Golf, Gala, and Gift of Life: Donors Show Their Support for Rural Patients at 25th Mayfaire

Stanford teachers Gretchen and Andrew Durand stayed in Benefis Foundation’s Gift of Life Housing while their son, Eamon, was in the Benefis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and again while Gretchen was treated for cancer a few months later. They told Mayfaire attendees Gift of Life meant their family could be together supporting each other during a difficult time. BENEFIS PHOTO/PARKER WARD The Benefis Health System Foundation announces today that the recent Mayfaire fundraiser netted more than $720,000 for renovations at Benefis Gift of Life Housing. “I hope patients who need to stay at Gift of Life will feel the outpouring of love we saw at Mayfaire,” said Jami Wald, Benefis Foundation chief operating officer. “We know it is hard to travel when you are ailing, and it was wonderful to see donors step up for our neighbors from across northcentral Montana and beyond.” Because of donor support, Gift of Life is able to provide patients traveling for medical treatment a free place to stay on East and West campuses in Great Falls. The houses have been well loved by thousands of guests during the last three decades and need repairs and refreshes to continue to be a welcoming place for those in need. Kaelianna Ryan of Montana City helped rally donors by sharing her story of turning to Gift of Life during cancer surgeries. “It was stressful having to travel so much,” she said. “When I stayed at Gift of Life, I felt so grateful sitting on that chair knowing donors made this possible.” This year’s Luminary Award, a recognition of those “whose generosity, leadership, and vision shine a bright light in our community,” was presented at Mayfaire to David and Tanya Cameron. The award recognized their impressive record of community involvement and philanthropy in Great Falls and beyond, as well as their passion for healthcare. Tanya Cameron has been on the Benefis Foundation and then the Health System board for 17 years, and she reads stacks of research every week for the role. David Cameron has been a committed supporter of the McLaughlin Research Center and ran a pack of “research cowboys” on the family ranch while teaching biology at Montana State University. The 2024 Mayfaire fundraising tally is the third highest in 25 years of the event. The fundraising record remains the more than $1 million in 2022 benefiting Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute revisions, and last year’s Mayfaire raised another $925,000 for the SCI project, which is underway. Gift of Life also was the beneficiary of the first Mayfaire, which raised more than $15,000 in 2000. “Donors, sponsors, and volunteers have built Mayfaire into an event that’s so fun it’s anticipated all year, and it’s become a weekend that makes a generational impact on healthcare for northcentral Montanans,” Wald said. “Donors helped expand the Emergency Department at a crucial time, establish the Women’s and Children’s Center, and prepare Sletten Cancer Institute for the next decades of patients, and much more,” Wald added. “Now they are making a profound difference for patients traveling for care with their support of Gift of Life.” Work just finished on the East Campus Gift of Life, which provides convenient access to Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute for cancer patients recovering from chemotherapy before driving back to Shelby, Lewistown, Big Sandy, and beyond. It’s also a refuge for parents tending to a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and patients coping with other medical challenges after traveling for treatment. As guests return to Gift of Life on East Campus, Benefis Foundation marks the halfway point of the Gift of Life fundraising campaign and will continue to fundraise for the project through 2024. To learn more about the project and ways to help, visit Benefis.org/GiftofLife.