Indian Creek Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a large footprint. It takes a lot of space to serve everyone within our scope of care! We have been fortunate over the years to receive sizable gifts of actual real estate, or enough funds to purchase or renovate buildings.
One recent gift to our Mission to Serve Every ONE, in the amount of $500,000, came from the estate of a long time supporter of Indian Creek. Dr. Helen H. Rawson Early (Dr. Rawson) supported our organization both financially and with advocacy during her lifetime, and we are honored to dedicate our Schoolhouse building to her name. The Dr. Helen Rawson Early Center is a separate building on our 420 Cowpath Road campus where we provide some of our Behavioral Health Services.
We are grateful for this gift and honored to work with Dr. Rawson’s family on the dedication of this Center.
Forging Her Own Path
Helen Rawson grew up in Scranton, PA during the depression years. The global disruption of World War II opened many different career opportunities for women, and she took advantage of that to enter medical school. Dr. Rawson completed her residency in Philadelphia, and then moved into private practice in Lansdale.
It was there that she got married, raised her family, and practiced pediatrics until her retirement. Although Dr. Rawson didn’t ever seek attention, she did like to rebel against systems and traditions. Her son John shared that she very purposefully dressed differently than whatever was fashionable at the time. It was her quiet way of expressing her individuality. She also ignored early critics of her being a woman in medicine and simply focused on being a great doctor. It worked. Dr. Rawson’s patients and families truly loved her, and she had an excellent reputation throughout the region.
Dr. Rawson was also very intuitive about innovations. She easily saw the practical applications of new technology, treatments, and resources. She embraced disruptions, because she understood that they would advance knowledge and best practices. This outlook allowed Dr. Rawson to collaborate very well with her patient families. She was always willing to explore their questions in depth and look for solutions and treatments that might be outside the box.
Generous and Conscientious in Giving and Advocacy
John Early, Dr. Rawson’s son, remarked that his mom had a very generous spirit, but that she was also very interested in how her giving was put to work. She preferred local giving, where her gifts would have a direct and measurable impact. She was very discerning about her contributions and did her research to see how organizations allocated their resources.
“She had a gift for advocating for something once it was in front of her,” said John. John’s sister, Elaine, has Down Syndrome. Dr. Rawson also had several patients in her practice who had Down Syndrome, or other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She understood the practical need for community organizations that support individuals with disabilities. As she knew from her patient families, a medical disability takes far more resources than most people realize.
When she first met with Joe Landis, former CEO of Indian Creek, Dr. Rawson quickly saw that it was a well-run organization that was meeting the very real needs of families in the community. She was a faithful donor throughout her lifetime, and she remained interested and involved in our work during her retirement years.
Embracing the Future
Dr. Rawson passed away at the age of 91 in 2018. Her family has enjoyed the honor of distributing gifts from her estate to the many different causes that were important to her. John admitted that she would not want the attention from these memorial gifts, but he and his family are grateful for the acknowledgment of her generosity.
In the spirit of Dr. Rawson’s forward-thinking attitude, our Mission to Serve Every ONE is focused on ensuring healthy growth for our services in the community. Through gifts like Dr. Rawson’s, we are expanding our programs, updating our technology, enhancing our support to families, and providing for our employees. To learn more about our mission and how you can support Indian Creek, visit www.serveeveryone.org.