Paying it forward: Generosity a way of life for Marty and Clare Schneider
If you’ve been to a parade in Saskatchewan sometime in the last 20 years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Marty Schneider: He rides a penny farthing bicycle, and at his peak, performed in six or seven parades a year across Western Canada. The last parade he rode in was two years ago, when he was 80 years old.
These days, he’s turned his efforts more toward volunteerism, like the work he and his wife Clare Schneider do for their parish, St. Philip Neri, and for Meals on Wheels.
“I find it satisfying to help those with lesser ability to move around and fend for themselves,” Marty says. “The motto I live by is Pay It Forward.”
For the Schneiders, generosity is a way of life. Marty says they give to those less fortunate on an annual basis to numerous charities, both locally and worldwide. So when they heard of the opportunity to support Palliative Care and Hospice Services at St. Paul’s Hospital, they knew they had to do something for this local cause they deeply believe in.
“Our personal religious philosophy has an extremely high respect for human life at all stages,” Marty says.
“We feel very strongly about providing adequate health care, and that includes palliative and hospice care for some people, so that’s our aim in setting this legacy up,” Clare says.
They reviewed their finances, and set up a planned gift agreement with St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation. In particular, they had life insurance policies through Knights of Columbus they could afford to give away. Marty has been actively involved with Knights of Columbus for more than 50 years, eventually rising to the highest positions in that organization in the province, and had accumulated various policies along the way. The Knights of Columbus started in 1882 as a “pass-the-hat” insurance system to protect widows and orphans, and that tradition of offering life insurance continues to this day.
“We got into retirement years and realized that life has been good, God has been good, and we have adequate pensions,” Marty says. “We see day after day the poverty and the need of many people less fortunate, so how come I was so fortunate? I want to share that with others.”
Making a plan to give what they have after they’re gone is also important to them, Clare says. “We’re both strong believers that we need to prepare to meet our end one day, and we don’t want to leave too many things up to somebody else to make plans for us.”
St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation is grateful for the Schneiders’ gifts in support of St. Paul’s Hospital. If you would like to learn more about making a planned gift in your will, please contact Lecina Hicke, Manager of Major Giving, at 306-6555832.