Nancy Yake was a woman who believed in the potential of those with special needs and dedicated her time to helping them. In recognition of her dedication, the Yake family decided to set up a $1,500 trust fund with the St. Paul Abilities Network (SPAN) to continue the work that their mother believed in most of her life.
In recognition of Yake’s contributions as a volunteer board member from 1989 to 1994, SPAN also named a meeting room in her honour.
“She loved working there. She loved working with the people and seeing the results,” said her son David. He, along with his brothers Greg, Nelson, Dan and Melvin, and his sister Sally, set up the trust fund. She would have been honoured to have a meeting room named after her, he felt, adding, “She would be thrilled about it.”
Yake, who passed away in 2006, was a parent of a person with a developmental disability and believed in the importance of community care.
“She took to heart the principle that all people have something meaningful to contribute to society and she was a source of great inspiration to those whose lives she touched,” said Tim Bear, executive director of SPAN, in a press release.
“She was such a positive woman, seeing the good and the potential in every person. This trust fund will go on forever, supporting people with special needs in her name,” said David in the press release.
The interest on the monies in the trust fund will be used by the SPAN board to support the organization’s programs and children and adults with special needs.
The Yake family invites other families interested in seeing the trust fund grow to contribute to the St. Paul Abilities Network Ashworth estate trust fund.