UKIAH, Calif. – Mother Teresa is quoted with saying, “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving,” something that is embodied in the generosity and spirit of the Friedman family of Friedman’s Home Improvement.

“Bill Friedman is the most generous man I know,” said Zach Schat, of Schat’s Bakery & Cafe “and generosity must be hereditary because he seems to have passed it on to his son, Barry.”

Schat knows firsthand about the Friedman family’s generosity because it was Bill that approached him in 1995 about setting up a Schat’s Bakery & Café at the Ukiah location of Friedman’s Home Improvement.

“Bill walked into my downtown location, introduced himself and proceeded to share his plans about coming to Ukiah. He was sensitive to being seen as a big-box store in a new town and wanted to incorporate a local eatery into his Airport Park Boulevard location,” said Schat.

“I was not surprised when I learned that the Friedman Family had made a leadership gift to Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s capital campaign to build a new emergency department, intensive care unit and rooftop heliport,” said Schat, who continued, “I knew from the first time I met Bill, he was a good leader. Good leaders care about their family, employees and the communities they serve.”

Bill and his wife, Susan, along with their son and daughter-in-law, Barry and Heidi, have agreed to sponsor the donor wall in the new emergency department.

“We are most grateful to the Friedman Family to help us showcase the generosity of our community leaders that, along with support from Adventist Health, will make this much needed expansion possible,” said UVMC Chief Executive Officer Gwen Matthews.