Skip to content

Claude L. & Alice E. Allen Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund

Established 1998

Claude & Alice Allen in their grocery store (February 1942)
Claude & Alice Allen in their grocery store (February 1942)
Claude Allen standing by his delivery truck
Claude Allen standing by his delivery truck

This fund, which provides scholarships to graduates of East Aurora High School, was established in 1998 by Alice Allen as a memorial to her husband.

Claude Allen (1916-1997) was in the retail grocery store business for over fifty years.

After graduating from North Central College in 1939 with a degree in business administration, Mr. Allen opened his first grocery store on Marion Avenue in Aurora.

In 1957, he moved to a larger location on Hinman and Fifth Avenue.

Mr. Allen was the quintessential friendly, local grocer. He was a confidant, mentor and banker to the neighborhood families he served.

Alice Allen (1918-2012) was born in Aurora, Illinois and lived in the city for eighty years.

She attended North Central College. In 1940, she married Claude Allen.

After raising their three sons, Mrs. Allen joined her husband at Allen’s Food Market.

Her interests included attending the opera, refinishing furniture and writing beautiful handwritten letters.

Like her husband, Alice Allen touched the lives of others in a meaningful and lasting way.

Give your gift of time and see what it means to the people you impact. Helping others is what life is all about.

Neal Ormond

Donor & Fund Advisor

YEP was a great experience to have in high school. I became a more confident person, someone with a lot more perspective. Coming from a small school, YEP allowed me to branch out into my community, meet students from other schools, and learn about their backgrounds. I made some great friends and still keep in touch with them today.

Abby Vagnoni

YEP Alumni

Grant funds from the Community Foundation helped provide updated technology. These upgrades were transformative. By creating new time saving processes, it turned us into a more efficient organization.

Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry

Grantee

Being a part of the Community Foundation scholarship committee is the highlight of my year. For many, a scholarship from the CFFRV is the reason they are able to continue reaching for their dreams and changing the future of our world. I hope each recipients knows just how inspirational they are to those of us who are lucky enough to read their stories.

Jessica Breugelmans

Scholarship Committee Member and Board Member

I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Zari Foundation Scholarship and the Community Foundation in supporting my education. I am majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institue of Technology. In my spare time, I volunteer on campus, in the community and I’m also the principal violist in the symphony orchestra. I hope to make an impact on the next chapter of space exploration by eventually working at a groundbreaking aerospace company such as SpaceX or NASA.

Taytum Newell

Albert M. Zari Scholarship Recipient

Education is important to us. We support causes that touch our lives and align with our values. We believe in paying it forward. We are here for a short time,, and it is the next generation that will take on what we leave behind.

Michelle Emanuel

Donor and Past Scholarship Recipient

YEP has made me realize the importance of being involved in my community, and how to make a difference. There are a lot of problems in the world but if we can do everything that we can to help the world will become a better place. YEP has helped me realize this and encouraged me to help more people in the future.

Madi Porter

YEP Member

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley

Install Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”

Accessibility Toolbar