Swain bequest of $255,000 pays for two ambulances
By PHYLLIS HODGES
The Sun City Center Emergency Squad pays its bills solely from donations, so Chief Financial Officer Marty Gifford processes a lot of checks from the community’s supporters, especially during the squad’s end-of-the-year fund drive. This year, however, a $255,000 bequest from the estate of Jack and Jaynet Swain has Gifford excited.
“This gift is a real windfall for us,” said Gifford. “We are using it to replace two of the squad’s four ambulances, and each of those will have a visible acknowledgement that it was donated by Jack and Jaynet Swain.” The squad also has two vans they use for providing transportation to wheelchair-bound residents.
Jack Swain died in September; Jaynet’s passing was in February 2018. They had no children. Both were retired military — Jack (U.S. Navy), Jaynet (U.S. Air Force). After moving from California to Sun City Center more than 20 years ago, they quickly adopted the SCC lifestyle and served as community volunteers, according to Gary Martin, a longtime friend, who is now serving as trustee of their estate. He said they held the Emergency Squad in very high regard, which is evident by the generosity of their gift.
As of mid-December, the squad has made 4,707 ambulance runs in 2018 plus 1,410 wheelchair runs. The community’s monetary and manpower support is an ongoing need to allow this unique service to Sun City Center residents. Over 400 volunteers, ages 18 to 93, perform the myriad tasks required for daily operations.
“It takes a village,” said Assistant Chief (Human Resources) Chris McCann. “There is a job for anyone wanting to help, from filing to cooking to cleaning equipment.” She said they are delighted to see more of SCC’s younger residents volunteering, and they have volunteers from outside the community as well. For information on volunteering, email McCann at chrism@scc-ems.us