For Betty and Henry Halverson, the decision of where to donate appreciated stock was an easy one. The couple are lifelong supporters of the island and believe in the importance of local health care. "I've been supporting the hospital since before they built it," Henry Halverson said.

Halverson and his wife recently made a donation of American Mobile stock to the Catalina Island Medical Center Foundation. The donation, which was sold by the foundation for about $5,000, allowed the Halversons to have an additional tax benefit while supporting an organization they have believed in for decades.

Henry Halverson first started visiting the island in the 1930s, when he got a job as a boat boy at a Girl Scout camp at Fourth of July Cove. The lifelong boater also owns an island home.

He and his wife's first experience with medical care on the island happened long before Avalon Municipal Hospital was built in 1960. Halverson's daughter broke her arm while horseback riding when the hospital was located on Sumner Avenue. As soon as they heard about the mishap, the Halversons responded to the hospital to make sure she was okay, but their daughter was nowhere to be found. "They had put a cast on her arm," he said, "and she was already back up at the stables."

Henry Halverson, who has provided mortuary services on the island since 1955, was one of the first contributors when the existing hospital was built on Falls Canyon Road. "My name is on first plaque they have," he said. "Now they have a dozen plaques."

He and his wife will continue to support the goals of the Catalina Island Medical Center Foundation.

"We really appreciate his donation," said CIMC Foundation Chairman Rudy Piltch. "Stock donation is a mechanism to support the hospital that people don't always think about."

For more information about the charitable needs at Catalina Island Medical Center, contact Bryan Ballard at (310) 510-0700.

For more information visit www.CatalinaIslandMedicalCenter.org