Local Father Helps Hospital That Helped Son

By Jeff Malachowski/Staff Writer
Tue Jun 17, 2008, 06:53 PM EDT
SHREWSBURY -
What began as a tragedy for the Prefontaine family has turned into a blessing for many children at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, as the Prefontaine Foundation has raised and donated over $300,000 to the hospital.
One of the organization’s founders, Chris Prefontaine, was recently honored for his efforts with the foundation and Franciscan Children’s Hospital and was inspired to create the foundation after his son Nick received treatment at the hospital.
On Feb. 5, 2003, Prefontaine received a call that Nick had been in a skiing accident on Mt. Wachusett and was knocked unconscious, suffered multiple brain injuries and was in a coma.
Nick was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center and doctors to put a tube down his throat for oxygen to flow. Doctors told the Prefontaines it was likely Nick would never be able to walk, talk, eat or take care of himself.
After about a month at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Nick’s condition slowly improved and he was transferred to Franciscan Children’s Hospital, New England’s largest pediatric rehabilitation facility, to begin his rehabilitation process.
While at Franciscan Children’s Hospital in Boston, Nick spent 12 hours each day doing physical, occupational and speech therapy and was able to re-learn how to sit up on his own, how to get dressed and how to take a shower on his own.
After a two-month stay, Nick walked out of Franciscan Children’s Hospital and back to his Shrewsbury home and would spend his summer being tutored so he could enter high school in the fall. He graduated from St. John’s High School last May.
Because of Nick’s stay and success at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, the Prefontaine family created the foundation in the spring of 2005. Since its inception, the foundation has raised nearly $300,000 to help children at the hospital.
“It got started as a result of Nick’s visit to Franciscan,” said Chris Prefontaine. “While he was there we watched them piece together parts for wheelchairs to accommodate kids. We saw a big gap and thought we could do something to help.”
During the foundation’s three years, the outpatient waiting and service areas have been renovated, a therapeutic pool, allowing some patients the ability to walk for the first time since their injury and a solarium, allowing children dependent on respirators and other life-sustaining equipment to enjoy fresh air and sunshine.
“It’s really awesome to see the progress made at Franciscan,” said Chris Prefontaine. “It’s hard to explain the feeling that is gained by helping children and families.”
In addition to working on various projects, such as the therapeutic pool, the foundation also helps with the hospital’s other needs, such as replacing old boilers.
“The not so glamorous thing about the hospital is it’s an old building,” Chris Prefontaine said. “We try to address as many of their needs as possible.”
Prefontaine was honored with the Community Leadership Award by the Franciscan Hospital at the annual Community Leadership dinner in late May.
“The award is definitely not about me,” Chris Prefontaine said. “I could not have done it without the incredible support of the foundation and those at Franciscan Hospital. I wish I could have had all 15-20 members of the foundation up there receiving the award with me.”
For more information or to donate to the Prefontaine Foundation, visit http://prefontainefoundation.org.

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Community Leadership Award Dinner - Franciscan Children’s Hospital

Congratulations to Chris Prefontaine on receiving Franciscan Hospital for Children’s 2008 Community Leadership Award!

Friends, supporters and well-wishers of Franciscan Hospital for Children, gathered on Tuesday, May 20 at The InterContinental Hotel in Boston, to honor and celebrate the Hospital’s local heroes. Chris Prefontaine, founder of the Prefontaine Foundation (now the Prefontaine Fund) and Todd Patkin, founder of Todd G. Patkin Charitable Ventures received the presitigious Community Leadership Award while Victoria Tolman, former patient and current employee of Franciscan Hospital for Chidren, was the recipient of the 2008 Profile in Children’s Courage Award.

Franciscan Hospital congratulates the honorees and extends its gratitude to all who made this evening a success. As always, the much needed financial support we receive at Franciscan goes beyond fulfilling program needs - it touches the lives of our children in many ways.

The Community Leadership Award Dinner is an annual fundraising event that brings together numerous friends, partners and supporters of the Hospital to appreciate the unwavering support exhibited by individuals, corporate partners and organizations within the community, towards the Hospital’s mission.

During this event, the Hospital also recognizes the courage of its patients through the Franciscan Profile in Childrens Courage Award. The Franciscan Profile in Childrens Courage Award honors patients who have shown resilience and courage in the face of overwhelming challenges while on the path to recovery.

Helping Children Succeed

The Prefontaine Fund at Franciscan Hospital has evolved from what was formerly a nonprofit family charitable foundation established to provide better opportunities for children in need. Because of Nick’s Story, the primary focus of the Fund is to initiate and support fundraising activities on behalf of Franciscan Hospital for Children. The Prefontaine Fund donates 100% of all funds raised to Franciscan Hospital for Children.

Mission

The mission of the Prefontaine Fund is to support projects that promote the best possible learning experience for children and young adults, enabling them to enter the real world with confidence.

The Nick Prefontaine Story

We invite you to see and hear the power of Nick and the Prefontaine family’s experience at Franciscan Hospital for Children. Click here to view Nick’s video.

Contact us if you’d like a copy of the DVD to share.

The Prefontaine Fund’s Current Projects

Thanks to the generosity of dedicated friends and supporters of The Prefontaine Fund, a number of projects are underway.Two of these projects are the new state-of-the-art Physical and Occupational Therapy room known as Nick’s Room, and a new Solarium.

The Prefontaine Fund has raised and donated over $100,000 annually to the Hospital towards these and other major projects. Featured Project– A New Solarium Room - a breath of fresh air!
Imagine never having felt a breeze, or played or napped in the sunshine? Let’s give these kids that chance!

