Lung Health News, Spring / Summer 2004
Betty Toole remembers sitting in a restaurant in San Francisco 20 years ago unable to eat because of all the cigarette smoke. Now the Marin County resident doesn't have to worry about smoke when she enjoys a meal out and she credits the American Lung Association for protecting her right to breathe smoke-free air. It is one of the reasons she included the American Lung Association in her living trust.
"I wanted to give to an organization that was really making a difference, really doing something about the issues I care about - smoking and air pollution," says Toole, who serves as an e-Advocate for the American Lung Association of California and has participated in its Capitol Lobby Day. "Once I included the association in my living trust, I really started paying attention to what they were doing. I think they are doing more today than ever."
Toole is a retired educational evaluator and author who wrote the widely acclaimed "Ada: The Enchantress of Numbers," a combination biography and letters of the "mother of computer programming." It is the story of Ada Lovelace who developed the basic programming concepts in 1843 for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, a calculating machine commonly considered the first computer.
"The American Lung Association continues to need financial support from people like me who are also committed to the mission of preventing lung disease and promoting lung health," Toole says. "After looking closely at what they do, and participating in some of their advocacy and educational programs, I am pleased that I have chosen to support them through my living trust."
