WesleyLife Foundation is honored to spotlight a donor whose generosity to WesleyLife and the people it serves has been tremendously impactful: the Pella, Iowa-based Vermeer Charitable Foundation.
Tricia Vermeer (pictured here), executive director of the Vermeer Charitable Foundation Board of Directors, introduces the Vermeer foundation by explaining its beginnings this way:
“When Gary Vermeer, our founder, started the foundation back in 1958, he did so out of a desire to give thanks to God for the gifts He had given to the Vermeer family and Vermeer Manufacturing Company,” Tricia says.
“That’s what we are still doing: In gratitude to God, we are giving thanks by giving back to the community that has blessed us so very much.”
Through gifts to WesleyLife and to Hearthstone, a ministry of WesleyLife in Pella, Vermeer Charitable Foundation has provided more than $1.9 million in support over several years. Tricia says Vermeer Foundation is proud to extend that support in part because the two organizations — WesleyLife and Vermeer — share a great deal in common, each being rooted in Christian faith with an overarching commitment to help others in need.
“The Golden Rule – ‘do unto others’ — guides us much as John Wesley’s counsel to ‘do all the good you can’ guides WesleyLife, and we are proud to be a part of WesleyLife’s dedication to people as they age,” Tricia says. “We know Biblical principles are in action at WesleyLife as they are at Vermeer — from the way team members are taken care of to the support offered to the greater community.
“For generations, Hearthstone has made such a difference to people here in Pella; many of our family members and friends have been served there, so we see WesleyLife’s mission in action. When you see how people benefit directly from the support that’s provided, that provides an incentive to continue to offer that support.”
