fellow (Class of 2009) and a McLeod Angel.

In 2011, Jill made the decision to make a legacy commitment to the institution that has been an important part of her life for more than 40 years. With this decision, she was welcomed into the Dr. F. H. McLeod Legacy Society.

A legacy commitment is often the pinnacle of an individual’s philanthropic support and is a very personal decision. Jill shares that her decision was motivated by the specific cause of cancer treatment and research.

Through the years Jill has stood by many friends who have battled cancer. In February of this year, she lost her mother, Natalie Eisner, to bladder cancer. "It is the feeling of helplessness that is so hard when someone you love struggles with cancer" says Jill. This feeling inspired Jill to make both a current gift to support the new McLeod Center for Cancer Treatment and Research as well as a provision for the future of this important care.

To determine how best to fulfill her desire to provide future support, Jill took advantage of a free service offered by the McLeod Foundation. Since 2006, the services of Jim Connell, a Charitable and Estate Planning Specialist, have been available to guide Foundation donors on the best gift options for their situation, which they can then review with their own financial advisors.

After examining her goals, Jim suggested to Jill that she consider a Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity. This type of gift allows Jill to plan for a guaranteed fixed stream of income in retirement with the balance of the annuity going to support the McLeod Cancer Center.

For Jill, who wakes up everyday with the purpose of doing her job to the best of her ability, helping others and loving her husband, Joseph Lewis, her children and eight grandchildren, this legacy gift will allow her to make a difference in her beloved community well into the future.