Fundraising campaign holds personal significance for committee member

When Mary Ellen Tippin first heard about “Together, We Thrive,” a fundraising campaign for campus improvements and new outdoor gathering spaces at Newton Presbyterian Manor, it resonated with her on a deeply personal level.

“My own mother was a resident at the Broadway Apartments for the last 11 years of her life … and they were wonderful years,” said Mary Ellen Tippin, steering committee member. “She made so many wonderful friends, enjoyed the helpful staff and participated in practically every activity offered to enhance her life.”

“Together, We Thrive’s” goal of raising $75,000 is earmarked to create a new outdoor deck— including landscaping, furniture and accessories—along with a complete renovation of the community’s beauty salon. The latter of which Mary Ellen believes her mom would have particularly enjoyed.

“From the time she moved into her cozy apartment, she started to visit the salon in the main building weekly,” said Mary Ellen. “Washing and styling her own hair would have been an impossibility. Even though she was a very young 90-year-old, this was a task her arms and shoulders could no longer accomplish. The salon was a convenience, a place of fun and fellowship—just a blessing in her life—and I know it has been and currently is that to so many others at [Presbyterian] Manor.”

Since being converted into a salon in the 1980s, the space has not undergone any renovations or other improvements. And, as for the deck, the past year and a half has shown just how critical having an outdoor gathering space can be.

Along with Mary Ellen, the fundraising steering committee consists of Carolyn Adams, Marci Andres, Newton PMMA Executive Director Marc Kessinger, Robetta Trapp, Rev. Bob Wyman and Susan Wyman.

The group has been hard at work contacting others in the community to solicit contributions and have already received more than half of what is needed. If you would like to make your own contribution, visit giving.presbyterianmanors.org/capital-projects/ or contact Mark Kessinger at 316-283-5400 or Regina Barger, stewardship manager, at 316-652-6255.

‍