A Heartfelt Gift

Planning for the future can be difficult, but planning a gift to a cause that is dear to you is an exceptional way to leave a legacy.

For David Skene-Melvin, it was the natural thing to do after his wife of 35 years, passed away at Mount Sinai Hospital.

“I have taken a lot out of Mount Sinai and now I am going to give something back,” he said of his bequest to the Hospital to both memorialize his wife and thank Mount Sinai for the care. “She was treated so wonderfully, she couldn’t have had better care anywhere in the world.”

For more than 20 years, David and Ann had been coming to Mount Sinai Hospital for various ailments, always receiving outstanding treatment and care, said David, a retired librarian.

“Over the years we both formed a very high opinion of Mount Sinai and how good it was,” he said.

For his gift, David, 68, said a bequest was the best option because he can continue to live comfortably, but with the knowledge that he has planned to support Mount Sinai in the future.

His estate – which includes his mortgage-free condominium and investments – will be equally divided between the Samuel Lunenfeld Charitable Foundation, in honour of his wife’s battle with breast cancer, and the Rebecca MacDonald Centre for Arthritis and Autoimmune Disease because of his degenerative autoimmune disease.

“I would recommend Mount Sinai to anybody,” he said, acknowledging the care and support he has received at the Hospital. “And now, we have done something for the future.”