Faces of Philanthropy: Time

Every day, Grinnellians volunteer their time to foster professional networks and personal connections in communities across the country and around the globe. We’d like you to meet some of them, perhaps for the first time.

Julie Edwards ’07 knows that even a small community of Grinnellians can make a huge difference. “When I attended medical school in Oklahoma, I was lucky enough to connect with about five Grinnellians,” Edwards says. “It was a nice little sense of home in a state that wasn’t home to me.”

When Edwards moved to Seattle, she missed that tiny group she’d helped create. “I knew there were many more Grinnellians in Seattle but I hadn’t had the opportunity to connect with them,” Edwards says. “Molly Campe ’96 came out from Grinnell last summer and invited us to create an alumni network. Suddenly I was sitting at a table with 20 other Grinnellians who were all really interested in creating a community here.”

Edwards and Steve MacFarlane ’82< took on roles as regional network co-coordinators, and the Seattle planning committee organized a summer picnic and, later, a pub night. “We had alums several years younger than me and 40 years older, yet we all had this connection,” Edwards says. “To me, that’s the joy of Grinnell and Grinnellians — that we’re in a sort of kinship.”

MacFarlane says building a vibrant alumni network involves reaching out to all Grinnellians in the region. “We’ve renamed ourselves Grinnell in Puget Sound (GPS) to be more inclusive and a little less Seattle-centric,” MacFarlane says. “There is a lot of interest in reconnecting and seeing what other Grinnellians are up to, whether it be just for social reasons or wanting to reconnect with the College.”

In January, Grinnell in Puget Sound alumni got together to help restore a heron habitat. A career day with leaders in technology, health care, and education is in the planning stage. The GPS planning committee intends to keep gatherings fun and purposeful, if somewhat less formally organized than College-sponsored events.

“We all want to go hear what the president has to say when he visits here,” MacFarlane says, “but additionally I think of our regional group as sort of an organic groundswell that appeals to alums in different ways. It’s another way to reaffirm that Grinnell connection.”

With more than 700 Grinnell alumni in the area, manageable growth is important, too. “This is a very new thing, and my goal is for us to be sustainable,” Edwards says.

Sam Perlman ’90 is an economic development professional in a popular Upper Midwest tourist destination — Door County, Wis.

“I’ve always been a relatively outgoing person, and Grinnell was an amazing opportunity for me,” Perlman says. “I’ve wanted to be connected to the College and stay connected to the people. I like hanging out with Grinnellians. I like hearing what other Grinnellians are up to.”

No surprise, then, that Perlman has served as Alumni Council president, a class agent for 20 years, a reunion volunteer, and in 2015, a 25th Reunion volunteer. He says he looks forward to helping coordinate everything from musical performances to the major programming that distinguish 25th Reunions.

“We also want to preserve a fair amount of time for people to just hang out and connect, because that’s ultimately what a reunion is about — the opportunity to return to campus, see old friends, and reconnect with the College itself,” Perlman says.

“Grinnell is incredibly important to me. My wife [Mariah Goode ’90] is a Grinnellian, many of my friends are Grinnellians, and many of the people that I consider to be interesting people in my life are Grinnellians.

“As I meet alums from the ’50s through the present, I find that Grinnell has a unique ability to attract intelligent and engaged people who do exciting things beyond their college years. They’re fun people. I love to be able to foster those kinds of relationships.”

Long before he established a successful business in Omaha, Neb., Sherman Willis ’01 had very personal reasons for wanting to give back.

“I came from humble beginnings in Houston, and there was no way my family could afford the ticket price of Grinnell without assistance,” Willis recalls. “Part of the reason I was able to go to Grinnell was because I received a few scholarships from generous alums through endowments or scholarship programs, and I never forgot that.

“Every day is a blessing because I was not sure as a child that I could escape that cycle of poverty,” Willis says. “To me, it’s all about service and giving back to the institution that helped me get this far.”

One expression of Willis’ commitment is his service on the Alumni Council. He served part of his six-year term on the communications committee, chairing it for one year. Throughout, he championed initiatives for improving alumni communications. He now devotes his committee time to matters of stewardship.

“We are, I believe, privileged to have a voice in how the College does things,” Willis says. “I take it seriously, and I know that the other members of the council do as well.

“The way I put it, we’re like the party activists. We are the most engaged of all the 20-plus thousand of us, and so it is incumbent on us to deepen the relationship between the College and the alums. That’s why we’re here.”

“It’s very organic,” Amanda Keledjian ’08 says of the alumni group she coordinates with JC Labowitz ’71 in Washington, D.C. “Whoever has the capacity to take leadership roles, does. I did it for a few events and finally someone said, ‘You know, we should just call you The Coordinator.’ In Grinnell fashion, we play off each other’s strengths.”

In addition to College President Raynard S. Kington’s annual visit and two seasonal picnics, D.C. alumni events have included gatherings at the National Archives, ice skating rinks, baseball games, the National Zoo, and much more. “Sometimes our planning goals are ambitious, but without fail we get a great turnout and have a really good time,” Keledjian says. “At least 50 people came to last night’s happy hour and it was fabulous.”

Keledjian says she is looking to strengthen the network and build momentum by adding continuing education opportunities to the 2015 calendar.

“It’s very satisfying to know that the Grinnell community expands beyond the campus. You get to actually engage with people who you know share the same academic aspirations and intellectual presence,” Keledjian says. “It’s wonderful that the College can help foster that capacity in alumni communities.”

While it’s not unusual for people to come together around a common experience, in the case of Grinnellians, Keledjian says, “I think it’s even stronger than that. We seek it out actively. I get a lot of satisfaction and happiness from bringing Grinnellians together.”

In 1976, David May ’65 received a letter asking if he would be a class fund director. “One of the reasons I accepted was that I considered it an honor to do that for the class,” he says.

May has served as class fund director ever since. He has enjoyed success in fundraising, and he values the personal contact with class members.

“I used to write sort of a personal essay twice a year, and that was gratifying,” May says. “As I progressed through my career and we had children, I could talk about those kinds of things. It was important that I got to be creative and could talk directly to my classmates.”

This year is an important one for the class of 1965, and May has taken on the added role as 50th Reunion fundraising co-director. It means more phone and committee time, but the former corporate attorney embraces his volunteer opportunities.

“I’ve found that you don’t realize you’re getting some things from going to work at least five days a week until you don’t have them,” May says. Contact with individuals, a sense of identity and accomplishment — those are additional attractions once you’re retired.

“I’m gratified to be a class fund director,” May adds. “My goal is to keep doing it as long as I possibly can.”

<Dick Metzler ’65 is sharing 50th Reunion fundraising duties with May. The former Asa Turner chairperson says that when he was asked to participate on the committee, he just had to step up.

“Both my wife [Dorothy Dosse Metzler ’66] and I are Grinnell graduates, and we believe strongly in the value of a liberal arts education,” Metzler says. “My particular interest in this drive and other ongoing appeals has been focused on leaving a legacy for the College. I want to promote the idea of estate planning.”

The Metzlers have “been pretty consistent” in attending reunions, and he says the value of alumni connections goes deeper than providing a comfort level for discussing the benefits of planned giving.

“The connections that come as a consequence of being a supporter of the College are something of which I am proud, something that makes me feel like I’m part of a group,” Metzler says.

“Everyone, I think, needs to have a feeling of belonging beyond their immediate family and close friends, whether it comes through donating money, attending reunions, or being part of an alumni chapter,” Metzler says. “It gives you a feeling of fellowship, sort of like being on a team.

“It’s a group of like-minded people that you can feel comfortable with. You can enjoy each other’s company because you have a common background.”