GENEROSITY MEETS GEOGRAPHY BEYOND THEWEALTH FAÇADE SEWICKLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY SEWICKLEY VALLEY HOSPITAL FOUNDATION SEWICKLEY VALLEY YMCA QUAKER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT An extraordinary legacy addresses poverty beyond a town’s prosperity. By Tony Norman W H E N R AY M O N D S C H U B A R T S U C K L I N G D I E D I N 2 0 1 4 AT 9 3 , he was already one of Sewickley’s most celebrated philanthropists. In 1993, he established a Pittsburgh Foundation fund in honor of his parents with a gift of $6,000 to the community. By the time of his death two decadeslater,thatinitialgifthadbeenfollowedby$664,000tothefund,which dispersed$345,000tovariouscharitiesandinstitutionsinSewickleyovertheyears. Hisdonationshadbeenagenerousandimpressiveshowofcommunity spirit by a quiet and unassuming retired engineer who never married and had no children of his own, but who loved helping the less fortunate in the Sewickley area. ThatwasRaymondSuckling’smissionuntilhislastbreath.Ifhisgenerosity hadstoppedthere,allofthosewhobenefitedfromhislargesseinandaround Sewickleywould’vecelebratedhimintoperpetuity.Butasitturnedout,that gift of philanthropy was the raindrop on an ocean wave. In January 2018, four years after his death, The Pittsburgh Foundation announcedthatitwastherecipientofa$37millionbequestfromtheSuckling estate. For the Foundation, it was one of the largest donations in its his- tory — second only to the $50 million Charles E. Kaufman Fund. Suckling’sgiftwasastunninggestureofphilanthropyfromamanwho gave no thought to taking credit before his death. The bequest specifically earmarked two annual $500,000 grants to be giventotwoinstitutionsclosetoMr.Suckling’sheart — theSewickleyPublic LibraryandtheSewickleyValleyHospitalFoundation.Whilebothinstitutions are still in the planning stage of determining how the significant revenue will be used, the heads of both organizations announced broad directions at a press conference in January. The area of focus for the hospital system, said President and CEO Norman Mitry, is to invest in an enhanced clinical trainingprogramfornursesandpatientcareassociates.Forthelibrary,the revenue stream will greatly reduce pressure each year to raise funding for 21 RE PO RT TO TH E CO MMU N ITY THE PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION