FORMER CANDY STRIPER
CONTINUES TO GIVE
Janet Shapiro fondly remembers
her days as a candy striper in the
old Chilton building on Newark
Pompton Turnpike while she was
a student at Wayne Valley High
School. This early exposure to
helping others fueled her desire
to leave the world a better place.
John emerson
A
s this longtime Wayne resident was approaching the end
of her career as a Senior Real Estate Paralegal for Toys R
Us, she started thinking about the impact her life would
have. “I asked myself: what is the most meaningful way in which
I can make a difference in the world?” says Shapiro.
After speaking with her attorney, the path became clear:
she would make legacy gifts to several deserving organizations,
including her local hospital, Chilton Medical Center. “Chilton
has served an important function in our community for so many
years, and it has provided cutting-edge, innovative treatment for
me personally as well as for my parents and family members,” says
Shapiro. Among her reasons for leaving a portion of her estate to
Chilton is the desire to keep her community hospital as state-ofthe-art as possible so that friends, family and neighbors don’t have
to travel for their care. “Going back and forth to the city for care
puts a strain on an already stressful situation,” Shapiro explains.
“I want my gift to help Chilton offer the same level of care and
top-notch equipment as New York hospitals provide,” she adds.
Although Shapiro would like her estate to benefit several family members after she’s gone, she also understands the importance
of designating a portion of it to philanthropy. She says, “If people
feel what I feel, which is a sense of gratitude for high quality care
right in my own backyard, then there is always room to leave a
percentage to organizations you care about.”
Most importantly, Shapiro felt that making a planned gift to
Chilton would keep the hospital standing strong for years to
come. “I know I won’t see the benefit of my gift in this lifetime,
but I feel a responsibility to pay it forward and ensure future generations have the same opportunity for excellent health care that I
was fortunate enough to have. Good health care comes at a cost,
and Chilton needs people to go above and beyond so that it can
advance as health care advances,” she states. ❖
For more information or to discuss a planned gift, contact
Mary Ellen Loranger, Director of Development, Chilton Medical
Center Foundation, at 973-831-5363.
CHILTON MAGAZINE SUMMER 2015