Sale of diamond ring will benefit
St. Augustine Home for the Aged

By Mary Ann Wyand

Gifts to the Little Sisters of the Poor come in all shapes and sizes—some large, some small—and all are appreciated by the Little Sisters, who gratefully accept donations of cash and material items to help them in their ministry to the elderly poor at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis.

One recent gift to the Little Sisters may qualify as the most unusual donation received at the international order’s home at 2345 W. 86th St. in Indianapolis.

In January, St. Luke parishioner Alice (McMahon) Hendricks Leppert of Indianapolis gave the Little Sisters a 60-year-old diamond ring that an Indianapolis jeweler who is a certified gemologist appraiser has determined is valued at $33,795.

Sister Geraldine Harvey, superior, said proceeds from the sale of the diamond ring will benefit the care of St. Augustine Home for the Aged residents. The Little Sisters would like to sell the ring for its appraised value.

The gold bridal ring setting with a bright polish finish has a 3.10-carat, prong-set old European cut diamond surrounded by six prong-set round brilliant cut diamonds that weigh 0.35 carats. The total weight of the seven diamonds is 3.45 carats.

Tracy Desserich, director of development for the St. Augustine Home for the Aged, said the Little Sisters must raise more than $225,000 each month to provide quality care for the residents.

Desserich said the cost of providing care for a resident in assisted living is $125 per day, but Medicaid only reimburses the sisters $42 a day. She said the cost of caring for a resident in nursing care is $200 per day, while Medicaid only pays $110 a day.

“This is an average shortfall of $87 per resident per day,” Desserich said, “to provide food, housing, health care, rehabilitation and activities.

“In addition, the sisters have some current capital needs,” she said. “St. Augustine Home … was built in 1968. As would be true with any 36-year-old building, the home requires a variety of critical upgrades to its facility and equipment.”

Currently, the Little Sisters are working on a capital improvements project, Desserich said, that includes a variety of important and necessary items ranging from elevator repairs, the replacement of a 350-gallon hot water storage tank and 15 individual heating and air conditioning units for resident rooms to eight handicap-accessible water fountains, sturdy tables and chairs for three resident dining rooms and several small pieces of outdated kitchen equipment.

The total estimated cost of replacement for these items is $74,500, she said, which is partially covered by a $40,000 grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

However, Desserich said, the sisters must raise the additional $24,500 to complete these projects before March.

“These capital improvements … are all necessary for the comfort and security of the residents,” she said. “These upgrades are necessary to ensure that the Little Sisters of the Poor and the employees of St. Augustine Home can continue to provide a safe and decent living environment for the elderly residents in their care.”

The Little Sisters provide quality care for aging men and women regardless of race or religion, she said. “The only requirements for admission to the home are that the resident have minimal financial resources and be age 65 years or older, although most residents of St. Augustine Home are 85 years or older.”

Leppert is a longtime member of the St. Augustine Guild, a volunteer organization formed in 19__ to help the Little Sisters in their ministry to the elderly poor. She is 96 and resides at Marquette Manor in Indianapolis.

In December, Leppert decided that it was time to give the ring to the Little Sisters. She has several grandchildren and nieces so couldn’t divide it among her relatives, and she knew that its sale would benefit the sisters’ ministry to St. Augustine Home residents.

“I joined the guild more than 25 years ago,” Leppert said during a recent interview. “Every involvement that I’ve had with the Little Sisters has been a joy.”

She credits a friend, Mary Agnes Rembusch, for inviting her and another friend, Kathleen Bloemker, to join the guild.

“My love for St. Augustine Home originally stemmed from admiration for the Little Sisters, that they would take on such a large task as caring for so many residents,” Leppert said. “In the beginning, the sisters had excellent equipment in the home, but the problem has been that, as time has gone along, the equipment has worn out and it’s placed them in the position of needing more help.”

Guild members help the Little Sisters and staff members with daily chores at the home as well as organize several fund raisers throughout the year to help the Little Sisters pay for operating costs.

The Little Sisters also rely on God’s Providence and the generosity of friends and benefactors to help them with their ministry.

St. Augustine Guild vice president Lisa Kelley, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Indianapolis, said the volunteer organization is a “working guild” of dedicated members who support the Little Sisters’ ministry in a variety of ways.

“The women who make up the guild are so hard-working and come from all over the city,” Kelley said. “They work in the store. They work in the kitchen. They work making beds. They sew. They do people’s hair in the beauty parlor. It’s definitely a hands-on organization of wonderful women. We are always trying to get new members involved in the guild.”

St. Matthew parishioner Sarah Lechleiter of Indianapolis is the guild president.

Leppert said she has many happy memories of her years of service with the guild and hopes other women and men will inquire about volunteer opportunities at the St. Augustine Home.

“I thoroughly enjoyed working in the gift shop,” Leppert said. “More than any other place, I worked in the laundry. I also modeled in the style shows several times and helped with parties for the residents. My husband and Kathleen’s husband would go with us to work at the bingo games. We enjoyed that because the residents always seemed to enjoy it.”

When Leppert first joined the guild, she was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis and lived in the Irvington neighborhood.

“That was a 20-mile drive out to the home and 20 miles back,” she said. “But the 40-mile trip never bothered me because I enjoyed so much what I found at the end of the road.”

The diamond ring is “a gift of admiration to the Little Sisters for their great work at the home,” Leppert said. “The important thing is that the Little Sisters get the value out of it to help provide care for the elderly residents.”

(For information about purchasing the diamond ring, call Tracy Desserich, director of development at the St. Augustine Home for the Aged, at 317-872-6420, ext. 206.) †