Holy Angels, Inc., in Belmont, NC is very proud to submit this nomination of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Barber (posthumously) to receive the 2009 Outstanding Legacy Award. Holy Angels serves individuals who have varying forms of mental retardation, physical disabilities and are medically fragile. We have provided exceptional care for thousands of children and adults from all over North Carolina for over 53 years believing that each individual, regardless of physical and mental ability, has the right to the highest quality of life.

Mr. and Mrs. Barber, residents of Charlotte for 50 years before their deaths in 2005 and 2007 respectively, were the most humble, unassuming and gentle people you could ever meet. Mr. Barber, a World War II Marine veteran, worked for Ford Motor Co. his entire career and Mrs. Barber was a homemaker and active volunteer with the Charlotte Nature Museum and Discovery Place. Mr. Barber was an avid golfer and even played in the Holy Angels annual golf tournament at the age of 94.  They both loved the outdoors from bird watching to camping at the beach to canoeing. Whenever they could, they would work with children to teach them about the simple pleasures of nature.

In the early 1960’s the Barber’s became aware of Holy Angels through the writings of the late Kays Gary, of The Charlotte Observer. Kays wrote powerful articles about the work of the Sisters of Mercy to care for children with severe developmental disabilities and the ultimate establishment of Holy Angels, Inc. The Barber’s became donors to Holy Angels, contributing $5.00 at Christmas time.  They visited often in the 1960’s and continued to give annually. Mr. Barber told us in 2006 that they agreed in the 1960’s if they had any money left over (at their death) that they would give it to Holy Angels. While the Barber’s never had children of their own, they knew that they wanted to support the children of Holy Angels. Mr. Barber said “Holy Angels gives them a life, an opportunity to live. That greatly impresses me.”

In 2000, Mr. Barber told us that they had established a Family Trust to leave the bulk of their estate to Holy Angels. We were stunned with how the Barber’s had planned and invested their entire life. Mr. Barber was a savvy investor, taking great pride in seeing his nest-egg grow. Little did we know, that in 2009, two years after Mr. Barber’s death,  their estate gift to us would become the single largest gift we have ever received. The Barber’s wish was that the dollar value of their gift remain anonymous.

While over the years Holy Angels has received many planned gifts, the gift from Mr. and Mrs. Barber is one that is truly special and the epitome of a true “planned gift.”  It is obvious that the Barber’s were motivated by the Mission of Holy Angels and they held on to this motivation for over 40 years. They felt a sense of pride in our work. Their gift was well planned and it required considerable time and effort, especially by Mr. Barber, to make sure that they were good stewards of their financial assets. We could always tell that they believed anything worth doing was worth doing well.

The Barber’s wanted to leave a lasting legacy for Holy Angels. They were convinced throughout years and years of annual giving, that their planned gift would make a lasting difference for us. We could see that they both had a real sense of fulfillment and that they knew they had made the right decision to leave their estate to Holy Angels. The Barber’s clearly told us to use the gift wherever it would do the most good. Some of their gift will be placed in our endowment fund and some will be reserved for program expansion. Also, in recognition of the Barber’s love of the outdoors, especially anything associated with the water and boating, we plan to name our new boat dock at Camp Hope The Barber Pier. Camp Hope is Holy Angels’ fully handicapped accessible camp on the South Fork River outside Belmont. Our residents use this camp for boating, fishing, picnics and walks along the wheelchair accessible nature trails. A portion of the Barber gift was allocated to physical upgrades at the camp, including the new boat slip and pier.

It is for these reasons that we proudly nominate Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Barber to receive the Association of Fundraising Professionals 2009 Outstanding Legacy Award. Their gift will make a lasting impact on Holy Angels so that we can continue to serve those who have very complicated developmental disabilities and be good stewards of our Mission.