By LOIS KINDLE
By all accounts Mary Petro lived a modest life, bringing no attention to others she had a high net worth.
“She was the classic millionaire next door who lived in a way no one would know,” said Wilma Norton, vice president, community connections for the Community Foundation Tampa Bay (CFTB). “From what I understand she was pretty reclusive. She lived frugally, invested well and then left her legacy for her neighbors.”
When Petro died in 2009 at age 96, she left $2 million from her estate to the Community Foundation Tampa Bay to establish a fund for assisting low-income seniors in Sun City Center and Kings Point to obtain food and medicine.
The Mary Petro Fund for Food and Medicine is administered by the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center as one of its ministries and distributes annual funding from the foundation in accordance with Petro’s wishes.
Earnings from the fund generate $100,000 or more annually. Currently, between 75 and 100 people are served each month.
Bob Mohr helped Petro develop her estate plan.
“She was quiet, reserved and drew no attention to herself,” Mohr said. “She was concerned about her neighbors living on social security and wanted to help them get their food and medicine.”
Mary Petro
His wife, Rebecca, one of two people representing the community foundation on the church’s Mary Petro Oversight Board, agrees.
“It would have brought her great joy to know people are benefiting from it,” she said.
Madeline Hughes, director of the Mary Petro Fund program, determines an applicant’s eligibility for funding based on the individual’s income. She feels there are many more people in the community who could benefit from funding.
In 2016, a CFTB South Shore Council-commissioned needs assessment survey found the nutritional health of area residents and food insecurity were among the community’s deepest concerns.
“We service a drop of those in need in Sun City Center,” Hughes said, stressing all services are confidential. “People are just hesitant to ask for help.
“There are more women on the program than men,” she added. “The majority of them live alone.”
To be eligible, recipients must be legal, full-time residents of Sun City Center or Kings Point. Maximum incomes are $25,000 for individuals and $30,000 for couples. On rare occasion, exceptions may be made for unusual circumstances.
Once folks are eligible, they receive a full year of support based on when their application is approved. The maximum of amount of assistance over that 12 months is $1,500. Recertification is required to renew for another 12-month period.
Per Petro’s wishes, funds may only be used for food and medicine. Non-food or alcohol purchases are not covered.
Office hours for the Mary Petro Fund office at the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center, 1971 Haverford Ave., Room 12, are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays.
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Madeline Hughes is the director of the Mary Petro Fund program, a ministry of the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center. She has a bachelor’s degree in human services from St. Leo University with a specialty in sociology and retired after 35 years working with the Florida Department of Children and Families in public assistance
Hughes is currently working with the Sun City Center/South Shore Lion’s Club to help people on the program who can’t afford eye exams and glasses to get them and with Mission Smiles for dental needs. In April, she’ll be working with the Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida to get them help with hearing needs.
If you’d like to help, tax-deductible donations to the Mary Petro Fund are welcome. You can make a one-time or recurring contribution via credit card or ACH/direct debit. The minimum online donation is $25.
Visit www.cftampabay.org/petro or call 813-282-1975.
To contact the Hughes for additional information, call 813-634-8306 or email marypetroscc@gmail.com/.