Everyone has a Legacy

There is a very famous line: you can’t take it with you. I think about that line when I see some people using their money for good while they are alive and making plans for it to do good when they pass. Rod Hibbard left KenCrest a legacy.

I never met him, but the story of his work carries on. Those who knew him remember his deep care for our staff. Everyone remembers him as a leader in residential, someone you could count on, and someone who was deeply committed to the mission. He also left a significant gift.

Rod left his life insurance for KenCrest, $50,000. KenCrest then decided to do something with that money which has turned into an amazing reflection of Rod as a human being, the Rod Hibbard Fund.

A small team of KenCrest staff manage the fund. No administrative costs are charged to the fund. Every dollar Rod gave, and every new donation to the fund, goes out in the form of paying a bill. On a confidential basis, a staff member can tell their story and ask for a personal bill to be paid by the fund. For example, the fund has paid the bill to help someone fix a car and helped another person to pay a utility bill. It’s helped cover the cost of a heater when one broke in the middle of winter and helped cover a medical bill related to a serious and unexpected medical condition.

While the fund started with $50,000, employees, churches and neighbors have donated to the fund which has now given out over $375,000 in bill payments.

I had no idea that this fund existed when I applied to work here. I did, when I signed my new hire paperwork, elect payroll deductions into the fund. Since then, I have made other contributions and led fundraising efforts to support the fund. I am proud of that.

We honor Rod also with an award in his name. The legacy of the award is shared with another leader, Marilyn Seibott. With the Seibott-Hibbard award, we honor leaders who raise up other leaders.

It is a blessing to our organization that these two leaders chose to serve here. I think we all have the ability to leave a legacy of some kind, and we are all called to do that in some way.