No More Ties

Preparing for Father’s Day, I often wonder what my father thought about the gifts that my brother, sister and I gave him for Father’s Day. He was a funeral director, and therefore had a large collection of white shirts, dark suits, and ties. Lots and lots of ties. Unfortunately, they all had the same muted tones, usually stripes, and were never, in a word, fun. One wonders how many is enough. And yet, there always seemed to be room in the closet for one more—generally a gift from a child not creative enough to think of much else—we nearly always saw him in a tie. When he was not in a tie, he was fishing, hunting, or grilling—especially those things he caught or shot. So other things on the gift list included long-handled spatulas and forks, lures and reels, and a new box of shells. He used to pretend he couldn’t guess from the size heft of the box, and then eventually, he ALWAYS guessed—perhaps in an attempt to encourage us to be more creative. Today as I think of my father, I realize that he might have LOVED it if I made a gift in his name to an organization that assured that hunting lands were maintained for that purpose, fish were stocked in his favorite lakes, and streams were kept from suffering the ravages of run off. In fact, I can still do that for him today, even though he passed away in 1999. And what of the fathers or father figures in YOUR LIFE? Will they receive another box of golf balls, the latest tennis racquet, or bottle of wine? Is he a veteran? How about a gift in his name to the Honor Flight Lowcountry Project Fund, which sees to it that veterans get to Washington, DC to see the memorials honoring them and their compatriots? Does he love music? How about supporting the Hilton Head Orchestra Endowment Challenge 2000 Fund, or the Junior Jazz Foundation Fund? Is he an educator? Support a scholarship fund, or perhaps the Beaufort County School District Education Foundation Endowment Fund. We have funds for almost any interest. Even better—how about ESTABLISHING a fund in your father’s name—love made visible in the form of honoring his own charitable interests. For $5,000, or $1,000 and a pledge for the remainder over 4 years, a permanent endowment supporting a cause of your choosing can be established. And for $2,500, a non-permanent fund can be created. This solves your shopping issue for years to come, as a new gift into the fund of any amount can be made at any time. So much better than another tie, don’t you think? Shopping for a Father’s Day gift may be just an EVERYDAY MATTER, but what you choose can indeed make every DAY (especially Father’s Day) really MATTER. Denise K. Spencer