Meet Our Donors

On behalf of Chestnut Hill College, we would like to thank all of our current donors for their generosity and support. Here are some of their stories.

 

Susan Pisano ’71

Supporting the College’s annual Griffin Fund has long been a priority for Susan Pisano ’71 who parlayed her degree in English literature to a job as vice president of communications for a trade association in Washington, D.C. Says Pisano, “My own gifts have been smaller in some years and larger in others, but I feel they are highly appreciated every year.”

She agreed to a 5-year term as class fund agent in 2002, and began sending a personal appeal to classmates. One of the responses she received was from the late Sister Ann Edward Bennis, former head of the College’s English department. She wrote, “My dear Susan, you get A++ for the excellent letter that you kindly sent…”

Pisano offers, “While it is perhaps understandable that Sister still grades my work, it is ever so much more telling that her assessment still means so much to me three decades later.” She explains, “From Sister Ann Edward, I learned things that had little to do with literature.”

“I think of her whenever I allow myself to take emotional or intellectual risks, change my view, or am surprised by life, open to a new idea, hold two contradictory ideas at once, understand those who oppose what I stand for, or look below the surface of things. These are some of the traits and habits that define for me the word "liberal" in a liberal arts education, and the fact that I learned these lessons at our alma mater tells you why I contribute to the Griffin Fund at Chestnut Hill College and why I urge others to do so.”

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Anonymous

The sum of $2,500 may not seem like a lot today, but in the academic semesters of 1955-1956 and 1956-1957, it bought tuition and room and board for two years at the College. For an alum who graduated in 1957, it was a princely sum, and a college education would have been out of reach but for the scholarship she received. So to mark her fiftieth reunion in June, she donated 30 shares of Exxon Mobil stock to the College’s general endowment. This alum, who wishes to remain anonymous, said, “I would like to replenish some of the scholarship money that I received, which allowed me to have a wonderful Chestnut Hill College education and experience.”

The gift of securities will benefit her family as well: they’re entitled to a charitable income tax deduction for the fair market value of the gifted securities as of the date of gift; and, they’ve eliminated the capital gains tax that would ordinarily become due if they’d sold the appreciated securities on the open market and donated the proceeds from the sale to charity.

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Sally A. Donnelly

In spite of having never graduated from Chestnut Hill College (she would have been in the Class of 1953), Sally A. Donnelly of West Chester, Pa. is a faithful annual donor. She left the College after her first year to pursue a profession as a radiologic technologist. Yet she “made lifelong friends in my single year at the Hill, and I continue to see them to this day.”

Ultimately, Sally spent her entire career at Temple University Hospital, department of diagnostic imaging, serving the last twenty years as quality control coordinator. In 1963, she applied for a leave of absence to serve with Medico-Service of Care in Algeria, North Africa. The following year she sailed on the hospital ship S.S. Hope to West Africa. After retirement, she volunteered in Calcutta, India, with the Missionaries of Charity.

In 2000, Sally A. Donnelly established a scholarship in memory of her parents Dr. Joseph and Sara Donnelly. “I wanted to honor them and felt a scholarship was the best way,” she says. More recently, she became a member of the Hallmark Society, naming the College as the ultimate beneficiary of a planned gift in her estate.”

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Bernardine Keeler Abbott ’51 and Dr. Joseph Abbott

“The longing of my heart has been to repay the Sisters of St. Joseph and Chestnut Hill College.” These are the words of Bernardine Keeler Abbott ’51. Abbott is known as “Bunny” by friends and loved ones. She earned her A.B. in English from West Chester University, and her M.S. in psychology from Villanova University. She and husband Joseph Abbott, M.D., recently endowed a significant charitable gift annuity, a gesture that allows them to receive an income from the principal while benefiting the College.

The gift, Bunny explained, was a token for her wonderful education and “one of the most beautiful affiliations of my life. I look at the Sisters and realize they gave their entire young lives to us. Their belief in women had quite an influence in my life,” she said. “It inspired me to earn my two master’s degrees and fostered my own dedication and commitment to women.”

