Community Rises to Meet Grinnell State Bank Challenge $150,000 Matched for GRMC

It took only four months for area donors to meet the $150,000 challenge issued in September 2014 by Grinnell State Bank for all new gifts to Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s Moving at the Speed of Life comprehensive campaign. Grinnell State Bank matched all new contributions to the campaign, dollar-for-dollar up to $150,000.

GRMC has raised nearly $3,200,000 for the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign. As funds have been donated, projects have been started and completed as possible. The GRMC Auxiliary Chemotherapy and Infusion Center, Manatt Family Urgent Care, and a new 64-slice CT scanner are just a few examples.

Most recently, GRMC opened the new Paul W. Ahrens Fitness Center at Postels Community Health Park. This project was fully funded by philanthropy.

“Year-end gifts to the campaign and this challenge by Grinnell State Bank has made a big difference in putting us over the $3 million threshold,” says Denise Lamphier, GRMC director of communications and development. “We know that donors in our area respond well to a challenge like this one from Grinnell State Bank.”

The matching challenge from Grinnell State Bank continues the legacy established by the late Marion A. Jones, a dedicated community leader and former chair of the hospital’s board of directors. In memory of Jones, GRMC named her as an honorary co-chair of the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign, a role that has been carried out by her husband, F. Addison Jones.

“Marion Jones believed that the community should be active and engaged supporters of the hospital. There’s no doubt she led by example in so many ways,” says Lamphier.

With other projects completed, fundraising efforts turn toward the complete renovation of the current emergency department.

“Our attention now turns to the emergency department and mental health,” says Dan Agnew, community co-chair of the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign. “We’re still raising funds for the some of the other initiatives, but our focus is now on the renovation of the emergency department and building an endowment for mental health.”

Agnew reports that the campaign needs an additional $1.5 million to begin work on the complete renovation of the emergency department.

“The Jones family and the employees of Grinnell State Bank have always been vital supporters and promoters of the hospital,” Agnew says. “They understand the importance of excellent healthcare to the entire area for quality of life, economic growth and development, and for our own families.”

For more information about making a gift to the Moving at the Speed of Life campaign, please contact Denise Lamphier, director of communications and development, at 641-236-2589 or dlamphier@grmc.us.

###