$1 million donation puts hospital near goal

Sonoma Valley Hospital, in the final stage of fundraising for its new wing to open next month, has received a $1 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation. Sanford “Sandy” Weill, a banker, financier and philanthropist, and his wife Joan, have a home in Sonoma.

“Joan and I love Sonoma and want to show our commitment to this great community, which has welcomed us so warmly,” said Sandy Weill, a former chief executive officer and chairman of Citigroup “We believe having a good local hospital is essential and we want to help Sonoma create a modern emergency center that will be an asset for the entire Sonoma Valley.”

The hospital has announced that it will formally introduce the new wing to the community on November 16 with a day-long open house and celebration planned. The new Emergency Center is scheduled to begin receiving patients by mid-December.

“This is a tremendous boost for the community as we enter the final stretch of our campaign,” said Gary Nelson, co-chair of the hospital’s Capital Campaign for Emergency Care. The campaign total is now $10.4 million,  Nelson said. “We are now counting on the community to take us over the top in the weeks ahead and help us reach our $11 million goal.”

Nelson said  the Weill donation,  along with the gifts of many others, is indicative of the support from “new arrivals to ‘old timers’” who understand the critical importance of a new emergency center.

Sandy Weill and his wife of 58 years,  Joan, have owned a home in Sonoma since 2010. In 2011, they made a transformative gift to Sonoma State University, providing the funds to complete the Donald and Maureen Green Music Center concert hall. Weill was elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012, and he and Joan were recipients of the 2009 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Award for their outstanding charitable work.

For more information about the campaign, contact Harmony Plenty at 707.935.5070 or [email protected].