2017 – “Campaign for Franke Tobey Jones: Historic past ~ Innovative future”

A major Capital Campaign commenced in the fall of 2017 to raise funds to help support this much needed, innovative health care and memory care building, for local seniors who would be receiving the most care could live in dignity and style.  The campaign was an opportunity for individuals, business partners and other friends in the local community to invest through philanthropic gifts in a new state-of-the-art skilled nursing and memory care community.

FTJ resident, Dr. Phil Phibbs, former President of the University of Puget Sound, was the Capital Campaign Chairperson and had much influence over the look and feel of the new Care Center.  In the end, both Dr. Phibbs and his wife lived in the Care Center.  Other members of the committee include residents Don Franklin; Phyllis Gill, former FTJ Board Chair; Nancy Gee Lock, former Franke Tobey Jones Board Member; and Ann Zenczak, former resident family member.

Franke Tobey Jones’ mission is to enrich and extend the quality of life for seniors in the community, and the organization has a rich history and longstanding tradition of meeting community needs.  The new Franke Tobey Jones Care Center is a natural progression for the organization.  The needs of seniors are changing and the number of seniors in Tacoma is increasing.  Our seniors needed a new state-of-the-art skilled nursing and memory care community in Tacoma which supported the essential tenets of the care we provide: Dignity, Community, Innovation.  We are proud to have a legacy of adding services, reaching out to the community to meet changing needs and continually adapting to fit with the growth of the region.

By the end of the campaign, approximately $2.5 million was raised by generous donors including a substantial donation of $1 million from the Whisper Foundation, a legacy of the Gary E. Milgard Family Foundation.  These donors support the FTJ not-for-profit vision of the new Care Center and wanted to help make care more accessible to more seniors.  We are inspired by this outpouring of support from the Tacoma community.”