|
 Donald W. & Nancy S. Edwards
Charitable Fund
When Nancy Edwards reads to children at the West
Center City Early Learning Center each week, she’s providing the
spark that just may help them have a brighter future. “Reading is
the path to education,” she says, “and I feel the best all week when
I come out of the day care center.”
Both Nancy and her husband Don have had good lives, and
now they want to “give a little bit back” and establish a connection
with the generation that represents Delaware’s future. They recently
started a scholarship fund at the Delaware Community Foundation to
motivate high school students who never dreamed they could go to
college.
Nancy and Don Edwards both grew up as only children in
small towns. They were intent on going to college and feel fortunate to
have achieved that goal. Nancy is a business graduate of Indiana
University and Don earned Bachelor and Master degrees in mechanical
engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Jobs at DuPont brought
them both to Wilmington where they met at a church social, became
engaged on Valentine’s Day 1961, and were married eight months later.
After 40 years in a marriage that has included a
fulfilling career for Don, involvement in the community for Nancy, and
extensive travel as a couple, the Edwardses have found a way to help
students whose families are unable to send them to college. The idea for
developing the Donald W. & Nancy S. Edwards Charitable Fund originated
when their financial advisor, Alan Brown of Delmarva Ltd., asked Nancy
and Don what they wanted to do with their money when they die. The
couple knew they’d like to help disadvantaged youngsters receive a
college education. Their advisor’s suggestion was to “think big and
start your own foundation – while you’re still alive.”
The couple gave the idea some thought, but were
concerned about starting a private foundation. “They’re hard to do and
expensive, and they aren’t self-perpetuating after death,” Don says.
However, some stories he and Nancy read in DCF publications made them
realize that a scholarship fund at the Foundation would provide an
attractive alternative to a private foundation.
“We decided that the Foundation could provide a unique
set of expertise to achieve our purposes, at a reasonable cost, and
could be expected to do so long after our deaths,” Nancy observes.
When the Edwardses learned about the Upward Bound
Program at the University of Delaware, everything began to fall into
place. The federally funded program offers tutoring and academic help to
prepare eligible high school students for college. Nancy and Don decided
to partner with the Upward Bound program; first, because they believe in
the philosophy of identifying the students early in high school and
giving them an incentive for achievement; and second, because it will
help them with the scholarship selection process.
Nancy and Don are excited about making a difference in
the lives of some promising youngsters. “If we can make a difference in
one person’s life, that will be special,” Nancy believes. The Donald W.
& Nancy S. Edwards Charitable Fund is certain to make a difference in
the lives of many generations of high school and college students and
the communities that benefit from their contributions as productive
citizens. |
