For three generations, John Berrett’s family has turned to Massachusetts General Hospital to treat their most serious medical needs. So, when it came time for the former corporate communications executive to decide where he would make annual gifts and designate charitable beneficiaries of his IRA, Mass General was top of his list. As a Phillips Society member, John is active in the community of people who have chosen to create a lasting legacy of giving that advances medicine and scientific discovery by making a legacy gift to Mass General.
“Growing up on the North Shore of Boston, I remember my parents turning to Mass General whenever they needed medical care. When we moved to western Massachusetts later in my childhood, they continued to turn to Mass General for our family’s most complex medical concerns, despite being more than an hour away.
One day, I came home from high school, and my mother wasn’t home, as she usually was. My father had returned to find her in great distress and pain, and he picked her up, drove her to Mass General, and carried her into the emergency department on Fruit Street. She had an infection in a nerve center behind her eyes, and her ear, nose and throat team at Mass General was able to successfully treat it that very day. I remember visiting her in the hospital a few days later, well on her way to recovery, her energy and appetite restored.
Just like my mother, when I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation a few years ago and experienced a minor stroke, my daughter drove me to Mass General, where the cardiology team helped establish a new regimen of care. For my whole family, for generations, Mass General has been the place we go for trusted, expert healthcare, regardless of where we live.
As I get older, I’ve decided to focus my giving on the relationships that mean the most to me — my alma mater, Transylvania University, and Mass General, where, in my opinion, you will find the world’s best medicine and healthcare.
Thanks to hard work, many career opportunities and some excellent financial advice, I’ve been fortunate enough to accumulate more resources than I need, and I want to give back to the communities and institutions that have supported me throughout my life. That includes making Mass General one of two beneficiaries of my IRA. These funds will go to the MGH Fund, the hospital’s main source of flexible funding, giving hospital leadership the ability to use those funds wherever they are most needed, including during times of crisis.
In addition to naming Mass General as a charitable beneficiary of my IRA, I am also giving the MGH Fund 50% of my IRA required minimum distribution (RMD) annually. These annual gifts enable me to support the MGH Fund now, help manage my taxable income over time, and allow the remaining balance of my IRA to continue growing tax-deferred, ultimately benefiting Mass General in the future.
I give to Mass General because it’s important to me to be a part of this community, to support the institution that has always been there to keep my family and me healthy, and to help Mass General remain one of the best academic medical centers in the world. My contributions to the MGH Fund are one important way of doing that.”
To support the MGH Fund, click here.
To learn more about how you can name Mass General a beneficiary of your IRA and create a legacy to advance medicine, please contact our Office of Gift Planning at mghdevpg@mgh.harvard.edu or 617.643.2220.
