The Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Memorial Presbyterian was dedicated May 28. The ceremony honored
principal donors Richard “Dick” Pickup and his wife, Donna,
in addition to their extended family.
The institute is already garnering national attention as a West Coast research
and treatment center focusing on the serious medical study of different
forms of mental illness,
addiction,
dementia and
Alzheimer’s disease. A $15 million gift, called “transformative and visionary”
by Hoag Hospital Foundation board members, established the institute named
for the Pickup family’s generosity.
The ceremony, produced by Hoag Hospital Foundation executives Deb McCure
and Valerie Rosenfeld, began with a procession of golf carts escorting
guests from the institute building, traveling down to Coast Highway with
the purpose of unveiling a covered sign announcing the arrival of the
Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute.
Applause sounded as an afternoon reception kicked off with a welcome from
Andrizzi, sharing a glimpse into the history and the motivation of Dick
Pickup to make this targeted contribution. Both Braithwaite and Brant-Zawadski
followed with comments emphasizing the importance of the work to be conducted
at the institute.
Serious and personal comments were delivered by the generally circumspect
Pickup, who made his fortune in the stock market as a broker.
“For years I heard my pastor, Dr. Huffman, say, `Don’t just
give until it hurts; instead, give until it feels good.’ It has
taken me some time to really get with this program. But now in the last
two decades, I have learned the reality of what it means to be blessed
and to be a blessing to others. Let me assure you that this feels good
to me. What we are now doing for others is the highest form of investment
I have ever made and some of the best money I have ever spent. And I know
that this will continue to bear rich dividends for others long after I
am no longer here.”
Pickup explained his connection to Hoag, sharing family history.
“We moved to Newport Beach in the early 60s,” he recalled.
“I was preoccupied with earning a living to provide for my family.
Hoag Hospital was barely in my vision, except knowing it was available
when I needed it. I was appreciative of having two children, Devon and
Todd, who were born here at Hoag in the mid-’60s. My family did
tip our hats in the Hoag direction when we joined the 552 Club and a couple
of decades ago ramped up our involvement by becoming benefactors of the
institution.
“When my own financial investments began to prosper, increasingly
I found myself asking the question, ‘Just what is enough?’
And what were my social and spiritual goals to use the gifts that God
had given me in helping others beyond my own family? A wake-up moment
regarding my own mortality came with a stroke I had. My son Todd rushed
to my side and drove me to Hoag where I experienced first-hand the superb
resource that this institution is to our community.”
Attending the reception and dedication were close and important friends
and associates, including John Huffman Jr., pastor emeritus at St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church, and Jack Wright, Lin Auer, Gary and Carolyn McKitterick,
Cindy and Al Strokke, Vicki and William Booth, Kathy Armstrong, and Gary Fudge.
The impressive crowd applauded as Pickup concluded his address, sending
a strong community message on the vital importance of philosophy in support
of health care at Hoag.
“The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune
is not guilt, but rather, gratitude,” he said. “Were we to
use more than 1% of my portfolio investment on ourselves, neither our
happiness nor well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, the remaining
99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality
sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all that we can conceivably
need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge to Hoag
Hospital starts us down this course.”
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