Donald Ross, Vice Chairman of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, didn’t want a flashy birthday celebration. But Enterprise Chairman and CEO Andy Taylor didn’t want the moment to pass without honoring Don’s hard work over 40-plus years with the company. So he invited all employees to join him in making tribute gifts to the Goldfarb School of Nursing Support Fund, in honor of Don and his family.

This simple invitation resulted in the largest tribute ever received by the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation. To date, 296 Enterprise officers collectively donated $100,000 to the Foundation for a cause that is important to Don and his wife, Nancy. Specifically, the money will be used to support scholarships, technology, and research that will help Goldfarb School of Nursing create exceptional nurses.

“When my Enterprise colleagues gave me this unexpected tribute, I was honored and humbled,” says Don, “But I wasn’t surprised by their generosity. Enterprise has a culture of giving that begins with the example set by founder Jack Taylor and is carried on by his children, Andy Taylor and his sister Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, who serves as the President of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation.”

Countless lives are touched by the schools, museums, hospitals, and service agencies supported by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation and the company’s support of United Way. Not only does every Enterprise operation participate in a United Way campaign, but the company also provides a 50 percent match of all employee contributions to these campaigns.

“All of us at Enterprise make it our business to do the right thing in the communities where we live and work,” says Don. It was an easy decision, Don says, for he and Nancy—a graduate of Jewish College of Nursing—to endow a scholarship at Goldfarb. “Barnes-Jewish Hospital has the reputation for doing things right, and, with charitable support, Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College will continue to be world class,” he says.

As incoming chairman of the BJC HealthCare Board, Don also understands what is at stake.

“Given the challenge we face in preparing enough qualified women and men for the nursing profession,” he says, “it is imperative that we do anything we can to advance nursing education. These tribute gifts will impact healthcare at Barnes-Jewish, at other BJC hospitals, and in other communities throughout our country. What a wonderful symbol of the spirit of Enterprise and its officers.”

It’s a spirit for which we are grateful…and a spirit shared by all who make a tribute gift to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation.

From Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation Tributes Newsletter, Fall 2008