The L.E. Phillips Senior Center Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it has received its largest donation ever: $2.4 million from a member, Sylvia Steiner, who died in April 2023 and remembered the senior center in her will.
“This is an incredibly generous donation by one of our long-time members,” said Board President Bryan Bessa. “This donation will further the mission of the senior center and benefit its members for years to come, which was Sylvia’s intention.”
A longtime member of the Senior Center, Steiner was a faculty member at UW-Eau Claire for 32 years in the Communications Disorders Department until retiring in 2002.
“The L.E. Phillips Senior Center was a place that Sylvia spent time connecting with friends, to either play a game of Bridge, have a cup of coffee or spend time in the Computer Lab,” said Mary Pica Anderson, former senior center Executive Director. “It was her intent that this generous gift would secure the center’s footprint in our community for years to come.”
She added that while having the opportunity to help Sylvia, “I have had many in the community remind me of what a great instructor she was and the impact she made in their profession.”
Bessa said the Board of Directors has carefully considered how to use the donation and decided that it will be put into an endowment managed by a professional financial firm. The proceeds from the endowment will be used to address a variety of current and future needs of the center — many of which were identified as part of a strategic planning process the board has pursued since summer 2024.
Many of these initiatives would not be feasible with the center’s current funding sources, Bessa said, which include a mix of member dues, revenue from insurance wellness programs, donations and support from the city and county. The L.E. Phillips Senior Center, 1616 Bellinger St., is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), organization operating independently of any government.
Bessa emphasized that the proceeds from the endowment will not replace any current funding sources but will be used to make improvements to facility infrastructure, programming and staffing support that would not be possible with the current budget.
“This gift will allow us to accelerate progress on an existing list of priorities and continue to meet the growing and evolving needs of current and future members,” Bessa said. “It will allow us to strengthen and expand our programs and services, which is part of the center’s vision.”
The board already has moved forward with improvements even before tapping into the endowment, Bessa said, including new fitness equipment and upgraded computers for members, adding, “there will be more to come.”
The board is working on a permanent way in the senior center itself to recognize Sylvia Steiner and her contribution, Bessa added.
The endowment also means the current fee structure for belonging to the senior center — $30 a year for a single and $50 annually for a couple – will be frozen for the foreseeable future. Membership of the senior center now exceeds 3,000.
“We are the best deal in town for our members, and this gift ensures we will remain a bargain,” Bessa said.
Bessa said the donation speaks to the importance the senior center played in Steiner’s life: “When you look at the things Sylvia enjoyed and valued, cited in her obituary, many of them can be found at the center and I would venture to guess those sentiments are shared by many of our members.
“We hope that Sylvia’s story will be a reminder of how vital the L.E. Phillips Senior Center is to our community and our members in meeting their social, emotional and physical needs.” Bessa said, “We hope Sylvia’s gift will encourage others to continue to show their support of the center,” either through a financial donation or by becoming a senior center volunteer.
“Our center is great because we have great community support, great employees, and great members,” Bessa concluded.
According to the published obituary for Steiner:
Sylvia Steiner, a resident of Eau Claire since 1970, passed away April 11, 2023, at the age of 85. Sylvia was born near Pittsburgh, PA, to the late Waldo and Mary Steiner.
Sylvia earned her bachelor’s degree at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio with an emphasis in psychology. Her master’s and doctoral degrees were from the University of Iowa in speech and hearing science. After her graduate work, Sylvia was employed for three years at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis as a research audiologist. She then experienced a post-doctoral fellowship opportunity for three years at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, MD followed by her acceptance of a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the Department then called Communication Disorders. She worked as a faculty member in that Department for 32 years, 18 of which were in service as department chairperson, and then retired in 2002.
After her retirement, Sylvia did some volunteer work in the Eau Claire literacy program and the L.E. Phillips Senior Center.
Sylvia is proceeded in death by her parents Waldo and Mary, brother Richard Steiner.
Sylvia enjoyed puzzles, games (including those on the computer), mystery books, and spectator sports, particularly baseball and football. She liked to play bridge and played for many years at the Senior Center in Eau Claire. Of significant value to here were: friendships, learning, accomplishing goals, dedication and loyalty, honoring responsibilities, striving for improvement, and rationality. She liked good company, good conversation, and good food.
