“A bequest is my way of paying rent for being on this planet”

Why Sonja Narcisse is leaving a gift in her will to Bridgeport Hospital

The first thing to know about Sonja Narcisse is that she’s incredibly accomplished and successful. With 30-plus years as a successful, high-powered human resources executive in a range of industries, she knows how to make smart, strategic decisions.

The second thing to know is that she lives her values. “What’s nearest and dearest to my heart,” she says, “is helping people who can’t advocate for themselves.”

That’s why she left the corporate world in 2017 to start her own business selling fine wine and jewelry. She donates a significant portion of the proceeds she makes to some of her favorite nonprofit organizations.

Sonja has long been a dedicated supporter of Bridgeport Hospital, both as a donor and an active member of the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation Board of Directors. She directed her time and resources there to two areas she believes in deeply: REACH, an intensive mental health outpatient program, and the Norma Pfriem Breast Center.

A perfect time to make a bequest

But she wanted to find a way to do more.

Last year, she was doing a routine review of her finances and will when she thought, “Wow, it doesn’t make sense for me to be worth a lot after I’m dead. I want to choose how my money will be used.”

So she decided to leave a bequest to the Bridgeport Hospital Foundation—to “what’s near and dear to me now.”

It was a no-brainer during the COVID-19 pandemic—a time when she, like most of us, experienced financial stress. Her bequest costs her absolutely nothing now, while still providing support and security to the Bridgeport Hospital programs she cares most about.

“I couldn’t give as much last year as I wished I could,” she says. “But a gift in my will was another way I could do it.”

The Hospital Foundation is thrilled and grateful, of course. But giving to help those who need help gives Sonja at least as much joy and satisfaction.

“I feel that I’m having a meaningful impact,” she says. “I know how blessed I am. And I also know this: the bigger the blessing, the bigger the responsibility.”

Are you considering leaving a gift in your will to a Yale New Haven Health System member hospitals? To find out more about making a bequest to Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, Westerly Hospital, or Yale New Haven Hospital, please call Dan Weintraub at (203) 688-5902.