Four gold coins given to Wichita nonprofits offer hope

Shelly Prichard, Wichita Community Foundation president and CEO, presented two gold coins Tuesday morning to the Guadalupe Clinic and two more later to the Lord’s Diner.

For more than a decade, the Wichita Community Foundation has presented the gold coins to local nonprofits from an anonymous donor.

“We went and spoke to him about a month ago and said, ‘It is that time of the year,’ and he said, ‘You know, those guys at that clinic do such great work,’ ” Prichard said during her presentation at the clinic, for which she wore a red jacket and Santa hat.

“And so this is from our anonymous donor on behalf of the Wichita Community Foundation. And, I have to say, you are doing such good work that this year, he is giving you two!”

The first set of gold coins was distributed in 2005 to five organizations. This year’s coins are valued at $1,064 each.

The donor has only one request when he gives the coins – that they be used to generate additional funds for the organization.

Rich Kerschen, chairman of the board at Guadalupe, accepted the two coins Tuesday.

Jodi Guillemette, Guadalupe’s director of development, said that the Guadalupe Health Foundation traditionally auctions the gold coins at the organization’s fundraiser and has developed a Gold Coin Society. Every buyer but one has returned the gold coin to the clinic after purchasing it for auction.

As of April, Guadalupe had raised $198,667 with the coins. Through the years, it has received eight gold coins.

“They go into our live auction at the Midwest Wine Festival Grand Tasting,” Guillemette said. “We have donors who are very gracious that purchase them, but they always give them back.”

The Guadalupe Clinic provides health care for those in need at three locations.

Jan Haberly, director of the Lord’s Diner, said she also received visitors on Tuesday bearing two gold coins.

“It was a surprise,” Haberly said. “It means everything to us. It represents how generous Wichita’s community is.”

The coins, she said, will be placed in a vault until the fall, when St. Vincent De Paul Church in Andover has a fundraiser and at least one of the coins will be auctioned off.

“We double the value of the coin each year; we hope for that,” Haberly said.

The Lord’s Diner provides 2,200 to 2,500 meals daily at a cost of a $1 a meal at four Wichita locations.

“So we can provide at least 2,000 meals (for one coin),” Haberly said. “That is nothing to be ungrateful for. That’s very amazing.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Four gold coins given to Wichita nonprofits offer hope."