David and Ruth Rusk support Baylor efforts to fight cancer.Henderson, Texas, natives Ruth and David Rusk have a high affinity for Baylor College of Medicine. Ruth credits being alive and active 17 years after her initial breast cancer diagnosis to the world-class care she received as a patient of C. Kent Osborne, M.D., current director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and a former director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center. Her experiences as a breast cancer survivor motivated the Rusks to contribute to the College’s efforts to find a cure for the disease.
Both Ruth and David earned master’s degrees in mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin, and Ruth is a math tutor at Lone Star College-Montgomery. Needless to say, the Rusks are good with numbers. They understood that a charitable gift annuity to Baylor College of Medicine would both support their philanthropic priorities at the College and provide them with a fixed income for the rest of their lives. That’s meant an additional revenue source in their retirement, which they began early so they could enjoy hiking, biking and traveling together.
“The charitable gift annuity was very easy to set up. There are flexible options concerning who can be a beneficiary. We’ve been pleased since we started it in 2007,” Ruth said by phone when she and David took a break from riding their bikes through trails near their home in The Woodlands, Texas. “The Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs was also very helpful.”
No strangers to charitable giving, the Rusks previously created an endowed scholarship fund for students in the bio-medical sciences at Rice University, Ruth’s alma mater, in the mid-1990s. In the early 2000s, the Rusks shifted the scholarship fund’s aim to support students who would enter Baylor’s School of Medicine after receiving their undergraduate degrees. “We thought that supporting future physicians and scientists would be a good way to help [cure cancer],” said Ruth.
The couple’s philanthropic journey at Baylor began with a gift that allowed them to purchase two squares on a quilt to raise money for what would become the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center. They later established an endowed research fund at the Center. Ruth and David also have been volunteer docents for the College’s Pink Ribbon House project, which involves paid tours of luxury homes. Tour proceeds fund breast cancer research and care at the Smith Breast Center. Ruth’s satisfaction with the treatment she received from Dr. Osborne motivated her to turn to the College for other areas of specialty care. She also recommended the Breast Center to a friend, who Ruth informs us is doing well.
The Rusks know that their decision to set up a charitable gift annuity was a smart choice for them and for the College. When asked how she felt about the gift annuity, Ruth said, “Good. It’s nice to have that steady income.”