MarinHealth Benefactor’s Mary Barbara Schultz and Kylie Frame Recognized with Association of Fundraising Professionals Awards
Schultz Receives 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award and Frame receives Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award
MarinHealth, announced today that Mary Barbara Schultz and Kylie Frame have been recognized with Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Golden Gate awards. Schultz, who celebrated her 101st birthday earlier this year, received the 2020 Lifetime Achievement award for more than 70 years of dedicated healthcare leadership and philanthropy and her lifetime commitment to ensure that quality healthcare in Marin continues to meet the needs of a growing and changing community. Frame, a 17-year old Marin County native, who received the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award, launched Feed the Frontlines Marin, which was established to give thanks to essential workers and provide financial support to help keep restaurants open and staff employed during not only the health crisis, but an economic one as well.
Each year, AFP Golden Gate recognizes donors, volunteers, professionals, foundations, corporations, and organizations that exemplify the vitality of the Bay Area philanthropic community. This year’s virtual awards ceremony was held Friday, November 13.
The AFP Golden Gate Lifetime Achievement award honors individuals with enduring records of accomplishment in philanthropy, fundraising or grantmaking, and who have demonstrated exceptional civic and charitable leadership. The Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award recognizes service by young people (ages 5 to 17) who demonstrate outstanding commitment to the community through direct financial support, development of charitable programs, volunteering, and leadership in philanthropy.
Mary Barbara Schultz is Synonymous with Marin Healthcare
To best understand the contributions of Mary Barbara Schultz, we must look back 74 years. As the Schultz Family owned and developed most of Greenbrae, California, it was in 1946 that Mary Barbara’s husband, Niels Schultz, Jr. together with his father Niels Schultz, earmarked the plot of land for a much needed, centrally located, community hospital to serve the residents of Marin County. After several years of construction, Marin General Hospital opened its doors in 1952. In 1989 the hospital needed to expand and built out a West-Wing addition. Mary Barbara and her husband provided a lead gift of $1M and actively encouraged others to participate. This fall – on that very same plot of land – Marin General Hospital, now known as MarinHealth Medical Center, opened a new hospital building, the Oak Pavilion. This $535-million-dollar capital project brings to fruition a contemporary, state-of-the-art, hospital facility for the North Bay.
Over the years, Niels Schultz, Jr. served in several volunteer positions at Marin General Hospital including as Chairman of the Hospital Board. He passed away in 2008. Like a compass, Mary Barbara continued to direct her family’s leadership and philanthropy to grow the hospital.
“Fundamentally, Mary Barbara has always understood that having the best technology and medical facilities are critically important,” said Liz Kolcun, Chief Development Officer at MarinHealth. “Every time there was a pressing need, Mary Barbara stepped forward.”
In 2008, Mary Barbara provided a gift of $2M for a linear accelerator, which allowed MarinHealth’s cancer program to have the best technology for treating patients. In 2010, when the hospital returned to independent control, she initiated a gift of $2.89M to renovate the hospital’s existing emergency department. It was unknown at the time if a community bond measure would pass to build a new hospital. However, it was clear that there needed to be significant renovations made to the emergency department to serve a community that had grown to 260,000 people and needed to serve approximately 40,000 patients per year through the emergency/trauma department.
In 2013, Mary Barbara joined two other long-time champions of the hospital and took on the role of Honorary Chair of the Building Better Health campaign with a goal to raise more than $50M for the new hospital project. Mary Barbara and her family pledged $4M to the campaign.
Mary Barbara understands continuity in leadership makes a great difference when you want to make positive impact over a lifetime. It goes without saying that she had a hand in encouraging her daughter’s involvement. Andrea Schultz, the youngest child of Mary Barbara and Niels Schultz, has been one of the hospital system’s greatest champions.
Andrea served as Chair of the MarinHealth Foundation Board of Directors for eight years and now Chairs the MarinHealth Medical Center Board.
Mary Barbara Schultz has been present at nearly every hospital gala, community celebration and fundraiser. She has funded new equipment and initiatives for decades. Her gifts have impacted nursing education, cardiovascular care, cancer services, robotic surgery, hearing and speech, orthopedics and spine, labor and delivery and much more.
It’s no surprise that the senior community where Mary Barbara resides includes the largest number of hospital donors of any other adult community in Marin. She’s an elegant and articulate champion who has been inspiring others to be engaged in making sure their local hospital has what it needs to treat the community.
Kylie Frame Makes a Difference in the Lives of Frontline Workers
Kylie Frame was a 17-year-old high school senior at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Despite not being able to have her final dance recital, lacrosse season, and many other milestone activities that normally accompany one’s senior year, Kylie decided to use her time, talent, and passion to help others during an unprecedented and challenging time.
Kylie was inspired by some close friends and restaurant owners in New York City who started Feed the Frontlines NYC to show gratitude for frontline workers by delivering meals from local restaurants. A Marin County native, Kylie launched Feed the Frontlines Marin to give back to her community. This was an opportunity to thank and nourish Marin’s essential frontline workers.
Kylie sought a partnership with Marin restaurateur Ged Roberston, owner and general manager of Watershed Restaurant, Bootjack Wood Fired Restaurant, and Shoreline Coffee Shop. Known for local meats, cheeses, and produce on his menus, Ged enthusiastically supported Kylie’s idea. They even started a "Farm to Table to Frontline" initiative to support the local (struggling) farms and to bring awareness to the importance of sourcing locally.
With the help of family, friends, and the Marin community, Feed the Frontlines Marin came together. And through her involvement in her school’s leadership program and as commissioner of the outreach committee, Kylie put her leadership and fundraising skills to use. She set up Feed the Frontlines Marin as a non-profit 501(c)(3) and created the Feed the Frontlines website, https://donorbox.org/feed-the-frontlines-marin, and social media (Instagram) to raise money and awareness for her cause.
To date, more than 400 donors have donated nearly $65,000, allowing the Feed the Frontlines Marin team to deliver with gratitude more than 4,000 nourishing meals from numerous locally-sourcing restaurants to hospitals, healthcare facilities, and other essential workers in grocery stores, refuse centers, emergency pop-up childcare centers, San Quentin State Prison staff, pharmacies, and Marin City Frontliners—including those at MarinHealth—in Marin.
“While her organizational skills are to be commended, it is Kylie’s generous spirit, her willingness to listen, learn and adjust as well as her love of helping and celebrating her entire community that allowed her to excel with Feed the Frontlines Marin,” said Ged Robertson. “She saw her role as a facilitator and connector, one that allowed restaurant workers to send their offerings to help frontline workers, to allow frontline workers to realize how much the local community, and all its donors, appreciates them, and helped donors see the enormous goodwill they were creating within their community. At a time that we were all physically socially isolated from one another, Kylie helped connect us, in many ways, more deeply than would have otherwise been possible.”
“Thank you, Kylie Frame, for making a difference in so many lives and for your outstanding leadership, volunteerism, and the support that you have provided to MarinHealth and to the Marin community during a very difficult time,” said Noelle Jue, Director of Gift Planning at MarinHealth.
About MarinHealth
MarinHealth encompasses respected local healthcare resources that have served the Marin County community since 1952. Marin County residents appreciate Marin’s healthy lifestyle and transformative natural environment. In keeping with the values and needs of this unique community, MarinHealth is dedicated to treating the whole patient, mind, body, and spirit. MarinHealth Medical Center, the MarinHealth Medical Network, and their ancillary services all share the same patient-centric philosophy of care.
Media Contact
Jamie Maites
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Office: 1-415-925-7424
Mobile: 1-240-506-8556
Email: jamie.maites@mymarinhealth.org
