John & Dolce Tatlow know what they want from life. They knew they loved each other. They knew marriage was in their cards. They knew the moment they saw their dream retirement home in the Chester area they wanted to make the South Shore home. But when it came time to face the task of creating their wills, it was hard to know how to start the conversation.

“We started to talk about our final wishes in our fifties, which is young. Where we don’t have children, we had to be a bit more careful about where things ended up and how they will be divided. It’s time consuming. It takes a lot of thought,” says Dolce. “We wanted to leave it to somewhere where it would be used for future generations.”

Dolce acknowledges it was her husband John’s enthusiasm for the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore that made it clear where their final donation should go.

“Being a past board member and chair of the Foundation’s Planned Giving Committee made it sort of easy,” John reminisced. “We were already donors. We already approved of the Foundation’s work and how it raised money. My work enlightened us on the needs of local healthcare and inspired us to set an example for others.”

The couple had both received several procedures and a medical emergency which led them to South Shore Regional Hospital. John wanted to give to the Health Services Foundation as a way to say thanks. “It’s all very well to have doctors and insurance but if doctors don’t have the tools, the diagnostics, the utensils they need; their hands are tied. And to us that’s what the Foundation does: provides tools that are in need. We are fortunate to have this on the South Shore. People need to support what they have.”

After years of working in the financial sector, John points out a move by the federal government to make it easier to give shares, with capital gain, to charities like the Health Services Foundation, was a turning point in his charitable ways. “You avoid paying income tax on that donation twice. In general it costs me half to give using stocks, which you can do in your will.”

For Dolce, leaving a final gift in your will to local healthcare is a no-brainer. “Local healthcare keeps us alive – what would we do without it? We are users. The older we get, the more we are going to use it. People may not know it today but they are going to really need the healthcare that is provided on the South Shore one day. Support it. Whether through an annual gift or your will: support it!”