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Robert H. and Jean A. Goehlen Endowment Fund

Established 1998

Robert and Jean Goehlen
Robert and Jean Goehlen

This fund was created by the family and friends of Robert H. Goehlen to honor his lifetime of service to the community.

Mr. Goehlen (1929-1998) administered several offices for IBM prior to his retirement and he was awarded the Chicago North 1980 Office of the Year Award.

He attended the University of Wisconsin and served in the United States Army.

Mr. Goehlen was a founding member of the Bank of Montgomery and chairman of the board for many years.

He belonged to the Aurora Bowling Association, Aurora Country Club, Aurora Elks Club, IBM’s Quarter Century Club, Review Association, Southwest Suburban Senior Golf League and the United States Trotting Association.

Jean Goehlen was born in Aurora, but grew up in the first brick house in Kane County (Sugar Grove).

She graduated from West Aurora High School (1958) and Lake Forest College (1963).

She then taught school in the primary grades for a number of years in Aurora, Ohio and Indiana. While in Indiana, she organized and directed a Meals on Wheels program.

Mrs. Goehlen has been a member of the Tuesday Garden Club of Aurora, Early American Pressed Glass Club, Child Welfare Society, the United States Trotting Association, Aurora Women’s Bowling Association, and the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.

This fund, created in 1998, was established as an endowment in 2001. It is a field-of-interest fund devoted to the needs of children.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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