Grace Village Care Foundation gifted $1 million
OSubmitted by Greg Bishop
n April 9, 2020 the Grace Village Care Foundation received an incredibly generous donation of One Million Dollars to its Endowment Fund. The donation was made by the United States-based Faith Foundation, whose sole contributor and creator is Mr. Richard Faith. Richard is a long-time benefactor and supporter of Grace Village and the Grace Village Care Foundation. One might ask why a U.S. citizen and a U.s.-based foundation supports a small seniors’ community here in the Eastern Townships many thousands of miles away. Simply put, Richard is a Townshipper with a long-standing connection to Grace Village.
Richard came from humble beginnings - he & his four siblings were raised in the rural family home on Beckett Road (now known as Duvernay Road) in Sherbrooke. His mother Rose Faith was born a member of the Page family, whose descendants continue to inhabit the family farm on Duvernay Road today. His father Earnest Faith’s parents operated a farm on what is now the site of Val Estrie Ford on King Street West in Sherbrooke. Richard describes how he used to help his grandfather herd Holstein cattle across what was then Montreal Road to the pasture on the other side that descended to the Magog River.
As a young man Richard went to work as a printer at the Sherbrooke-based
Page Sangster Printing Company. Several years later he took his printing skills and his young family to Vermont. Ultimately Richard became a Printing Consultant for the United Bible Societies, a calling which led him to serve in sixty-six different countries across Africa and Asia as well as a stint in Mexico City. His work contributed to the printing and distribution of Bible scripture in 1,648 different languages and dialects. Years later Richard and family returned to the United States where he purchased a small local printing business in Salem Oregon. From there he grew the business to the highly successful Linx Group Inc. which he continues to own and lead today.
Richard’s personal devotion to help worthy causes around the world resulted in his creation of the Faith Foundation. Many organizations have benefited from his support over the years including Grace Village. Richard’s connection to the original Grace Christian Home and the Connaught Home date back to his younger years when his father Earnest helped build the original home at Grace and his mother Rose, a talented seamstress, sewed the drapery for the Connaught Home. Rose Faith is now a very happy resident of Grace Village and is a gifted painter who has adorned Grace’s Faith Hall with her work.
Richard’s lifelong close friend and renowned local surgeon and photographer, Dr. Robert Paulette, shared the same affinity for the senior homes originally founded by Dr. W. J. Klinck and a group of visionary Townshippers. Sadly, Dr. Paulette or Dr. Bob as many would call him, passed away last month in Alberta. He and Richard kept in close contact right up to the end and shared an intense interest in the efforts to renew Grace Village.
Richard Faith’s decision to grow the Grace Village Care Foundation’s Endowment Fund is so that the investment income will contribute to the Foundation’s Dr. Klinck Resident Support Program. This program continues Dr. Klinck’s legacy to support residents of Grace who cannot afford the full cost of their care. The capital from the donation will be preserved and invested in a manner to allow it to grow over time, all the while helping support those in need through the investment income.
Mr. Faith is a humble man who likes to help others from behind the scenes. He rarely takes credit for his good works, but he gave permission for this article in the hope that his donation would encourage others to support the Grace Village Care Foundation Endowment Fund, no matter how small or large the donation. You can learn more about the Foundation at www.gracevillage.ca/donations.