Reading the stories of how my mom has changed lives has left me in awe and grateful. I’ve learned so much about her and about each person who has taken the time to share a story. If you are someone who feels that she gave you a gift, I’m inviting you to consider “paying it forward” by donating to her scholarship so that someone else can have the gift of education. I know it’s something that she would have been both humbled about and proud of, because education was so important to her.

No donation is too small — personally, I love the idea of a scholarship fund that has grown because of gifts from all the people whose lives she touched, it’s like each donor is giving her back a piece of themselves. I know that a small donation, like $25, seems like a small amount when you hear that we need to raise $20,000 more. But when you look at it another way, only 800 people need to give $25 for us to reach that goal, or 200 people giving $100. That doesn’t seem like an unachievable goal — so many of you have written about her touching thousands of lives.

Wondering why a donation-funded scholarship is needed at a state university? Then you might want to read about why we chose a scholarship to honor her legacy

Want to give now, online? donate to the College at Oneonta Foundation and choose “Other” under Designation for Funds and specify “Dr. Joan Iversen Memorial Scholarship” in the text box after “Other.”

Read more here about how to mail your donation, and about how to be acknowledged as a donor on this blog.

Photo credit: Photo on Flickr, provided by Richard Freeman through Creative Commons licensing.