Over and over, Beth Casselman has seen the Community Foundation of Boone County help people give back to a place where they feel their roots reaching deeply into – and being fed by – the community.
A mother of two young boys when she became the founding executive director, Beth soon watched the Foundation give a home to memorial gifts for a young athlete killed in an auto accident. Those gifts became the Todd Getty Mental Attitude Memorial Scholarship. She saw similar gifts in memory of Dr. Kenneth Glasser – a Boone County surgeon who once played a role in saving Beth’s life – take shape as the Foundation’s first endowed fund, which eventually became the Zionsville Education Foundation.
And when Virgil and Mary Kathryn Benge sought a way to enrich their beloved Jamestown, Beth earned their trust by first taking great care with a small cemetery fund, followed by the Jamestown Christian Church Endowment. Upon Virgil’s passing, after an “enduring friendship with that amazing gentleman,” Beth’s relationship with the Benges culminated in an estate gift to establish the Greater Jamestown Area Fund, which will forever support the community of Jamestown. The Benges knew their gifts would be managed and shared in keeping with their vision. “In his final days…Virgil knew he was leaving a lasting legacy that would serve the town that he so loved,” Beth says.
Having witnessed such moments, Beth and her husband, Bob, decided to leave their own legacy. The Casselman Family Fund was created to support the Foundation’s operations, helping to ensure that the Foundation can focus more donated resources on making the difference donors desire.
“It costs money to give money away wisely, and we’re happy to support that effort,” Beth says, adding that she is pleased with the family legacy that’s being created. “It’s nice to know that our family name will forever be associated with the foundation that came of age with our sons, Brad and Alex.”