Community Invited to Match $1 Million Gift to Grow the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center Endowment Fund

Stillwater Hospice is inviting the community to help build a lasting legacy of compassion by contributing matching gifts to The Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center Endowment Fund, following a transformative $1 million founding gift from the Frank and Huber Family Foundation.

The Endowment Fund was launched in honor of Peggy F. Murphy and in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center, a service of Stillwater Hospice. Community members, donors, and partners are now encouraged to make matching or challenge gifts that will grow the endowment and extend its impact for generations.

“This is a rare and powerful moment for our community,” said Leslie Friedel, CEO of Stillwater Hospice. “The Frank and Huber Family Foundation has created an extraordinary base for future impact. Now we are inviting others to stand with us — and with Peggy’s legacy — by helping strengthen this endowment and ensuring grief support is always available for those who need it.”

Since opening in 2015, the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center, located on the Stillwater Hospice campus in southwest Fort Wayne, has provided individual grief counseling, support groups, and education to thousands of adults across northeast Indiana. Services are available regardless of ability to pay, filling a critical gap in mental health and bereavement care. Previous hospice involvement is not required to receive grief services.

“This endowment reflects my mother’s lifelong commitment to lifting up people in need,” said George Huber. “She believed deeply in compassion and community, and this gift helps ensure those values continue to guide and support others far into the future.”

While the founding $1 million gift from the Frank and Huber Family Foundation establishes the Endowment Fund, community matching gifts will allow the fund to grow more quickly — increasing annual distributions to support counseling services, outreach, and long-term sustainability.

“Grief is not on a timeline,” Friedel added. “An endowment allows us to meet people where they are whether that be today, tomorrow, and decades from now. Every matching dollar invested now multiplies the mission of the Grief Center long into the future.”

Unlike many grief programs limited by time or eligibility, the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center serves adults throughout the community, regardless of where or when their loved one died. Demand for these services continues to rise, underscoring the importance of a strong, permanent funding source.

Stillwater Hospice invites individuals, families, businesses, and foundations to participate in this once in a generation opportunity by making a gift toward the Grief Center Endowment Fund. Matching commitments, multi-year pledges, and planned gifts are welcome.

To learn more about making a matching gift or supporting the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center Endowment Fund, email [email protected] or contact Monica Chamberlain with Stillwater Hospice’s development team at (260) 435-3236.