Tag: ripple effect

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The Ripple Effect of Volunteering: Changing Communities and Personal Growth through Service

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Volunteering is like throwing a stone into a pond! Here the person volunteering is the stone that dives into community service. Similar to the ripples that extend far beyond the initial splash when the stone touches the water is the effect of a volunteer on the lives they touch. When a person joins a volunteer platform, they will not only be the ones initiating change but will also grow in the process. As we have learned and experienced, volunteering fosters a cycle of giving and receiving where a person contributes to societal improvement while embarking on a journey of personal growth. The impact of the waves of change goes beyond the basic activities of serving meals, building houses, or raising funds. It strengthens community bonds, teaches gratitude, and empowers individuals from within. This article will discuss how volunteering improves both the lives of the communities and of those who contribute their time and effort.

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Hospital’s tax ruling could have ripple effect

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JULY 1, 2015, 11:47 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015, 11:48 PM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

A ruling in state tax court that has taken away the property-tax exemption of a major medical center because it operates more like a for-profit business than a charitable institution could have implications for other non-profit hospitals around the state if the municipalities that host them seek to collect property taxes.

Judge Vito Bianco declared in a closely watched opinion that Morristown Medical Center failed “to qualify for property tax exemption” for three years beginning in 2006. The case has been in the court system for the better part of a decade. It is unclear how the ruling applies to later years.

Non-profit hospitals have changed a lot since their origins as “charitable alms houses providing free basic medical treatment to the infirm poor,” he said, likening Morristown’s business model to that of its “new for-profit competitors.” Eight hospitals statewide currently are owned by for-profit companies, with two more due to be acquired at the end of this month. These investor-owned facilities pay taxes, unless they negotiate tax abatements with local authorities.

Like the for-profits, “today’s non-profit hospitals have evolved into labyrinthine corporate structures, intertwined with both non-profit and for-profit subsidiaries and unaffiliated corporate entities,” Bianco wrote. They “generate significant revenue and pay their professionals salaries that are competitive even by for-profit standards.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/hospital-s-tax-ruling-could-have-ripple-effect-1.1366632