Lung Health News, Fall 2005 / Winter 2006
When Sharon Wahl, RN, and her husband decided they probably weren’t going to build their dream home on property they owned in Ocean Park,Washington, they decided to donate it to a cause near and dear to their hearts. The couple donated the land to the American Lung Association of Santa Clara-San Benito Counties to fight lung disease.
“It was a way to let go of it that we could feel good about,” says Wahl, who bought the land with her husband years ago and spent many fun family times camping on the beautiful, wooded spot where they hoped to retire someday. “ The property is very important to us.”
Wahl, who still teaches students in the San Jose State University nursing program even though she retired from the institution after 23 years, has been volunteering for her local American Lung Association for nearly 25 years. In that time, she has served as president and treasurer for the local board and spent nine years serving on the statewide American Lung Association board.
“I’m a former smoker, so I realize how important it is to help people quit smoking,” says Wahl, who taught the association’s Freedom From Smoking program for years. “I also care about the environment. Donating the property was a way I could support these efforts.”