The children at Franciscan Hospital are often wheelchair bound and dependent on respirators and other life-sustaining equipment. Many of these children are at Franciscan Hospital for months or even years and seldom, if ever, are able to go outside to experience and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. The new Solarium Room will give them that opportunity.
The Prefontaine Fund’s pledge for this project is $100,000.

Support our efforts by donating as an individual or a company.Contact us to find out how you can support us further.

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Powerful Wealth With Your IRA

How to Earn and Accumulate Tax FREE Wealth In Your Self-Directed ROTH IRA

We can start by saying: I am not an IRA Expert. But I utilize a company called Equity Trust Company who employs hundreds of experts. They are the nation’s leading self-directed IRA custodians. I have my IRA’s there, my kids’ and my companies’, as well as all my private investors’ IRAs.

If you’re not familiar with the ROTH IRA, it’s a new kind of IRA created by the tax payer Relief Act of 1997. Traditional IRA’s are “tax-deferred” accounts that are funded with pre-tax dollars and in most cases you get a deduction for your contributions. When distributions are taken from the account, those funds are taxed. Traditional, SEP, SIMPLE and Individual (k) Plans are referred to as “tax-deferred” accounts.

By contrast, a ROTH IRA is a “tax-free” account which is funded with after tax dollars, meaning you do not receive a deduction for contributions. When distributions are taken, there are no taxes incurred in a tax-free account. You obviously have to conform to the plan provisions to get this tax-free advantage.

Let’s look at some examples using a $100,000.00 investment so you can start to see how powerful your ROTH can be:

After one year, your investment (assuming a 15% gain) is worth normally only $109,750.00 if taxed at a 35% tax rate ($100K x 15% = $115K -$5250 in taxes).

In your ROTH IRA, after one year, you have $115,000.00, Now if you do absolutely nothing for 5 years, look at what happens at that 15% rate.

1 Year $115,000

2 Years $133,332

3 Years $154,812

4 Years $179,312

5 Years $207,983

If you already have a traditional IRA, you can still start a ROTH IRA. The thing to remember is that you can only contribute up to the individual limit (see chart below) per year to any combination of traditional and ROTH. In other words, you can’t do $5,000.00 to EACH IRA account. Instead of making this a text book read, please consult the www.trustETC.com site and your accountant regarding converting traditional to ROTH and respective contribution limits.

IRA Contribution Limits Year Age 49 and below Age 50 and above 2002-2004 $3,000 $3,500 2005 $4,000 $4,500 2006-2007 $4,000 $5,000 2008 $5,000 $6,000

After 2008 the contribution limit will increase in increments of $500 depending on the rates of inflation.

Please also note that you DON’T HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE yearly. You can open an account with $500.00 and let it sit in there. You can then use that money to option a property and have tens of thousands on profit go to your ROTH upon sale of that property. An important note here is that you don’t have to use your ROTH for real estate only. You can make loans, investments, and control other assets in your self-directed ROTH.

Here’s the trick: With your ROTH IRA, when doing real estate, it does not count as a contribution-it counts as an investment just as if you owned a stock. Here are some ways to feed your IRA using little of it’s money:

1) Wholesale properties

2) Buy property and resell it

3) Leas option and cash out of a property

4) Option a property and sell it

5) Operate a start up business and transfer after tax profits to your IRA

You can even partner with your own IRA. You just have to make sure the profit distribution and initial investment matches the ownership interest.

i.e.) 50% capital invested = 50% profit split = 50% ownership

So here are 6 Steps For Using Your IRA to Buy And Sell Property Or Property Related Assets

1 - Open A ROTH IRA with $500.00 or more of a transfer of your existing IRA

2 - Contract to buy or option a property (or debt instrument) secured or unsecured by property. Your IRA custodian must be the buyer or optionee for your benefit. It would read something like “ETC, For Benefit Of ‘Your Name’ IRA”

3 - Send the custodian of choice a copy of the completed agreement used to buy or control the asset you’re putting in your IRA

4 - Complete a ‘Direction of Investment” form and order whatever the applicable money to seller will be. ETC requires at least $100. This provides evidence that the transaction is real and you’re not receiving a gift.

***To take this partnering idea a little further, you can actually have your IRA and your spouse’s IRA partner a deal. You can also put your kids through college using a Coverdell ESA account. You’ll need to set that up before they turn 18 however. ***

Things you cannot buy in an IRA:

1 - Artwork

2 - Rugs

3 - Your own home or a home of your linear family

4 - A property or entity you currently already control

5 - Alcohol

6 - Stamps

7 - Gems

8 - Metals (exception: some U.S. coins)

9 - Antiques

Hopefully this idea gets you thinking outside the box of how you can build wealth for now and for the future. There are powerful tools right at your fingertips.

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Hospitals and Physicians

When someone relocates they often seek information about physicians, specialists, hospitals and other types of health care, such as extended care. Is there a resource in Newport for health care information?

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Community Sports

Living in Newport, Rhode Island is a lot like living in any home town, with local sports being a big part of the lifestyle. Families look for T-Ball, Little League, soccer and of course, junior high and high school sports. What is sport organizations are in Newport, Rhode Island? Are their sport opportunities for adults? Is there a parks and recreation department in Newport?

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City Lifestyles

What are the lifestyle opportunities in and around Newport, Rhode Island. Are there hiking clubs, biking trails, civic clubs, golf clubs, local arts and theater, lakes, streams, fishing, boating, camping or other types of lifestyle opportunities?

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