Paying Kindness Forward

At every turn of his cancer journey at GBMC, Ralph Campbell, and his wife Marcy, found kindness.

Marcy Campbell was so moved by the care everyone at the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute gave to Ralph that, after his death, she was determined to give something back. After reviewing her assets and ensuring she had enough to live on and could take care of her children, she established a charitable gift annuity to benefit the Cancer Institute.

“I knew it was the right thing to do,” she says. “You plant a seed and it grows and grows and you know you’ve done the right thing.”

Campbell is reluctant to say she’s proud of herself, though she does appreciate being part of the prestigious Elizabeth Duncan Yaggy Society, which recognizes planned gift donors to GBMC.

“I feel good,” she says.“I have a sense of relief, too, to know when that happens, it’ll go to GBMC.”

In the meantime, the annuity provides her a modest income.

Her years working at Brown Advisory had given her a glimpse into planned giving. The firm had several clients who gave to charity and who included large charitable requests in their wills.

“I thought, ‘I wish I could be this philanthropic.’”

And when the time came to look over own affairs, “I did what I thought I could do and what felt right for me.”

The charitable gift annuity is just one way Campbell gives back to GBMC. She volunteers for the Nearly New Sale, where she is in charge of the housewares department, and is a valued volunteer one day each week in GBMC’s Human Resources department. She takes both responsibilities seriously but confesses she and her Nearly New colleagues have a lot of fun.

“We wonder how we’d feel if we were paid staff,” she says. As it is, we have a blast!”

This year, Campbell is looking back on what would have been 50 years of marriage to Ralph. The two met in high school and married in 1972. They raised two children together, and she has countless fond memories of the life together she calls “wonderful.”

She doesn’t dwell much on the difficult times cancer brought to them but is instead grateful for Dr. Marshall Levine’s dedication and support. In fact, she felt they had the whole oncology team caring for them.

One day in particular, she was feeling overwhelmed by Ralph’s frail condition and her own fears. She pushed him in a wheelchair, grateful to be standing where he wouldn’t be able to see her tears. A nurse noticed, and quietly arranged for another staff member to take Ralph to his appointment so Campbell could have a few minutes in a quiet room to herself to recover. It’s a kindness she will never forget.

Every spouse of a cancer patient probably has a similar story – and at the Berman Cancer Institute, that moment features a thoughtful staff member who recognizes their need and steps in to help.

By securing a gift to the oncology program in her estate, Marcy Campbell has paid that kindness forward. As she says, “It’s a good feeling.”

For information about providing for GBMC in your will or estate plan, please email Senior Director of Principal Gifts John Jeppi at jjeppi@gbmc.org.