Rose Pfister

Rose Pfister is the kind of person who chooses to view a glass of water holding half its capacity as half full, not half empty. She chooses to help others less fortunate, explaining her outlook on life this way: "If you get something, whether you've worked for it or not, then you should also give something in return because God keeps pretty good records."

Rose says she's learned over the years that people never know when or how they're affecting another's life. For example, one summer day 80 years ago, Rose was a typical insecure, self-conscious, 14-year-old swimming with friends at the local public pool. On that day, a handsome young lifeguard singled her out of her group of friends by shouting, "Hey you, the girl with the good legs, come over here. I want to meet you."

With the way our society has changed in the last 80 years, that same shout from a lifeguard today might evoke loud gasps or worse. But Rose, who remembers it as if it were yesterday, says that on that day that lifeguard made her feel like a "million bucks!" The moral of her story: "One should be nice all the time because living life in such a manner will pay dividends that you may never even know about."

In her younger days, in order to have a second income, Rose and her husband were in the entertainment business. When Jerry Lewis asked entertainers to support "his kids" with muscular dystrophy and related diseases, Rose found it an easy and gratifying thing to do. As a matter of fact, Rose has been helping MDA by making donations for more than 50 years! She is one of MDA's most loyal donors.

A visit with Rose is like going to wisdom school. For example, when she suddenly lost her sight 50 years ago, she says she tried for days to come up with just one good thing about being blind. It was a struggle. Finally she realized that when she lost her sight, she also lost the ability to see dirt. She decided that this made her very happy because she never was a very good housekeeper, and now she had a good excuse for a little dust here and there! Rose's donations provide "Help" to MDA. Rose's wisdom provides "Help" to those who listen. How do you provide "Help?"