A Legacy of Community Service

Dick Haas was born in Holland and is a proud Dutch Canadian. He is always quick with a joke or story about his incredibly adventurous life. As a lifelong volunteer and decade-long resident of Fergus, many in our community recognize Dick as a champion for local charities. You may know him from his 6-year tenure as a Groves Hospital Foundation Board Director and his 3-year role as our Investment & Finance (I&F) Chair & Treasurer. What you may not know is that Dick was also a key member of the Major Gifts Committee for the New Groves Campaign, or that he made a generous gift in support of the Project; for which he is recognized on our Donor Wall.

In his roles on Groves Foundation’s Board and I&F Committee, Dick saw first-hand the long-term benefits of Estate Gifts directed to Groves. Recently, Dick reached out to the Foundation to advise Executive Director, Lori Arsenault, that he will be leaving a bequest to Groves Hospital Foundation in his Will.

“I have always received such wonderful and compassionate care from the staff and physicians at Groves. Groves Hospital is a fundamental part of my community and, when I was looking for a volunteer position to fill my time after retiring, I immediately thought of helping out at the Foundation. In my time as Treasurer, I got to have a close look at how the Foundation carefully stewarded the gifts they were entrusted with and how those gifts directly translated into pieces of equipment, technology, and our share of the new hospital building costs. I really believe in the work Groves Hospital does and wanted to show my support in a meaningful way, which is why I made my donation and why I decided to include a Legacy Gift to Groves in my Will. I know that my Estate Gift will allow my work to live on at Groves.”

-Dick Haas

Dick has truly made our community a better place by virtue of his hard work, his contributions of his time, and his generous financial support of our local hospital. He has truly embodied the ideal of giving back to his community and his plan to continue his service to Groves, through his Legacy Gift, is truly incredible.

Lori shared; “We at the Foundation got to see Dick wearing a variety of different “hats” in his time as a volunteer. He was always happy to come in to the office to sign cheques, he was a smiling face and a helping hand at nearly every community event benefitting Groves, he never missed a Board or I&F Meeting, and he has been a generous donor for years. You can always depend on Dick! I am so grateful and touched that Dick has now chosen to leave his Legacy as a Gift to Groves. Dick’s bequest will ensure that the future equipment and technology needs at Groves are supported, to allow our physicians and staff to continue their excellent rural health care for our community, for generations to come.”

We are incredibly thankful for the support of all of our donors, like Dick Haas. For more information on how to leave a Gift to Groves in your Will, please visit our Will Power Campaign page.