The youngest of four daughters, Bunny was on scholarship during her years at Chestnut Hill. She is now busy promoting the College for her granddaughters. “I am delighted about the annuity because it fulfills a long-standing desire of my heart. The Sisters of Saint Joseph really came through for me years ago and my gratitude is forever.”

Find out how you can establish a charitable gift Annuity with Chestnut Hill College.

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Margaret Conner ’43

When Margaret Conner ’43 passed away in 2005, she had bequeathed to the College two important post-impressionist paintings by Boston-born artist Maurice B. Prendergast (1858-1924), who studied in Paris with Georges Seurat. The Prendergast works were estimated to have a value that could bring as much as $150,000 at auction, and so were offered at Sotheby’s in New York City in May 2006. The sale of these paintings brought the College a generous gift from Miss Conner’s planned legacy. Naming the College your beneficiary of a gift-in-kind, such as a valuable work of art, is another way you can leave a legacy to your alma mater.

Find out more how you can name the College the recipient of personal property.

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Suzanne K. Dufrasne ’58

Suzanne K. Dufrasne ’58 provided a generous surprise to the College when she signed over her six-figure life insurance policy to Chestnut Hill, saying, “It’s pay back time.” Dufrasne noted that the Sisters of Saint Joseph had provided her with a full scholarship to Cecilian Academy and a half scholarship to the College. And, with the aid of professor Sister Patrick Marie, Dufrasne got a job at Rohm & Haas, where she worked for 29 years. She said her gift is really in memory of Sister Patrick Marie. President Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, Ph.D., gratefully acknowledged the extraordinary gift and noted that the policy’s value would grow considerably over the years.

Sister Carol Jean Vale, said, “Sue has been wonderfully generous for many years, providing volunteer service as well as monetary support. This donation is only the latest demonstration of her dedication. She has shown how careful and creative financial planning can result in a contribution that exceeds what a donor can ordinarily give.”

Find out more how you can name the College as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

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Catherine Winter McDonnell ’45 and Philip McDonnell

“I shall always treasure the memories of my happy and wonderful days at Chestnut Hill College,” writes Catherine Winter McDonnell ’45 from her home in Atherton, California. After graduating in 1945 with a B.S. in psychology, she met and married Philip and became mother to seven: Dennis, Adrienne, Corinne, Kevin, David, Carolyn, and Douglas.

Now retired, she and Philip have decided to endow a generous charitable gift annuity, a step that allows them to receive an income from the principal while benefiting the College. In explaining her gift, Catherine says simply, “I am filled with gratitude for the dedication and support of the sisters; for the enduring friendships of classmates; and for all the positive things I learned about life and the world while I was there.

May I wish you the Class of 1945 motto: Ad astraper aspera – ‘to the stars through endeavor’ – as you move forward with your visions for the new century.”

Find out how you can establish a charitable gift Annuity with Chestnut Hill College.

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Anne Tezak ’76, Hallmark Society Member

Since her graduation in 1976 with a B.A. in political science, Anne E. Tezak has been a loyal donor to the College, participating in giving opportunities to The Griffin Fund (formerly the Annual Fund), the Capital Gifts Initiatives, the Reunion Fund, and most recently, for the acquisition and development of SugarLoaf. She has been a member of the Fleur de Lis Society since 2002.

Tezak reflects on her financial commitment to the College: “I was fortunate, both in high school in North Carolina and in college in Philadelphia, to experience a well-rounded education provided by the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Their teaching tradition (and its effect on their fellow educators) of blending textbook knowledge with personal, spiritual, and professional development influenced my life and career paths.”

In 2001, Tezak furthered her commitment by naming the College as a beneficiary in her will, making her a member of the Hallmark Society. “CHC has seen significant changes and growth since I graduated,” she observes, “ but their holistic tradition continues – I sense it every time I visit the campus. Hopefully, my sharing will allow others to be similarly blessed for decades yet to come.”

Find out more.... become a member of the Hallmark Society.

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For additional information about other planned giving opportunities, please contact Mary Theresa Shevland, SSJ, director of planned giving, at 215.753.3617, or e-mail shevlandm@chc.edu.