A Child's Haven - 22. Chapter 22

On the ride to the University, we talked about setting up the trust fund for the kids. Setting it up was easy. The difficulty would be how to assure each kid got their fair share.

"You know we could give each kid a share, and then when it is time to give them their share in cash, we would divide the value of the trust by the number of shares. That would establish the share's value, and we could then transfer that money to the child's accounts. What do you think?"

"That sounds rather simple. Suppose, just before we are to transfer the share's value, a new kid joins Sanctuary. Do we include their share or not?"

"Maybe we could establish a time period that a kid must be in Sanctuary before they are issued a share."

"That might work; say a minimum of 6 months. What would happen if the kid is only in Sanctuary for one year and then decides to leave?"

"Hmm, when we give out the shares, we could set an age where the full share would be validated. Let's say, we set the age of 18 for a full share. If the kid is in Sanctuary for three years and leaves at 16, we would discount his share by two years. We would also take into account the number of years he'd be in Sanctuary. I suppose we'd look at the youngest member, Pat, for example, and calculate a percentage based on his time."

"How would that work?"

"Let's say we have a kid who reaches 18 in 3 years, and Pat is still with us. At the time of the kid's 18th birthday, we calculate a percentage, three years divided by the number of Pat's years at that time. That percentage would be their share using Pat's share at 100 percent, the longer they are a member, the more a share is worth."

"This sounds like an accountant's nightmare. The trust fund will need trustees, so for now, it'll be you and I. That way, you could keep the kids' records. Beth had done a good job of signing them in."

"You know I have a sneaky suspicion you had already decided on the trustees."

"Tony, we already share secrets, so who better than my best friend."

"We're here; you need to park over there in the visitor parking lot."

"Tony, you need to set up your office as soon as possible. You are going to need a lot of space for records. What do you think about you and me sharing a secretary? We could use the same secretary to take Board notes."

"That would be ok. Too bad, we can't all be on the same floor. It'd make it easier to share a secretary."

"You'll probably need a secretary more than me, so we'll put her office on the third floor. I could put the counseling office on my floor."

"This way, it's a good thing I went to school here and knew my way around. You'd probably end up in the engineering section."

Smiling, "Lead the way, my friend."

The office of the Nursing Administration was on the second floor. When we entered, a receptionist politely asked for our name and the purpose of our visit.

Tony explained that we had an appointment with Dr. Donnelly.

"Just be seated, and I'll let Dr. Donnelly know you're here."

"What kind of reception do you think we'll get?"

"We should be very welcome, particularly after I explain Sanctuary. Nurses generally have a soft spot for children."

"Dr. Donnelly will see you now." The receptionist led us to Dr. Donnelly's office, opened the door, and ushered us in, announcing us as Mr. Williams and Mr. Blasio.

"Gentlemen, please sit down and tell me why you're here. I granted this interview at the request of Judge Williams. Please be brief as I have a very busy schedule."

I looked at Tony. He raised his eyebrows. I knew we now had something to discuss on the way home. "Dr. Donnelly, I operate a facility called Sanctuary. Sanctuary provides food, clothing, and safe sleeping quarters for street kids, from no cause of their own being forced to beg, steal, and sell their bodies to eat. Sanctuary currently has 130 kids in residency that came from the streets. I have built a state of the art infirmary, and now I need a nurse to staff it. I thought I might find that nurse here."

"Tell me more about Sanctuary."

"I bought and converted an old warehouse into a place for the kids to shower, a dining hall where they can be fed three times a day, a sleeping area that provides security, classrooms so they can be prepared for the GED exams and rooms with exercise equipment, games and a library. Our doors are open to any child who needs these things. For example, on one of my trips to pick-up kids from a raid, one of my boys saw a beaten child lying alongside the road. We stopped and took him to a clinic that we use to provide routine medical services. We have moved that child from the clinic to our infirmary. This is just an example of the type of children we find, beaten, sexually abused, dirty, hungry, sleeping in the streets. Can you help me find a caring Nurse who will smile on these kids' faces and take care of their physical hurts? I'm also looking for someone who can take care of their emotional hurts."

I saw a face softening as I spoke about Sanctuary.

"Norma, bring me the files on Burton and Sandoz. I have two nurses who are in our master's program that could be a possibility."

While we waited for the folders, "Are you related to Judge Williams?"

"Yes, he's my father."

She smiled, but before she said anything, Norma brought in the two files. Looking at them to be sure they were correct, she handed them to me. I gave one to Tony. Leafing through the file I had, I noted that Burton had worked in a hospital but returned to school to study child diseases. I swapped files with Tony and noted that Sandoz was in the same class and studying the same course. "Are these students planning on being a NP?"

"They had indicated that in their interview before being accepted to the program. They both indicated their interest in working with children."

"Tony, we may have found our nursing staff and with them qualifying as a NP all the better. Can we interview them? I want to explain the position and see if they would be interested."

"Yes, I think that's a possibility. Norma, please locate Burton and Sandoz, ask them to come to my office."

"Dr. Donnelly, we can wait in your reception area. I know you're busy, and we don't want to take up any more of your time. You're invited to visit Sanctuary. Tony and I'd be quite pleased to give you a tour."

Leaving the office, we sat down in the reception area to wait for our, hopefully, nurses. It was close to lunchtime, "Norma, is there a café or restaurant close?"

"Yes, there's Mom's, which is a home-style café just down the street. A lot of our students eat there."

"Thank you."

We must have waited about 15 minutes when a young man rushed into the office. "Norma, what does the general want? I was just getting ready to go to lunch."

"Aaron, those gentlemen are waiting for you."

When he turned around, "Mr. Burton, my name is Brad Williams, and this is Tony Blasio. We represent Sanctuary, and our purpose here is to hire a nurse for our infirmary. As soon as Mr. Sandoz arrives, we'd be glad to take both of you to lunch and tell you about Sanctuary."

Mr. Burton was laughing, "Call me Aaron and excuse me for laughing, but Nurse Sandoz is a woman."

I smiled, "Perfect."

Just as I finished talking, a young lady arrived. "Norma, whatever she said, I didn't do it."

"Emily, those gentlemen with Aaron are here to speak to you."

After the same introductions were made, we headed off to Mom's. Norma, in foresight, had called and reserved a table for four.

On the way to Mom's, I explained a little about Sanctuary. "I have completed an infirmary and need to staff it with a nurse. I'll have a doctor make a weekly check and on call for emergencies. That's what brought Tony and me to the University. Why do you call Dr. Donnelly, 'general'?"

They both began to laugh, "She runs the nursing school like the marines. So we call her the general. But she runs a tight ship, and the department is one of the best. We like her.