Estate gifts and bequests help build our endowment, giving us a vitally important cushion against changing funding priorities. Bequest gifts come in all sizes, and each one helps ensure that our life-changing services will be available for generations of children and families to come.

“A significant source of support for our work comes from donors who left bequests for Children’s Home & Aid in their wills and trusts. These generous friends – some of whom passed away more than one hundred years ago – continue to impact the lives of the children and families we serve today through their estate gifts. Today I am pleased to recognize our current Legacy Society donors, generous and visionary individuals who have made provisions in their estate plans for the children and families we serve.” ~ Sara Irmen, Vice President of Development, Children’s Home & Aid  

Dave and Deborah Fedor have supported Children’s Home & Aid for many years, and Dave has served on our Central Board for more than 20 years. He built a successful Bloomington business while his wife, Deborah worked as a registered nurse. The couple did not have children, and when it came time to create their estate plan, they decided to leave their entire estate to several local charities they have supported throughout their lives.

“I am committed to the mission of Children’s Home & Aid, and feel like the agency does great work. It is important to me that our funds stay in our local community, where we built our business and lived our lives. We were happy to include Children’s Home & Aid in our plans.” ~Dave Fedor, Board Member (Central Region) and Planned Giving Donor, Children’s Home & Aid

Another Legacy Society donor, Joanne Zolomij, has a deeply personal reason for joining the Legacy Society. “Children’s Home & Aid made me a mom,” Joanne says. Joanne and her husband adopted two children through Children’s Home & Aid, a daughter, Nancy in 1971 and a son, Chris in 1973. “I decided to leave a gift to Children’s Home & Aid in my will in honor of all of the joy these two wonderful children have brought me,” says Joanne.

Our deepest thanks to Dave and Deborah, and Joanne, for making this tremendous commitment to supporting Illinois children and families. To learn more about making a planned gift or to join the Legacy Society, please join us at our Estate Planning webinar on April 29th or contact Mary Kozil at mkozil@childrenshomeandaid.org or call 847-217-2168.