CHARITABLE Gift Annuity
How do you say "thank you" to a place that has given you so much joy over many decades? My family began coming to Shrine Mont 70 years ago. We had summer vacations, and I came as a counselor to family and teen camps in the pre-Saint George's days. College and marriage took me far away from Virginia. When Rod and I settled in Salisbury, Maryland with our young family, I brought them all to Shrine Mont in 1972 for the first time. I was delighted when two years later, our oldest, Cale, announced to friends : "We always go to Shrine Mont." And we have.
We celebrated our daughter's wedding here. We baptized five of our family here. We observed our 50th wedding anniversary and our 80 th birthdays here. We have hiked miles of trails, worked countless jigsaw puzzles, photographed mushrooms, collected fossils, fished, played tennis and volleyball and Capture the Flag, sipped gin & tonic and solved all the problems of the world. We have asked each year "Is this pecan pie day?" We have made lifelong friends and watched as new generations of our family and theirs became part of our Shrine Mont life.
Our Salisbury church, St. Alban's, came for fall retreats for 15+ years. When our car broke down one October, my family went home with other parishioners while I stayed and helped make apple butter until car parts arrived. It was such an amazing project that I persuaded my family and several friends to stay to peel apples and stir the kettles for several years thereafter.
Several years ago Rod and I realized that we could create a charitable gift annuity with Shrine Mont as the remainder beneficiary when we pass away. During our lifetimes, we can either take the annual income and use it ourselves - or give it to Shrine Mont. It's a good feeling to know that we can help ensure that future generations of our family - and yours - will have this beautiful place to refresh and inspire them.
