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Roger and Margaret Denton - Giving today to help tomorrow's children
Roger and Margaret Denton have been helping the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for nearly a decade as Partners in Hope, but they recently decided to take their support to the next level.
The parents of three grown children and the grandparents of four, Roger and Margaret had already considered remembering St. Jude in their will. "We had discussed it with the kids, and they were very supportive," Roger said.
Then he read information from St. Jude describing some of the benefits of a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA), which allows donors to make a planned gift to St. Jude and receive fixed payments for life in return.
"It got me thinking," he explained, "Why not do it now? The annuity rates are attractive and it is nice to receive dependable income from it. But my main motivation (in establishing the CGA) is to make a meaningful gift now that I know will go to the hospital when I pass away."
Roger retired from a 32-year career with the U.S. Postal Service a few years ago and now works a few days a month as a partner in a car dealership in his home of Campbell, Texas. Margaret worked for the local electrical company for many years.
"We're not wealthy, and like lots of others we lost some money in the stock market. But at our age it doesn't take much to provide what we need," he explained.
Roger said he wanted to make sure that establishing a CGA with St. Jude would be safe, "so I read a lot about it and checked with several people who knew a lot," including his financial advisor.
"They basically said I could look the world over and I couldn't find a safer place," he said, adding that he hopes to establish additional CGAs with St. Jude in the future.
Roger and Margaret love to travel, and they recently made their first trip to St. Jude for a Partner In Hope event, an experience Roger said "humbled us and left us even more motivated to help."
"When I got back I tried to tell my grandkids about it, but I got too emotional trying to explain all the wonderful things we saw being done for the children," he said.
"I just want to tell people everywhere that if you are going to donate to anyone, donate to St. Jude."
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