Over the last 25 years, the Spartanburg Regional Foundation has invested $50 million to support the health and wellness of community residents.

“As we look to the future of the Foundation, we will impact even more lives,” said Foundation executive director Kristy Caradori. “Each year we take on new initiatives that positively impact thousands of individuals facing a serious health needs throughout our region.”

Foundation projects have an expansive reach. Hospice patients find comfort in the state-of-the-art Spartanburg Regional Hospice Home. Mammograms are easily accessible for uninsured women throughout the Upstate. Uninsured patients at St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic are able to receive life-sustaining medications. These projects and more are made possible through funding from the Foundation, a division of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

In 1989, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System president Charlie Boone and two community leaders, Robert A. Harley and Sidney Fulmer, MD, began researching the possibility of creating a not-for-profit 501(c) fundraising organization to support the healthcare system.

“We needed to go beyond the walls of the hospital,” said Dr. Fulmer. “We are reaching out in ways we never dreamed.”

Spartanburg Regional Foundation was formed in 1991 with the mission to stimulate and receive charitable gifts to benefit programs and services of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

Success was seen within the first two years. The first major campaign involved raising money for the Rose and Walter Montgomery Patient Tower in 1993, which generated $3.3 million; $100,000 of which was donated by Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS) employees.

“What the Foundation did initially is show this is a very sophisticated hospital with a first rate heart center, cancer center and women's center,” said Julian Josey, MD, inaugural board member and SRHS and Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute physician. “These are centers of excellences that you would find in university hospitals. The Foundation has been a marvelous vehicle in which we showcase that.”

The Foundation celebrated its founding members and 25 year anniversary at the Patrons of Hope Society of 1921 Silver Gala with special guest speaker, Jane Pauley on March 19, 2016.

“We are honored to recognize the original leaders of our foundation who had the vision for what we could accomplish for this community,” Caradori said. “Every day, we are touched by their passion and commitment to our community's health and wellness.”

“The Founders” – Original members of the Blue Ribbon Panel and Inaugural Board include:

• Charlie Boone
• MacFarlane “Mac” Cates, Jr.
• Harrison Chapman*
• Phyllis Buchheit DeLapp
• Dr. J. Sidney Fulmer
• Ellen H. Gramling
• Thomas E. Hannah
• Cheryl Harlston
• Robert A. Harley*
• Dr. Julian C. Josey, Jr.
• Dr. John “Jack” Keith
• J. Michael Kohler, Jr.
• C. Bruce Littlejohn*
• Zerno E. Martin, Jr.*
• Sam Maw, Jr.
• Marion L. McMillan, Jr.

*deceased

About Jane Pauley

A familiar face on morning, daytime and primetime television, and one of broadcasting's most respected journalists, Jane Pauley is a correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning. Pauley began her network career as co-host of TODAY for thirteen years, anchored Dateline NBC for more than a decade and hosted her own daytime program, The Jane Pauley Show. Pauley is the recipient of multiple Emmys, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding achievement. Pauley is a member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame. Pauley has written two New York Times bestsellers: a memoir, Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue (2004) and Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life (2014). A longtime advocate in children's health and education, Pauley is a member of the Board of Directors of Children's Health Fund, The Mind Trust and Encore.org. She is a highly regarded spokesperson in mental health. She and her husband, Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau, are the parents of three grown children.